id not call his two cronies' attention to Andramark. If there
was any precocity in the lad it would show of itself, and nothing would
escape their black, jewel-like, inscrutable eyes. When Tassel Top fell
into the river the aged pair laughed heartily, and when Andramark,
without changing his stride, followed her in and fished her out, one of
them said, "That's a quick boy," and the other said, "Why hasn't that
girl been taught to swim?" Owl Eyes said, "That's a big boy for only
thirteen--that Andramark."

In the next event Andramark from scratch ran through a field--some of
the boys were older and taller than himself--and captured yet another
wife, who, because she expected and longed to be caught by some other
boy, promptly boxed--the air where his ears had been. Andramark,
smiling, caught both her hands in one of his, tripped her over a neatly
placed foot, threw her, face down, and seated himself quietly on the
small of her back and rubbed her nose in the mud.

The other children, laughing and shouting, rushed to the rescue.
Simultaneously Andramark, also laughing, was on his feet, running and
dodging. Twice he passed through the whole mob of his pursuers without,
so it seemed to the aged watchers on the bluff, being touched. Then,
having won some ten yards clear of them, he wheeled about and stood with
folded arms. A great lad foremost in the pursuit reached for him, was
caught instead by the outstretched hand and jerked forward on his face.
Some of the children laughed so hard that they had to stop running.
Others redoubled their efforts to close with the once more darting,
dodging, and squirming Andramark, who, however, threading through them
for the third and last time in the most mocking and insulting manner,
headed straight for the bluff a little to the right of where his elders
and betters were seated with their legs hanging over, leaped at a
dangling wild grape-vine, squirmed to the top, turned, and prepared to
defend his position against any one insolent enough to assail it.

The children, crowded at the base of the little bluff, looked up.
Andramark looked down. With one hand and the tip of his nose he made the
insulting gesture which is older than antiquity.

Meanwhile, Owl Eyes had left his front-row seat, and not even a waving
of the grasses showed that he was crawling upon Andramark from behind.

Owl Eyes's idea was to push the boy over the bluff as a lesson to him
never to concentrate himself too mu