“Not fight!” exclaimed Oliver. “Why ever not?”
“I suppose because he’s a coward. He says because he doesn’t choose.”
“But he must fight, Wray. We must make him!”
“You can’t. I called him a coward, and that wouldn’t make him. You’ll have to give it up this time, Noll.”
But Oliver wouldn’t hear of giving it up so easily. He got up and rushed to Loman’s study himself. But it was locked. He knocked, no one answered. He called through the keyhole, but there was no reply. Evidently Loman did not intend to fight, and Oliver returned crestfallen and disappointed to his study.
“It’s no go,” he said, in answer to his friend’s inquiry.
“Oh, well, never mind,” said Wraysford. “Even if you could have fought, I dare say it wouldn’t have done much good, for he’s such a sullen beggar there would have been no making it up afterwards. If I were you I wouldn’t bother any more about it. I’ll let all the fellows know he refused to fight you!”
“What’s the use of that?” said Oliver. “Why tell them anything about it?”
But tell them or not tell them, the fellows knew already. It had oozed out very soon that a fight was coming off, and instantly the whole school was in excitement. For, however little some of them cared about the personal quarrel between Oliver and Loman, a fight between Fifth and Sixth was too great an event to be passed by unheeded.
The Fifth were delighted. They knew their man could beat Loman any day of the week, and however much they had once doubted his courage, now it was known he was the challenger every misgiving on that score was done away with.