“I guess I’ll have to run for it, though I hate to,” decided Tommy.
Now, I hope none of my readers will think less of him for running away. There are times when it is better to run than to fight, especially if you are certain why you run. Tommy did not mind a few hard knocks, and he might even have tackled Jakie or Sam alone. But the two together were too much for him, and then, too, he did not want to make his mother worry by coming home wet. So he decided to run, though it might look cowardly.
Holding his fishing pole firmly, he made a dash for an open place in the bushes. His two enemies saw his plan at once, and made leaps toward him.
“He’s trying to skip!” cried Sam.
“Yes, grab him!” added Jakie.
But Tommy’s baseball training served him in good stead, and he was soon ahead of his pursuers, who came on crashing through the bushes after him.
“Coward! Coward!” they yelled, tauntingly, but Tommy was no coward, and they knew it.
“We’ll catch you, and when we do we’ll duck you twice for running!” yelled Sam.
“You haven’t caught me yet,” reflected Tommy, with a laugh. Somehow, he did not mind the loss of his fish very much, for Jakie still had his string of prizes.
Tommy was now running along the bank of the creek, through a grassy meadow. He could not see his pursuers behind him, but he could hear them, for he had taken a short cut through the bushes which Joie Grubb had shown him one day, and this gave him a good start.