it."
"You'll not get it out of me," and the farmer turned aside. Evidently he
had given up the idea of further chastising his hired man. The presence
of Andy and his chums was enough to deter him.
"Mr. Snad, I demand my money!" exclaimed the young farm hand.
"You'll not get it! Leave my premises! Clear off, all of you," and he
glared at the schoolboys.
"Mr. Snad, I'll go as soon as you give me my twelve dollars," persisted
the youth, his voice trembling.
"You'll get no twelve dollars out of me," snapped the man.
"Oh, yes, I think he will," spoke Andy. "You'd better pay over that
money, Mr. Snad."
"Eh? What's that your business?"
"It's the business of everyone to see fair play," said Andy.
"And we're going to do it in this case," added Tom, still in even tones.
"Are you? Well, I'd like to know how?" sneered the farmer.
"Would you? Then listen and you will hear, my friend," went on Tom.
"Unless you pay this young man the money you owe him we will swear
out a warrant against you, have you arrested, and use him as a witness
against you."
For a moment there was a deep silence; then the farmer burst out with:
"Have me arrested! Me? What for?"
"For assault and battery," answered Tom. "We saw you assault this
young man with a horse-whip, and, while it might take some time to
have him sue you for his wages, it won't take us any time at all to get an
officer here and have you taken to jail on a criminal charge. The matter
of the wages may be a civil matter--the horse-whipping is criminal.
"So, take your choice, Mr. Snad, if that's your name. Pay this young
man his twelve dollars, or we'll cause your arrest on this assault charge.
Now, my friend, it's up to you," and taking out his pocket knife Tom
began whittling a stick picked from the ground. Andy and his chums
looked admiringly at Tom, who had thus found such an effective lever
of persuasion.
The angry farmer glanced from one to the other of the five lads. They
gave him back look for look--unflinchingly.
"And don't be too long about it, either," added Tom, making the
splinters fly. "We're due at Kelly's for a little feed, and then we want to
get back to Milton. Don't be too long, my friend, unless you want to
spend the night in jail."
The farmer gulped once or twice. The Adam's apple in his throat went
up and down. Clearly he was struggling with himself.
"I--I--you----" he began.
"Tut! Tut!" chided Tom. "You'd better go get the money. We can't wait
all day."
"I--er--I----" The farmer seemed at a loss for words. Then, turning on
his heel, he started toward the house. He was beaten.
"I--I'll get it," he flung back over his shoulder. "And then I'll swear out
warrants for your arrest. You're trespassers, that's what you are. I'll fix
you!"
"Trespassers? Oh, no," returned Andy, sweetly. "We're only good
Samaritans. Perhaps you may have read of them in a certain book. Also
we are acting as the attorneys for this gentleman, in collecting a debt
due him. We are his counsel, and the law allows a man to have his
counsel present at a hearing. I hardly think an action in trespass would
lie against us, Mr. Snad; so don't put yourself out about it."
"That's the stuff!"
"Good for you, Andy!"
"Say, you got his number all right!"
Thus Andy's chums called to him laughingly as the farmer went into
the house.
CHAPTER III
AN UNPLEASANT PROSPECT
"Say, I can't tell how much obliged to you I am," impulsively
exclaimed the young fellow with his arm in a sling. "That--that----"
"He's a brute, that's what he is!" broke out Andy. "Don't be afraid to
call him one."
"He sure is," came from Tom. "I just wish he'd rough it up a bit. I
wouldn't have asked anything better than to take and roll him around
his own barnyard. Talk about tackling a fellow on the gridiron--Oh me!
Oh my!"
"It was mighty nice of you boys to take my part," went on the young
fellow. "I'm not feeling very well. He's worked me like a horse since
I've been here, and that, on top of spraining my arm, sort of took the
tucker out of me. Then, when he came at me with the whip, just
because I said I couldn't work any more----"
"There, never mind. Don't think about it," advised Chet, seeing that the
youth was greatly affected.
"Do you live around here?" asked Andy.
"Well, I don't live much of anywhere," was the reply. "I'm a sort of
Jack-of-all-trades. My name is
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