"John is eleven; Henry is nine."
"John is a big, strong boy. I bet you are afraid of him. If you were not, it would be great fun to beat him up with your fists or kick him in the slats, or throw him in the creek and make him holler "'nuff." Why not save Elhannon for your dad when he gets out? He might not want you to do his fighting for him. Did he ask you to take a shot at old man Howard?"
"No, I ha'int thought about that."
"You didn't say you were not afraid of John Howard."
"No, I'm not. Why?"
"If you were not afraid of him, you would leave your gun at home and tomorrow beat him up at school."
"I believe I will go back home and beat him up at school tomorrow; but recess will be plenty long to wait."
"Oh, we better go on; he's older and bigger than you; you are afraid of him. You better tackle him with your gun."
"Waste powder and ball on that chump? Not me; I'm not afraid of any of them Howards. I'm hungry; supper's about ready; let's go home. I shore hope he comes to school tomorrow."
"Say, boy, are those your hogs? Why don't you feed them some corn?"