"Well, you might behave better when you are out, then," I said. "It's your own fault." "What have I done?" he exclaimed. "Picked a quarrel with 'Enoch' on Fourth o' July," said I, to refresh his memory. "I don't care; he stoned me!" Halse exclaimed. "But you began the fuss," I put in. "Oh, you say that because Ad does. You and he are about alike!" cried Halse, angrily. "Then there was town-meeting night," I went on to say. "I think you came home intoxicated that night; I think you had been gambling, too." "You say that again and I'll thrash you!" exclaimed Halse, now very hot. "Well, I think so, or I shouldn't say it," I repeated. In an instant Halse was upon me, as I sat on the side of our bed, and there was an unseemly scuffle. Halse was the larger, and I think that I would have gotten the worst of the squabble, but at this juncture, Addison, hearing the racket, rushed in from his room and pulled us apart. "Who began this row?" quoth our separator. "I did, and I'll thrash him!" shouted Halse. "He said I was drunk town-meeting night." "Well, you were," said Addison. "We all know that." Halse then tried to throw a boot at Addison who set him down violently in a chair. "Do you know what I would do with you, if I were in the Old Squire's place?" cried Addison. "I would put you at the Reform School, you little rowdy!" Up jumped Halse to seize the other boot to throw, but was set down again, this time so hard that the whole room shook. He sat panting a moment, then began to whimper. Theodora came to the door. "Oh, boys," said she in a low voice, "please don't. Do try not to disturb Gramp to-night; he is very tired and has just gone to bed." I suppose that we all felt ashamed of ourselves. I did; for I knew that I had been somewhat to blame, to provoke Halstead so far. We fell asleep in anything but a kindly mood toward each other; I had remained awake till Halse was snoring, being a little afraid of him, to tell the truth. Even after he was asleep, he kept starting and muttering, he had become so much excited. But for this incident I think that Theodora would have won her way, and Halse would have been invited to go; she was very persevering, to carry her point, when she thought a thing was right. But now we were so embittered that Halstead declared next morning he would not go with us, if we asked him. "But you will all be sorry for this before you get back!" he blurted out;--words which made me feel uneasy, for they seemed to imply a threat of some sort. I said nothing about it, however, not believing that he really would do anything.