“All right,go ahead;start him up.”
The tick escaped from Tom,presently,and crossed the equator.Joe harassed him a while,and then he got away and crossed back again.This change of base occurred often.
While one boy was worrying the tick with absorbing interest,the other would look on with interest as strong,the two heads bowed together over the slate,and the two souls dead to all things else.At last luck seemed to settle with Joe.
The tick tried this,that,and the other course,and got as excited and as anxious as the boys themselves,but time and again just as he would have victory in his very grasp,so to speak,and Tom's fingers would be twitching to begin,Joe's pin would deftly head him off,and keep possession.
At last Tom could stand it no longer.The temptation was too strong.So he reached out and lent a hand with his pin.Joe was angry in a moment.Said he:
“Tom,you let him alone.”
“I only just want to stir him up a little,Joe.”
“No,sir,it ain't fair;you just let him alone.”
“Blame it,I ain't going to stir him much.”
“Let him alone,I tell you.”
“I won't!”
“You shall—he's on my side of the line.”
“Look here,Joe Harper,whose is that tick.?”
“I don't care whose tick he is—he's on my side of the line,and you shan't touch him.”
“Well,I'll just bet I will,though.He's my tick and I'll do what I blame please with him,or die!”
A tremendous whack came down on Tom's shoulders,and its duplicate on Joe's;and for the space of two minutes the dust continued to fly from the two jackets and the whole school to enjoy it.
The boys had been too absorbed to notice the hush that had stolen upon the school a while before when the master came tiptoeing down the room and stood over them.He had contemplated a good part of the performance before he contributed his bit of variety to it.
When school broke up at noon,Tom flew to Becky Thatcher,and whispered in her ear:
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