orkmen at the "Chequers;" and a general affirmatory grunt betokened
assent with the spirit of his words.

Among the young men, those of from eighteen to three or four and twenty,
the opposition was still stronger, for here a strong feeling of jealousy
was aroused at the thought that their juniors were, as they considered,
stealing a march upon them. Gibes and jeers were showered upon the
"Bull-dogs," and two of them were ducked in the canal by a party of five
or six of their elders. On scrambling out, however, they ran back to the
village, and the rest of the party, headed by Jack, at once started on
the war-path. Coming up to the band who had assaulted their comrades
they fell upon them with fury, and in spite of the latter's superior
individual strength, thrashed them soundly, and then gave them a ducking
in the canal, similar to that which they had inflicted. After that it
came to be understood in Stokebridge that it was best to leave the
bull-dogs alone, or at least to be content with verbal assaults, at
which indeed the lads were able to hold their own.

But it was among the girls of Stokebridge, those of from fourteen to
seventeen years old, that this movement upon the part of the boys
excited the greatest discussion and the widest divergence of opinion. Up
to the time of the strike Jack Simpson had been by no means popular
among their class. It was an anomaly in Stokebridge that a lad should
have no avowed favourite of his own age among the lasses. These
adhesions were not often of a permanent character, although later on
sometimes marriages came of them, but for a time, and until the almost
inevitable quarrel came, they were regarded as binding. The lad would
sometimes buy a ribbon or neckerchief for the lass, and she and two or
three others would accompany him as with some of his comrades he
strolled in the lanes on Sunday, or would sit by him on a wall or a balk
of timber as he smoked and talked with his friends.

Jack's rigid seclusion after his hour of play was over, his apparent
indifference to the lasses of the place, was felt as a general slight,
and resented accordingly; although the girls were not insensible to his
prowess in battle and in sports, to his quiet steadiness of character,
or to the frankness and good temper of his face. The general opinion,
therefore, among the young girls of Stokebridge was that he was "stuck
up," although in fact few boys in the place had less of conceit and
self-glorif