gone on as before--but for people!"

He laid his clenched fist on the table.

"There are people," said he, scowling, "who are like the poisonous weed
in the field, at which beasts nibble themselves to death. With such
people the rest poison themselves!

"So, then, one day we were having lessons in physics. The teacher was
showing us experiments on the electric machine, and an electric shock
was to be passed through the whole class.

"To this end each one of us had to give his hand to his neighbor, so as
to complete the circuit.

"As now Big L, who was sitting next to Long K, held out his hand to him,
the lubber made a grimace as if he were about to touch a toad and drew
back his hand.

"Big L quietly shrank into himself and sat there as if covered with
shame. But at the same instant Little L is up and out of his place, over
to his brother's side, at whose place, next to Long K, he seats himself,
whose hand he grips and smashes with all the force of his body against
the wooden form, so that the long gawk cries out with pain.

"Then he grabbed Little L by the neck and the two now began regularly to
fight in the middle of class.

"The teacher, who had been tinkering all this time at his machine, now
rushed up with coat-tails flying.

"'Now! Now! Now!' he cried.

"He was, you must know, an old man for whom we had not exactly a great
respect.

"The two were so interlocked that they did not break away, even though
the professor was standing directly in front of them.

"'What disgraceful conduct!' cried the professor. 'What disgraceful
conduct! Will you separate at once!'

"Long K made a face as if he were about to cry.

"'L No. II began it,' he said, 'though I did nothing at all to provoke
him.'

"Little L stood straight up in his place--for we always had to stand
when a professor spoke to us--big drops of perspiration coursed slowly
down either cheek; he said not a word; he had bitten his teeth together
so hard that one could see the muscles of his jaw through the thin
cheeks. And as he heard what Long K said a smile passed over his face--I
have never seen anything like it.

"The old professor expatiated at some length in beautiful set phrases
over such disgraceful behavior, spoke of the 'utter depths of abysmal
bestiality, which such conduct betrayed'--we let him talk on; our
thoughts were with Little L and Long K.

"And scarcely was the lesson at an end and the professor out of the
door, when from th