cher in surprise.

"He attacked me and I hit back," explained Tom. "It was his own fault
that he fell down stairs. Had he let me alone there would have been no
trouble."

"It is false--he hit me first," said the bully.

"That is not so," cried Fred. "Sobber struck the first blow."

"Yah, dot is der fact alretty," put in Hans. "He vos caught Dom py der
throat und knock his head py der vall chust so hard like nefer vos!"

"He hit me first, didn't he, Nick?" said the bully, turning to his
crony.

"I--I think he did," stammered Nick Pell. He did not dare to tell an
outright falsehood. "I think it was all Tom Rover's fault," he added,
after a surly look from Sobber.

"All of you know it is against the rules to fight in this school," said
Mr. Strong, sternly.

"Well, I only fought after I was attacked," answered Tom, doggedly.

"Mr. Strong, whether you believe it or not, my brother speaks the plain
truth," came from Dick. "I was coming from Larmore's room and saw it
all. Had you been in Tom's place you would have done as he did."

These plain words from Dick made George Strong hesitate. He knew the
Rover boys well, and knew that they were generally in the right. More
than this, he had caught Tad Sobber in a falsehood only the day before.

"You may all go to your rooms and I will see about this later," he said.
"Sobber, as you broke the dishes, you will have to pay for them."

"Can't Rover pay half the bill?" growled the bully.

"No, for I cannot see how he is to blame for that."

After this some sharp words followed. Tad Sobber was impudent, and as a
consequence was marched off to a storeroom which was occasionally used
as a "guardhouse" by the teachers and Captain Putnam. Here he had to
stay in solitary confinement for twenty-four hours and on the plainest
kind of a diet. This imprisonment made Sobber furious, and he vowed he
would get square with Tom and Dick for it if it cost him his life.

"They may have been able to down other fellows in this school, but they
shan't down me," was what he told Nick Pell.

"Well, you want to go slow in what you do," answered Pell. "I've been
talking to some of the others and I've learned that they got the best of
several fellows who were here at different times--Dan Baxter, Lew Flapp
and some others."

"Humph! I am not afraid of them," growled Tad Sobber. "I suppose they
think, because they are rich and have traveled some, they can lord it
over everybody. Well, I'll sho