Page:While the Billy Boils, 1913.djvu/253

 brute's got her down again! He's kickin' her! Come on, chaps; come on, or he'll do for her!'

They dropped swags, water-bags and all, and raced forward; but presently Sunlight, who had the best eyes, slackened his pace and dropped behind. His mates glanced back at his face, saw a peculiar expression there, looked ahead again, and then dropped into a walk.

They reached the scene of the trouble, and there stood a little withered old man by the track, with his arms folded close up under his chin; he was dressed mostly in calico patches; and half-a-dozen corks, suspended on bits of string from the brim of his hat, dangled before his bleared optics to scare away the flies. He was scowling malignantly at a stout, dumpy swag which lay in the middle of the track.

'Well, old Rats, what's the trouble,' asked Sunlight.

'Oh, nothing, nothing,' answered the old man, without looking round. 'I fell out with my swag, that's all. He knocked me down, but I've settled him.'

'But look here,' said Sunlight, winking at his mates, 'we saw you jump on him when he was down. That ain't fair, you know.'

'But you didn't see it all,' cried Rats, getting excited. 'He hit me down first! And, look here, I'll fight him again for nothing, and you can see fair play.'

They talked awhile; then Sunlight proposed to second the swag, while his mate supported the old man, and after some persuasion, Milky agreed, for the sake of the lark, to act as time-keeper and referee.