[martin rattler, who sees bob croaker, the bully of the school, about to drown martin"s pet kitten, gives chase. in spite of falls he continues to pursue, resolved that his pet shall not be drowned if any efforts of his can prevent the catastrophe.]
it would have required sharper eyes than yours or mine to have observed how martin got on his legs again; but he did it in a twinkling, and was half across the field almost before you could wink, and panting on the heels of bob croaker. bob saw him coming, and instantly started off at a hard run, followed by the whole school. a few minutes brought them to the bank of the stream, where bob croaker halted, and, turning round, held the white kitten up by the nape of the neck.
"oh, spare it! spare it, bob!-don"t do it- please don"t, don"t do it !" gasped martin, as he strove in vain to run faster.
"there you go!" shouted bob, with a coarse laugh, sending the kitten high into the air, whence it fell with a loud splash into the water.
it was a dreadful shock to feline nerves1, no doubt, but that1 feline nerves: the nerves of a cat.
white kitten was no ordinary animal. its little heart beat bravely when it rose to the surface, and before its young master came up it had regained the bank. but, alas! what a change! it went into the stream a fat, round, comfortable ball of eider-down1; it came out-a scraggy blotch of white paint, with its black eyes glaring like two great glass beads! no sooner did it crawl out of the water than bob croaker seized it, and whirled it round his head, amid suppressed cries of "shame!" intending to throw it in again; but at that instant martin rattler seized bob by the collar of his coat with both hands, and, letting himself drop suddenly, dragged the cruel boy to the ground, while the kitten crept humbly away and hid itself in a thick tuft of grass.
a moment sufficed2 to enable bob croaker, who was nearlytwice martin"s weight, to free himself from the grasp of his panting antagonist, whom he threw on his back, and he doubled his fist, intending to strike martin on the face; but a general rush of the boys prevented this.
"shame, shame! fair play!" cried several ; "don"t hit him when he"s down !""then let him rise up and come on!" cried bob fiercely, as hesprang up and released martin.
"ay, that"s fair. now then, martin, remember the kitten." "strike men of your own size!" cried several of the bigger boys,as they interposed3 to prevent martin from rushing into theunequal contest.
"so i will," cried bob croaker, glaring round with passion.
1eider-down: the softer fluffy feathers of the eider duck.
2sufficed: was enough.
3interposed: interfered; pushed themselves between the combatants.
"come on, any of you that likes. i don"t care a button for the biggest of you."no one accepted this challenge, for bob was the oldest and the strongest boy in the school, although, as is usually the case with bullies, by no means the bravest.
seeing that no one intended to fight with him, and that a crowd of boys strove to hold martin rattler back, while they assured him that he had not the smallest chance in the world, bob turned towards the kitten, which was quietly and busily employed in licking itself dry, and said, "now, martin, you coward, i"ll give it another swim for your impudence.""stop, stop!" cried martin earnestly. "bob croaker, i would rather do anything than fight. i would give you everything i have to save my kitten ; but if you won"t spare it unless i fight, i"ll do it. if you throw it in before you fight me, you"re the greatest coward that ever walked. just give me five minutes to breathe, and a drink of water, and i"ll fight you as long as i can stand."bob looked at his little foe in surprise. "well, that"s fair. i"m your man; but if you don"t lick me, i"ll drown the kitten, that"s all." having said this, he quietly divested himself of his jacket and neckcloth, while several boys assisted martin to do the same, and brought him a draught of water in the crown of one of their caps. in five minutes all was ready, and the two boys stood face to face and foot to foot, with their fists doubled and revolving1, and a ring of boys around them.
-r. m. banllantyne
1 revolving: going round and round.