"Fiddlesticks! I'll bet you saw the Head coming or you'd never dared to face Bart. You know he can whip----" "You know better than that, Taffy Brown," rejoined Fred, flushing at the charge. "Besides, Bart can't whip Fred," interposed Buttons. "He can't, eh? Bart Montgomery can whip any boy in the Second Form, and all but Sandow Hill in the First," returned Taffy. "Guess again," derided several of Fred's followers. "I'll go sodas for the entire Form that Fred can lick Bart!" Soda exclaimed. The size of the wager for a moment dampened Taffy's ardor, and he growled: "If Fred wanted to fight Bart, why didn't he wait till after school?" "I'll tell you why, Taffy Brown," retorted Fred hotly. "I'm not going to stand by and let any one make such a statement about my father, no matter where it is or who is 'round." These words, backed by the defiant determination expressed by Fred's face and attitude, brought a cheer from his supporters, while Bart's howled in derision. "If you think I am afraid of Bart, I'll fool you!" exclaimed Fred, flushing. "I'll meet him to-night at seven, at The Patch." "And I'll wager sodas for the Second Form, girls barred, against Taffy!" cried Soda. "I'll just go you, but it's a shame to take your money, Soda. You'd better have any one who believes in Fred chip in, so you won't have to lose so much; sodas for ten Seconds will cost one dollar." "Which you will have to pay," rejoined Fred's champion. "Hooray! Here's Bart now!" shouted somebody who had seen the boy emerge from the building. Instantly all eyes were focused upon the tall form of the boy who had just left the headmaster, while many were the surmises as to what had transpired at the interview. As Bart drew near, the scholars noticed that his swarthy face was flushed. "I'll bet the Head gave him a fierce trimming," whispered Soda. But his remark was lost in the babel of voices that demanded to know what Mr. Vining had said. Bart, however, was in no mood to gratify their curiosity, and, with only unintelligible mumbles in response to the questions, stalked moodily away among the trees, looking neither to the right nor to the left. "My eye! but the Head must have scorched him!" commented Buttons. "Well, he ought to," asserted Soda. "It was Bart's fault, anyway. He had no business to----" The opinion was never expressed, however, for suddenly a voice called: "Fred, why don't you come to me when I send for you?" And turning toward the direction whence it came, the boys beheld the headmaster standing on the porch of the building. "I didn't know you had sent for me, Mr. Vining," responded Fred, pushing aside his fellows. "I thought you did not want me for half an hour." "I asked Bart to tell you to come right in." "I didn't hear him, sir. I am sorry." "That shows just how white Fred is," declared Buttons vehemently. "He wouldn't say Bart didn't tell him--just said he didn't hear him." "And it shows how mean Bart is," added Soda.