"Johnny!" shouted one of the bully's companions. "Johnny, Tom
Howard is coming."
"Let him come!" replied Johnny, doggedly.
He did not half like the insinuation conveyed in the words of his
associates; for to tell him, under the circumstances, that Tommy
was coming, was as much as to say he was afraid of him. Now, as
we have said, Johnny Grippen was a "fighting character," and had
a reputation to maintain. He gloried in the name of being able to
whip any boy of his size in the neighborhood. He was always ready
to fight, and had, perhaps, given some hard knocks in his time;
but he sustained his character rather by his talent for bullying,
than by any conquests he had won. On the whole he was a
miserable, contemptible little bruiser whom no decent boy could
love or respect. He talked so big about "black eyes," "bloody
noses" and "smashed heads," that few boys cared to dispute his
title to the honors he had assumed. Probably some who felt able
to contest the palm with him, did not care to dirty their fingers
upon the bullying cub.
Sensible people, whether men or boys, invariably despise the
"fighting character," be he young or old. Nine times out of ten
he is both a knave and a fool, a coward and a bully.
On the other hand, Tommy Howard was one of those hearty,
whole-souled boys, who are the real lions of the playground.
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