For answer the giant would shrug his shoulders.
"I'm not afraid of anybody," he would reply proudly.
The statement was not made in a spirit of bravado; rather it reflected the self-respect of one consciously in the right.
"But you to be more careful. Such people are capable of working you harm."
"Let them try."
"But they are. They can do all sorts of underhanded things you would not descend to," whimpered Mrs. Harling. "It worries me all the time to see you so regardless."
"There, there, Mother! Quit fussing about me," pleaded the big fellow kindly. "I'm all right and can look after myself."
"I know you can when the fight is a fair one," agreed his mother. "But you never can tell what weapon a coward will use."
Hal laughed contemptuously and, realizing that her counsel had failed of its aim, Mrs. Harling said no more.
Up to the present the calamities she periodically predicted had not occurred and as those who loved her son rallied round him with ever-increasing loyalty, and those who disliked him kept their distance, she gradually ceased to protest. What was the use of wasting her strength on conditions she could not help? Poor soul! She needed every atom of energy she possessed to meet the trials that beset her own path.