"Home," was the curt response.
"You're taking this tenderfoot's word against mine?"
"I'm sorry——"
"Come back here, then!"
"Sorry King didn't do more than slam you into the road. Oh, you're the limit."
"Either you come back here or you quit the team," yelled Perry, his voice quivering with rage.
"Much obliged," flung back Splinters, keeping on into the timber; "it's a pleasure to quit."
The rest hooted at him as he vanished. This defection from the ranks brought the tension of the whole affair to the snapping-point. What happened immediately after the departure of Splinters came decisively, and with a rush.
Spangler and Perry, hoping to catch Matt at a disadvantage, hurled themselves at him. An instinct of fair play held Clipperton back. He turned for an instant to see what the other three members of the squad were going to do, and in that instant another momentous thing happened.
Chub, hovering in the background, saw Spangler and Perry dashing toward Matt. Brass knuckle-dusters glimmered on the fingers of Perry's right fist. Chub caught the flash of the knuckle-dusters and, being too far away to place himself shoulder to shoulder with Matt, he let fly with the stone he had been holding in his hand.