d of a blowing-up. The commander sent me out
so I wouldn't hear it. Good enough for him. I hope he'll get it hot and
heavy."

"What did _you_ get?" asked Rob.

"What did I get? Nothing; why should I?" responded Theodore, who had
not the slightest idea of the way by which Jim had learned of his
thefts, or that here was his accuser.

"Didn't you tell why Jim pitched into you when you saw he was gettin'
held up for it?" asked Rob.

"No!" roared Theodore, partly in fear, partly in anger, for he now
could not fail to see that Rob knew _something_, but how much he could
not tell. "I hadn't any thing to tell, and hadn't done any thing to
Jim,--to his high-mightiness Jim Grant Garfield Rutherford Livingstone
Washington, the fellow with a whole dictionary-full of names, and not a
right to one of them but the Jim. I just wish he would get into a dozen
tantrums, till he gets expelled from the school."

"Nothin' mean about you, is there?" said one of the other boys
indignantly, although he was still ignorant of the cause of Jim's
provocation.

But this was too much for Rob.

The boys had neared the fountain in the centre of the park. At this
season, it was never or seldom playing; but some repairs had been found
necessary, and the workmen had had the jet in action for some hours,
and the large basin around it was full of water. The boys stopped
beside it, not noticing a tall figure which sat upon one of the park
benches near.

"Nothing mean about _him_!" repeated Rob in a loud voice, which might
easily be heard on the other side of the fountain, "nothing mean about
Theodore Yorke! He's the meanest sneak in our school, or out of it,
either! I'll tell you why Jim pitched into him. He's been stealing
peanuts off of Jim's stand when the little hunchback's head was turned.
I saw him, more than once, and I wasn't going to have it any longer; so
I told Jim, and I'd just told him of it when Theodore came on eating
peanuts, the very ones, for all I know, that I saw him steal this
morning; and no wonder Jim's spirit was up, and he pitched into him. I
wish he'd had it out with him, too, before Mr. Leeds came up. If he was
going to be punished, he might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.
And Jim's never said a word, I s'pose, or let on what he did it for;
and you let him take all the blame. Bah! I wouldn't be you, for a
cart-load of peanuts!"

"You didn't see me, either. I don't know what you're talking about!"
stammered Theod