Mark Ducat moved slowly, with Jim supporting him on one side and the green-eyed girl on the other. His knees wobbled and his feet wavered.
"Licked by a greenhorn Yankee dood!" he exclaimed, grinning painfully. "Say, Flora, what'll the folks think of it? What'll pa say?"
"He'll say it was coming to you," answered Flora. "He'll say, 'I told you so.'"
"Sure he will, an' that he was never licked in his life; an' Uncle Sam'll tell how he was never bested at fightin' nor wrastlin' but by a Ducat or a McKim; an' Gran'pa Ducat'll tell about the time he hove Black Dave Davidson clean over the smoke house, an' Gran'pa McKim'll say as how Jim here must be a Highlander. They'll all have plenty to say, anyhow."
"And I'll say this, Mark—you're a sportsman!" said Jim.
CHAPTER VI
GAMES—ABOVEBOARD AND OTHERWISE
The homestead of the Ducats consisted partly of the original structure of great pine logs and partly of a more modern erection of sawn frame and shingles, the two joined securely end to end. The kitchen was in the old part, and it was to the kitchen that Flora led her vanquished brother and his conqueror. Here they found the mother and the two grandfathers, to whom Mark described the battle without exaggeration or reservation. The girl with green eyes corroborated his statements, and Jim Todhunter maintained a modest silence.
"Did ye stand idle an' see yer brother bested by a stranger?" cried Mrs. Ducat.
"Sure I did," answered Flora.