know that, but he will meet his match some time.”
“At any rate I’ll drive him away. He’ll have to run from me.”
Dan picked up a stone, and pelted the victor out of the yard, but the feathered bully, even in his flight, raised a crow of victory which vexed the boy.
“I’d give all the money I’ve got, Zeke, for a rooster that would whip him,” said Dan.
There came a time when Daniel had his wish.
He was visiting a relation at some distance when mention was made casually of a famous fighting cock who had never been beaten.
“Where is he to be found?” asked the boy eagerly.
“Why do you ask?”
“I would like to see him,” said Dan.
“Oh, well, he belongs to Mr.–.”
“Where does he live?”
The desired information was given.
Shortly after Daniel was missed. He found his way to the farm where the pugnacious fowl resided. In the yard he saw the owner, a farmer.
“Good morning, sir,” said Dan.
“Good morning, boy. What can I do for you?” was the reply.
“I hear you have a cock who is a famous fighter.”
“Yes, he’s never been beaten yet!” said the farmer complacently.
“Can I see him?”
“There he is,” said the owner, pointing out the feathered champion.
Daniel surveyed the rooster with great interest.
“Will you sell him?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Why do you want to buy him?”
Daniel explained his object frankly.
“How much are you willing to give?” asked the farmer, for he was a Yankee, and ready for a trade.
Daniel drew from his pocket half a dollar. It represented his entire cash capital.
“Here is half a dollar,” he said. “I’ll give you that.”
“Haven’t you got anymore money?” asked the farmer, who had a keen scent for a bargain.
“No, sir; it is all I have. I’d give you more if I had it.”
Half a dollar in those days was a considerable sum of money, particularly in the eyes of a farmer, who handled very little money, his income being for the most part in the shape of corn, hay and vegetables. Having satisfied himself that it was all he could get, he gave a favorable answer to the boy’s application.
Daniel’s eyes sparkled with delight, and he promptly handed over his fifty cent piece.
“When do you want to take it?” asked the farmer.
“Now,” answered Dan.
“Very well.”
The fowl was caught, and Daniel carried it back to the house of his relative in triumph.
“I’m going home,” he said abruptly.
“Going home? Why, you have only just come.”
“I’ll come again soon, but I want to take this cock home, and see if he can’t whip Mr. –’s. I want to teach the little bully a lesson.”
So in spite of all that could be said Daniel started on his way home.
When he had gone a short distance he passed a yard stocked with poultry, where a large cock was strutting about defiantly, as if throwing down the gage of battle to any new comers.
A boy was standing near the fence.
“Will your cock fight?” asked Dan.
“He can whip yours,” was the reply.
“Are you willing to try it?”
“Yes, come along.”
The trial was made, and Dan’s new purchase maintained his reputation, by giving a sound drubbing to his feathered rival.
Dan surveyed the result with satisfaction.
“I guess he’ll do,” he said to himself.
He kept on his way till he got within sight of home.
“What brings you home so soon, Dan?” asked Zeke.
“See here, Zeke!” said Dan eagerly.” Here is a cock that will whip Mr. –’s all to pieces.”
“Don’t be too sure of it!”
“I’ve tried him once, and he’s game.”
The boys did not have long to wait for the trial.
Over came the haughty intruder, strutting about with his usual boastful air.
Dan let loose his new fowl, and a battle royal commenced. Soon the tyrant of the barnyard found that he had met a foe worthy of his spur. For a time the contest was an open one, but in ten minutes the feathered bully was ignominiously defeated, and led about by the comb in a manner as humiliating as had ever happened when he was himself the victor.
Daniel witnessed the defeat of the whilom tyrant with unbounded delight, and felt abundantly repaid for his investment of all his spare cash, as well as the cutting short of his visit. Probably in the famous passage at arms which he had many years after with Mr. Hayne, of South Carolina, his victory afforded him less satisfaction than this boyish triumph.
CHAPTER IV.
AN IMPORTANT STEP
“What are you thinking about, Dan?” asked his mother one evening as the boy sat thoughtfully gazing at the logs blazing in the fireplace.
“I was wishing for something to read,” answered the boy.
Indeed that was his chief trouble in those early days. Libraries were scarce, and private collections equally scarce, especially in small country places. So the boy’s appetite for books was not likely to be satisfied.
Daniel’s words attracted the attention of his father.
“I have been speaking to some of our neighbors to-day,” he said, “about establishing a small circulating library which we could all use. I think we shall do something about it soon.”
“I hope you will, father,” said Dan eagerly.
“If we all contribute a little, we can make a beginning. Besides we can put in some books we have already.”
A week or two later Judge Webster announced that the library had been established, and it
