“Take your time. I’m in no hurry.”
But the fall had knocked the fight as well as the wind out of the bully, and muttering something which the boys failed to catch, he slouched off toward his canoe, followed by the other two.
“Did he hurt you any?” Jack asked anxiously, as soon as they were out of hearing.
“Nary a scratch,” Bob laughed, as he drew on his coat.
“Well, you’ve got about the biggest nerve I ever saw,” Rex declared, as he held out his hand.
“It’s not so much nerve as you think,” Bob explained. “You see, these fellows don’t know how to use their strength when it comes to fighting along scientific lines. Most all of them rely entirely on their strength, and a fellow who knows the rules can handle them easily enough.”
“It listens good the way you say it,” Rex declared, shaking his head, “but excuse me, and I know a little about boxing myself.”
“You could handle one of them,” Bob assured him, but Rex again shook his head.
“Just the same I hope we’ve seen the last of them,” he said, as he watched the three men shove off their canoe and paddle slowly away up the river.
“That is a consummation devoutly to be desired,” Bob said slowly, “but I’m very much afraid that—”