"Take that, ye young whelp!" cried Mr. Benton, raising the cultivator-handle and bringing it down with a force sufficient to have killed the boy had it hit him.
Fortunately for Budd he saw the stick coming, and jumped quickly to one side. The force of the blow fell upon the barn-floor; but Mr. Benton immediately recovered himself and rushed down upon the lad. Seeing that there was no alternative, Budd grappled with him, and then began a terrible struggle for the mastery. Had the lad possessed his usual strength he might have come off victor, for he had caught his antagonist directly under the armpits with a powerful hug, and thus had decidedly the advantage in his hold. But he was still weak from his trying experience of the night before, and that more than counterbalanced the advantage he had secured in position.
Up and down the threshing-floor the contestants went; against stanchion and post and door were they hurled; over and upon the heterogeneous articles scattered about the floor they stumbled; finally Budd's foot struck upon some unseen object that rolled under it, and he fell heavily upon the floor, with Mr. Benton on top of him. With a shout of triumph the angry man sat down upon the lad's breast, and with his clinched fist began to pound him. He had struck but two blows, however, when he was caught by the collar, dragged unceremoniously off from the prostrate boy, and thrown with no gentle hand back against the nearest stanchion. Then the voice of Mr. Wright was heard sternly saying:
"Stand there, you miserable coward; and let me tell you, if you lay the weight of your finger on that lad again I'll give you the worst thrashing you ever had in your life!"
At those words, Mr. Benton cowered back against the nearest mow and remained motionless. Experience had already taught him that he could not trifle with Peter Wright.
Helping Budd to his feet, Mr. Wright asked:
"Are you hurt? I was delayed longer at the house than I expected, or this miserable wretch would not have had a chance to lay his hand upon you. Tell me just what he has done?"
Budd gave a fair account of the contest from beginning to end, and declared that he was not seriously hurt, though he did not know what might have happened but for Mr. Wright's opportune arrival.
Mr. Benton sullenly admitted the truth of the boy's story, but whiningly declared he had not meant to hurt him, but only to give him a wholesome lesson, so that he wouldn't destroy any more property for him in such a reckless manner.
"I might believe your statement had I not caught you in the very act of pounding him," said Mr. Wright, with emphasis; "and surely striking at him with one of the handles of that cultivator looks almost as though you meant to kill him. This, too, when he is not your boy, nor bound out to you, and you had no more right to chastise him than you have to strike me. I don't know whether the boy has any friends or not, but as long as I am a member of the Town Council he shall be regarded as a ward of the town, and over him we shall throw our protection and care. I suspect you have imposed upon him ever since he has been with you. What kind of a bargain have you made with him, anyway?"