“But he got what he went after,” said Tom.
“Do you believe in fighting, Mr.—Tom?”
“Not when you can get what you want without it,” said Tom. “If I went after a rubber ball, or a gum-drop, or a crust of stale bread or a hunk of stone, I’d get it. I wouldn’t knock down any boys——”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” said Mrs. Cowell.
“Unless I had to,” said Tom.
“Oh, I think you’re just splendid,” said Arden.
“Didn’t I tell you that?” said the boy lying in the chair.
Just then an auto stopped before the house and Arden Cowell, who had been leaning with her back against the door all the time, opened it softly to admit the doctor.
CHAPTER III
THE DOCTOR’S ORDERS
The Cowells were new to Bridgeboro and in the emergency had called Doctor Brent at random. He was brisk and efficient, seeming not particularly interested in the tragedy of the rubber ball nor the viewpoint of the juvenile audience.