"No, indeed!" put in Sam; and Fred and the others said the same. That was the first and last time that Dan Baxter fought any of them openly, but he was their bitter enemy in secret, as we shall learn in this and other volumes.
As soon as Baxter had retreated, Dick and his brothers hurried to a near-by brook, where the elder Rover took a wash, and tried by other means to remove the traces of the contest from his person. He had a slight swelling on the scratched chin, but that was all, and inside of an hour felt quite like himself once more.
With Baxter it was very different, and the Sunday following he asked to be excused from attending church services in the Hall, saying he had fallen on some rocks and hurt his face. On hearing this, Captain Putnam came to see him.
"Sorry to hear this, Baxter," he said. "Do you think you need a doctor?"
"No, sir; I'll be all right in a few days."
"Where did you fall?"
"Down by the brook, while we were playing tag."
"Indeed! Well, you want to be more careful in the future," was Captain Putnam's advice, and then he left Baxter. If he suspected anything he did not let on. To a certain extent he believed in letting boys fight out their own battles.
