to overwhelm him by the suddenness and momentum of his attack. But Jasper was prepared for him. He turned swiftly aside and planted a blow on Thorne's right ear which sent him staggering to the earth.
The bully was astonished, but rallied. Almost foaming at the mouth with rage, he sprang to his feet and renewed the attack. He attempted to throw his arms round the waist of Jasper and throw him. Had his tactics been successful, probably Jasper would have been borne to the earth by the superior weight of his opponent. But here, again, he was prepared. He stepped back and received Thorne with a blow on his breast, so firmly planted that he staggered again.
By this time he had lost all control of himself and was thoroughly under the dominion of passion. He "pitched into" Jasper, trying to get in a blow wherever he could, and in so doing exposed himself to the skilful blows of his slighter foe, who had some knowledge of boxing, while Thorne had none whatever.
Finally Thorne was stretched on his back, not immediately to rise.
"Have you had enough?" asked Jasper, bending over him.
"I'll kill you!" shrieked Thorne.
"Wail till you are able," said Jasper.
Thorne struggled to rise. Jasper held him down forcibly.
"You will stay there till you promise to let Cameron alone," he said.
"I won't promise!"
"Then you'll stay where you are."
But at that moment a small boy came across the field from the school.
"Thorne is wanted," he said. "There's a lady to see him."
"You can rise, then," said Jasper.
Thorne rose sullenly, and without a word strode toward the large, square building, with an extended wing, which was used for the boarding-school.
Little Cameron seized Jasper's hand and kissed it.
"How brave you are!" he said. "How much I thank you!"
"Oh, it's nothing," said Jasper, modestly. "You just send for me when you're in trouble, Cameron. I won't let him hurt you."
CHAPTER II.
STRANGE NEWS
Entering the house, Thorne reported at the doctor's study. His flushed appearance attracted the teacher's attention.
"What's the matter, Thorne?" he asked.
"The new boy pitched into me and I licked him," said Thorne.
But his sullen manner was so unlike that of a victor that the doctor shrewdly suspected that his statement was not wholly correct.
"What was the quarrel about?" he asked.
"We were playing ball," said Thorne, evasively.
"I will inquire into it. At present you are wanted in the parlor."
So Thorne left the presence of the principal and entered the opposite room. A lady, seated on a sofa, arose quickly, and advanced to meet him. She kissed the boy's cheek, to which he submitted without manifesting any responsive feeling.
"How long it is since I saw you, Nicholas, my dear boy!" she said.
"It's only about six months," said Nicholas, stolidly.
"And are not six months long for a mother to be separated from her only child?" said the lady, tenderly.
"It doesn't seem so long," said Nicholas.
The lady looked pained, but she proceeded:
"How you have grown!"
"Yes, I've grown," said Nicholas, showing a little pleasure now. "I think I shall be a large man."
"Like your father. And how are you improving in your studies, Nicholas?"
"Oh! I'm doing well enough," said the boy, indifferently, for Nicholas Thorne's taste for study was very moderate. "Did you bring me any money, mother?"
"You have your regular allowance, Nicholas."
"It isn't enough. What's a dollar a week?"
"It is a good deal for me to pay," said his mother. "Remember, I have to pay your school bills, and my means are but small."
"A dollar a week is very small for a boy of my age," grumbled Thorne. "Why, some of the little boys get more; and there's that new boy, Jasper Kent, gets five dollars, so they say."
The lady betrayed strong interest at the sound of his name.
"I forgot," she said. "So Jasper Kent has arrived, has he?"
"What, mother, do you know him?" demanded Thorne, surprised in turn.
"Yea, I know him. What do you think of him?"
"Think of him? I hate him!" said Thorne, fiercely.
"Why?"
"He tries to bully me."
"And you permit it? Why, you are larger than he."
"Yes, but he knows how to fight."
"How do you know?"
"I had a fight with him this morning," said Nicholas.
"Did he come off best?" asked the lady.
"No," answered Nicholas, with hesitation. "That is, we were only half through the fight when a boy ran up and said you had come. So we had to stop."
"Humph! That is strange," said the lady, in a low voice, more to herself than to her son, "this sudden antagonism."
"What do you know about Kent?" demanded Nicholas, his curiosity aroused.
"Perhaps I may as well tell you," said his mother, thoughtfully, "but I wish you to keep the matter secret from him."
"You won't catch me telling him anything, except that he is a scoundrel!" muttered Nicholas.
"Then sit down by me, and I will tell you much that you do not know, but ought now to hear. Is the door shut?"
"Yes."
"Go and see. It is important that no one should overhear us."
Nicholas complied with her request.
"It's shut fast enough," he said. "Now what have you got to tell me?"
"To begin with, do you know where I get the money I pay for your schooling and clothes?"
"My father left you some money, didn't he?"
"He left me a small property which rents for two hundred dollars a year."
"You pay three hundred a year for me, don't you?"
"For your school bills, yes. Besides, I give you an allowance and buy your clothes."
"How do you do it?" asked
