“Why, I don’t know; maybe not. But I’m sure it’s the right thing to do.” “Of course it is; and you deserve credit for doing it whether you came on your own account or because your father told you to. Now tell me; what was the trouble between you and Hal? First let me say, though, that he isn’t bad off at all. He’s coming out of it all right; a little dazed and mumbly yet, but he’ll be all over it in a day or two. Now, what led up to that fight?” “Why, he as much as called me a puppy, and I wouldn’t stand for it, that’s all.” Ben threw back his shoulders and put on that determined look characteristic of the Barriscales. “Of course you wouldn’t,” was Miss Halpert’s quick reply. “No self-respecting young man cares to be called a puppy. But how did he come to call you one?” “You see it was this way, Miss Halpert. His crowd put a sign on our gate-post Hallowe’en, ‘Puppies for sale.’ And one of them wrote on it to buy me because I was the only puppy left. I asked Hal who wrote it and he wouldn’t tell me. He said he was willing to stand for whatever any one of the bunch did.” “Well, he was a pretty good sport, wasn’t he?” “Yes; if you look at it that way.” “But that’s the way to look at it, isn’t it? And when he wouldn’t tell you, you got mad and punched him, didn’t you?” “Not exactly, but I jumped for him.” “Took him off his guard, didn’t you?” “I guess so.” “Was that fair? Was that sportsmanlike?” “Perhaps not, if you put it that way.” “But that’s the way to put it, isn’t it?” “Well, if any one tries to put anything over on me I don’t stop long to consider. I hit back.” “Exactly! Now, look here, Ben! I want to say something to you. You’re a pretty good sort, and I rather like you. But you pattern too much after your father. He thinks he’s right all the time, and that every one who doesn’t agree with him is wrong. That’s nonsense and I’ve told him so to his face. If you want to get on you’ll have to drop that big I you carry around with you and concede something to the other fellow. He may be more than half right. For instance, when Hal pulls himself together, as he will in a day or two, you tell him, as you’ve admitted to me, that the stand he took in this matter wasn’t very far from right, and that you were rather hasty in resenting it. He’ll meet you more than half-way, I promise you. And you can tell him, too, that if he ever calls you a puppy when you don’t deserve the name, you’ll smash his face for him, and that I’ll back you up in it. There, I guess that’ll be all for to-day. Give my love to your mother, and tell her I’m going to call on her to-morrow.” “Thank you, Miss Halpert, I will.”