While he was speaking Larry Colby had come up behind him.  Ere Baxter could stop the movement, Larry pushed his hand into one of the bully’s pockets and turned it out.  A jagged stone as big as a walnut dropped to the ground.

“There, see that!” cried Larry.  “For shame, Baxter!”

“I didn’t have the stone —­ you placed it there!” blustered the so-styled king of the school.

“Didn’t you though?” said Fred Garrison, who had also come up behind Baxter, and he quickly hauled another stone from the other pocket.

“That is how he scratched me,” said Dick.  “I was sure he had something in his hand.”

“It’s a put-up job!” howled Baxter, growing red in the face.  “If you want to continue the fight, come on!” and he squared off again.

“That’s the talk!” said Mumps.  “Let both show their hands!  Perhaps Rover has some stones, too!”

Both opened their palms, then doubled up their fists.  Baxter was the first to strike out.  But, as quick as lightning, Dick dodged the blow and landed vigorously upon the bully’s chest.  Before Baxter could recover, Dick struck out again, and the bully caught it straight in the left eye.

“Oh!” he yelled in pain, and put his hand up to the injured optic, which began to grow black rapidly.  Then he struck out wildly half a dozen times.  He was growing excited, while Dick was as calm as ever.  Watching his opportunity, Dick struck out with all his force, and Baxter received a crack on the nose which caused him to fall back into the arms of Mumps.  As that nose had been struck heavily in the gymnasium, it was decidedly tender, and Baxter roared with pain.

“Have you had enough?” demanded Dick, coming up to him.

Yes —­ Baxter had had more than enough; but he did not wish to acknowledge it.  He made a sign to Mumps previously agreed upon, and Mumps raised his cap as a signal to one of the spies set on guard.

“Stop the fight!” cried the guard instantly.  “Somebody is coming!”

“Nonsense —­ nobody is coming!” said the other spy, but Baxter would not listen to him.

“I’m not going to be caught —­ I’ll finish this some other time,” he said to Dick, and hurried away with Mumps and his other friends, leaving Dick the victor beyond question.

“I knew you could do it!” cried Tom, as he fairly hugged his elder brother.

“I’ll wager he won’t bother you again.”

“No, indeed!” put in Sam; and Fred and the others said the same.  That was the first and last, time that Dan Baxter fought any of boys openly, but he was their bitter enemy in secret; we shall learn in this and other volumes.

As soon as Baxter had retreated, Dick and his brothers hurried to a near-by brook, where the elder Rover took a wash, and tried by other means to remove the traces of the contest from his person.  He had a slight swelling on the scratched chin, but that was all, and inside of an hour felt quite like himself once more.