This time he did not get to his feet so quickly as before and when he did it was evident that he was somewhat dazed. And now Bob decided that the time had come for him to force the fighting. So, as the man got to his feet, he sprang forward and aimed another blow for the chin. But he slipped just as he struck and before he could recover himself the Canadian had him around the waist. Bob realized that there could be but one outcome to this kind of fighting unless he finished it in short order. To his joy he quickly discovered that the man knew nothing of scientific wrestling, and in a moment he had a half nelson about his neck and exerting all his strength he threw him completely over his head. The man gave vent to a heavy grunt as he struck the snow and undoubtedly he was at that moment the most surprised man in seven counties. Once more anger got the best of him and, springing to his feet, he came at Bob with much the same tactics with which he had started the fight. This was what Bob had hoped for and after defending himself for a moment the right chance came. This time he happened to have an excellent foothold and the blow was not lacking in full power. Square on the man’s chin it landed and he dropped like a log, and this time he did not get up.
“Sure an’ yer’er one broth of a bye,” Tom Bean shouted, as he rushed forward and grabbed the panting boy in his arms. “Are yez sure ye’re not hurt?” he asked anxiously.
“I guess I’ll need a piece of beef steak on this eye, but I think that’s about all the damage. But he’s sure got an ugly punch when it lands. The only thing that saved me is that it didn’t land often,” and Bob grinned as he took Tom’s arm.
As the bully went down for the last time a loud cheer went up from the crowd, which now included practically the entire camp. No one went to his assistance until Tom said:
“Hey you, Jim and Pete, rub some snow on his face and git him into the bunk house. Sure an’ he’ll be all right in a jiffy.”
“Sure an’ he had it coming to him all right,” Tom declared, after Jack had told him how the fight started. “It’s hisself as is a mean one an’ he’s bullied the hull camp, but begorra, his bullying days are over, for onest a bully is licked an’ he’s done. But don’t fergit lad, ye’ve made an inemy and ye want ter kape yer eyes peeled mighty sharp so ye does.”
But if he had made an enemy of Jean Larue he had also made a friend of Jakie Semper, the hunchback. Jakie was what is known as “cook’s helper.” He washed dishes, kept the cook house clean, waited on the table, and did a thousand and one other things about the place. His unfailing good nature and readiness to grant favors made him a general favorite about the camp. After the fight he regarded Bob almost with reverence and would have become his willing slave had he permitted it. Although his body was deformed, the boys soon learned that his mind was, as Jack put it, “as bright as a new dollar.”
As the two boys entered the mess house a half hour later, they were greeted with a ringing cheer, and many hearty slaps on the back proved to Bob that his victory was most popular with the crew. The boys had asked Tom not to tell anyone that their father owned the camp, as they wished to associate with the men on as nearly an equal footing as possible. To be sure two or three of the crew knew them, as they had been in their father’s employ for some years, but at the boys’ request Tom had “put them wise.”
After supper the boys accompanied Tom to the office where they told him about the disputed tract and what Bob had heard in the hotel the night before.
“Just where is that tract, Tom?” Bob asked when he had finished.