ay aggrieved; but Tom Thorne was very sore over it. In
the first place, he had been found out; and although Reuben himself
had said nothing to him, respecting his conduct in allowing him to
be flogged for the offence which he himself had committed, others
had not been so reticent, and he had had a hard time of it in the
village. Secondly, he had been severely thrashed by his father, in
the presence of the squire; the former laying on the lash with a
vigour which satisfied Mr. Ellison, the heartiness of the thrashing
being due, not to any indignation at the fault, but because the
boy's conduct had excited the squire's anger; which Thorne, for
many reasons, was anxious to deprecate. He was his landlord, and
had the power to turn him out at a quarter's notice; and as there
was no possibility of obtaining any other house near, and he was
doing by no means a bad trade, he was anxious to keep on good terms
with him.

Tom Thorne was sitting on a gate, as Reuben passed.

"You think you be a fine fellow, Reuben, but I will be even with
you, some day."

"You can be even with me now," Reuben said, "if you like to get off
that gate."

"I bain't afeared of you, Reuben, don't you go to think it; only I
ain't going to do any fighting now. Feyther says if I get into any
more rows, he will pay me out; so I can't lick you now, but some
day I will be even with you."

"That's a good excuse," Reuben said scornfully. "However, I don't
want to fight if you don't, only you keep your tongue to yourself.
I don't want to say nothing to you, if you don't say nothing to me.
You played me a dirty trick the other day, and you got well
larrupped for it, so I don't owe you any grudge; but mind you, I
don't want any more talk about your getting even with me, for if
you do give me any more of it I will fetch you one on the nose, and
then you will have a chance of getting even, at once."

Tom Thorne held his tongue, only relieving his feelings by making a
grimace after Reuben, as the latter passed on. In the various
contests among the boys of the village, Reuben had proved himself
so tough an adversary that, although Tom Thorne was heavier and
bigger, he did not care about entering upon what would be, at best,
a doubtful contest with him.

Contenting himself, therefore, with another muttered, "I will be
even with you some day," he strolled home to his father's ale
house.

The change at the school was very speedily made. The squire
generally c