Middletown transcript., 1909-09-11
s EP n E N
BY W Il Rose.

man in your employ, AppletOns
Henry Appleton stifened a
little.
A boy of that name works about
my premises and attends The
jefferson high. He is eighteen
and considerably lighter than
your Jim. I cant believe be
could light against such odds.
Did you see the boy last nightf
Yes, and | noticed he had a
black eye.
Is that all?
That's all / noticed. He at
tended to his work as usual.
The. Judge shook his head.
And you are sure he is not q
big quarrelsome brute With brass
knuckles, or something of thai
sortg
Henry Appleton frowned.
He is a quiet, well behaved
boy. he answered. Do you want
me TO talk to him?
Not until l talk to Jim, replied
the Judge. And he went away,
looking worried,
That night Henry Appleton
told his wife about the call.
Well, she said, I'll tell you what
Stephen said. He confessed he
had been fighting, and that he
was heartily ashamed of it. But,
he added, it couldn't be helped.
The fight was forced on him and
the only way in which be could
retain his place in the school was
to resent the treatment he had
received from some Of the pupils.
If / thought he had done wrong
he would go away.
And what did you do? Henry
Appleton asked.
gave him a lotion for his eye,
the lady replied.
The next morning Judge
Strong called again.
Did you speak to that boy of
yours, Appleton, he asked.
No.
I'm glad Of it. l hada talk with
Jim. Jim, I said, you had a fight
at school the other day. Jim ad-
mitted it. You fought with a boy
named Stephen Bruce. Jim adj.
mitted the charge. And he whip
ped you? Jim nodded. Yes, he
replied, he whipped me. And he
can whip any boy in school. The
judge looked hard at Appleton.
Do you know that pleased me, be
said. It did me good to find that
Jim had the moral courage to adj
NIT his defeat. Jim has been q
pretty difficult proposition for US,
as | suppose you know. He has
neglected his studies and run
pretty wild. But we wont adj
NIT that he is really bad. He's
just foolish and hayward.
OF course, said Henry Apple.
ton. | guess ! won't say any
ching to Sephen.
The judge suddenly laughed.
! hope he won't insist upon
teaching my boy prize lighting.
What do you know about him as
a scholar?
Nothing. All the curiosity
along that line is confined to my
wife. I'll ask what she knows.
He told his wife what the Judge
had said and she laughed over it
Now III tell you what Stephen
told me about the trouble, she
said. I Judge from what be said
that the Strong boy is the bully
Of the school. He must have
borne down pretty heavily on
Stephen and finally he went
q little too far. He ridiculed
Stephens clothes and his coun-
Try manners, and his red hair.
And finally he tainted Stephen
with being Q coward and slapped
him. Then Stephen took off his
coat and they fought in the little
grove behind the school. And
whipped him. 1t was
the only thing he could do, he
told me. He said his connection
with the school would have been
uncomfortable if be had let the
Strong boy continue to tyrannize
over bin.
Henry Appleton laughed.
And where did our Stephen OBJ.
tain his unusual proves +? he
asked.
He taught a district school, bis
wife answered. And he had to
whip every one of the big boys
before be could establish his an
thority, and some Of them were
IS big as full grown men. And
after he had whipped them all be
nad no more trouble.
Henry Appleton laughed again