He felled the foremost assailant with a stunning blow under the ear—and the boy could hit out mighty hard.
Then he sprang at the second, who he saw was a husky-looking boy with his cap pulled well down about his eyes.
He had just raised a sand-bag to stun the gentleman, but was forced to relinquish his cowardly purpose and turn and endeavor to defend himself.
But Dick’s movements were quicker than lightning.
He had taken the attacking party just as much by surprise as they had taken their victim.
His hard, weather-tanned fist caught the young rascal on the point of the chin.
The fellow went down beside his dazed comrade, and from that moment he ceased to take any further interest in the proceedings.
This left only one more to be accounted for—another boy whose face was streaked with black as a kind of disguise—and the gentleman himself soon put him out of business.
This brought the affair to a satisfactory conclusion.
“I want to thank you, my brave lad, for coming to my assistance,” said the stranger, shaking Dick warmly by the hand. “But for you I most certainly would have been knocked out and robbed.”