“Aw, g-g-go on, kiddie!” retorted Jim, a stout lad of about Rand’s age, with a freckled face and a shock of aggressive red hair, mimicking Pepper, who, when excited, sometimes stuttered.  “Aw, g-g-go on.  Little boys shouldn’t play in the road.”

“If you can’t d-drive without getting all over the road,” went on Pepper, “why d-don’t you let somebody d-drive that knows how—­”

“Aw, g-g-go chase yourself,” cried Jim.  “You ought to bring youse mamma along to take care of youse.  Get up, Bill!” with a flourish of the whip and a jerk on the lines.

The horse made a jump, but Pepper held firmly to the bridle and brought it to a stop.

“Let go that horse!” shouted Jim.

“Hit him with the whip, Jim,” urged one of the boys in the wagon.

“D-d-don’t you dare hit me with that whip,” warned Pepper as Jim snapped the whip close to him, “or you will wish you hadn’t.”

“Aw, what would you do?” retorted Jim, tauntingly flourishing the lash dangerously close to Pepper’s face.  “You ain’t big enough to scare me baby brother.”

“You had better not try it, Jim Rae,” asserted Pepper, “or I’ll pull you out of there so quick that you will think a cyclone struck you.”

“You mean a wind bag, don’t you?” sneered Jim, aiming a blow at Pepper, who now loosened his hold upon the horse’s bridle to jump toward the wagon, whereupon Jim changed his purpose and struck the horse with the whip.  With a loud “giddap” they started with a bound, missing Pepper by a hair’s breadth, and driving on down the road at a rattling pace.

“That’s a regular m-monkey trick, Jim Rae, all right!” shouted Pepper. “but I’ll get even with you yet!”

The only answer of the boys in the wagon was a taunting laugh as they drove away.  Randolph and Donald had taken no part in the controversy, not exactly approving of Pepper’s disputing with the enemy, but they had stood at hand ready for any emergency should one arise.

CHAPTER II

FINDING MONEY

The three boys stood for a moment looking after the rapidly disappearing wagon, then, stooping down, Rand picked up something from the road.

“It isn’t worth trying, Rand,” advised Donald.  “You couldn’t hit him if you wanted to, and you wouldn’t want to if you could.  You can get even with him some better way.”

“Right as usual, Donald,” laughed Rand, “but I wasn’t looking for anything to throw at him.  I just happened to see this lying on the ground and picked it up.”  Holding out a coin he had found, he added:  “What do you make of it?”

“W-w-what is it?” stammered Pepper, all excitement.  “It l-looks like an old-fashioned cent.”

“You have got me,” replied Donald.  “I never saw any money like that.”

“Let’s have a close look at it,” put in Pepper.

The boys studied over the coin, which was of the size of the early copper cent, for some time without being much the wiser.