hey would, too," said one of the boys.

"Suppose we get up a company of fifteen or twenty fellows," resumed
Charles, "and see how it works. I'll bet my eyes that, after we've
whipped half a dozen of them, they won't dare to show their faces in
the village again."

"That's the way to do it," said one of the boys. "I'll join the
company, for one."

The others readily fell in with Charles's proposal, and they spent
some time talking it over and telling what they intended to do when
they could catch the Hillers, when one of the boys suddenly exclaimed,

"I think, after all, that we shall have some trouble in carrying out
our plans. Although there are plenty of fellows in the village who
would be glad to join the company, there are some who must not know
any thing about it, or the fat will all be in the fire."

"Who are they?" demanded Charles.

"Why, there are Frank Nelson, and George and Harry Butler, and Bill
Johnson, and a dozen others, who could knock the whole thing into a
cocked hat, in less than no time."

"Could they? I'd just like to see them try it on," said Charles, with
a confident air. "They would have a nice time of it. How would they go
to work?"

"I am afraid that, if they saw us going to whip the Hillers, they
would interfere."

"They would, eh? I'd like to see them undertake to hinder us. Can't
twenty fellows whip a dozen?"

"I don't know. Every one calls Frank Nelson and his set the best boys
in the village. They never fight if they can help it; but they are
plaguy smart fellows, I tell you; and, if we once get them aroused, we
shall have a warm time of it, I remember a little circumstance that
happened last winter. We had a fort in the field behind the
school-house, and one night we were out there, snowballing, and I saw
Frank Nelson handle two of the largest boys in his class. There were
about a dozen boys in the fort--and they were the ones that always go
with Frank--and all the rest of the school were against them. The fort
stood on a little hill, and we were almost half an hour capturing it,
and we wouldn't ever have taken it if the wall hadn't been broken
down. We would get almost up to the fort, and they would rush out and
drive us down again. At last we succeeded in getting to the top of the
hill, and our boys began to tumble over the walls, and I hope I may be
shot if they didn't throw us out as fast as we could get in, and--"

"Oh, I don't care any thing about that," interrupted Ch