Part 4 (1/2)

One afternoon he wrote a letter to his cousin Archie, and, after supper, set out, with Brave at his heels, to carry it to the post-office. He stopped on the way for George and Harry Butler, who were always ready to accompany him. On the steps of the post-office they met three or four of their companions, and, after a few moments'

conversation, William Johnson suddenly inquired,

”Have you joined the new society, Frank?”

”What society?”

”Why, the Regulators.”

”I don't know what you mean,” said Frank.

”Yes, I guess they have managed to keep it pretty quiet,” said William. ”They don't want any outsiders to know any thing about it.

They asked me to join in with them, but I told them that they ought to know better than to propose such a thing to me. Then they tried to make me promise that I wouldn't say any thing about it, but I would make no such promise, for--”

”Why, Bill, what are you talking about?” inquired Harry. ”You rattle it off as if we knew all about it.”

”Haven't you heard any thing about it, either?” inquired William, in surprise. ”I was certain that they would ask you to join. Well, the amount of it is that Charley Morgan and a lot of his particular friends have been organizing a company for the purpose of thras.h.i.+ng the Hillers, and making them stop robbing hen-roosts and orchards and cutting up such s.h.i.+nes.”

”Yes,” chimed in James Porter, ”there are about thirty of them, and they say that they are going to whip the Hillers out of the village.”

”Well, that's news to me,” said Frank.

”For my part,” said Thomas Benton, ”I, of course, know that the Hillers ought to be punished; but I do not think it is the duty of us boys to take the law into our own hands.”

”Nor I,” said James Porter.

”Well, _I_ do,” said Harry, who, as we have said, was an impetuous, fiery fellow, ”and I believe I will join the Regulators, and help whip the rascals out of the country. They ought, every one of them, to be thrashed for stealing and--”

”Now, see here, Harry,” interrupted George. ”You know very well that such a plan will never succeed, and it _ought_ not to. You have been taught that it is wrong to take things that do not belong to you, but with the Hillers the case is different; their parents teach them to steal, and they are obliged to do it.”

”Besides,” said Frank, ”this summary method of correcting them will not break up their bad habits; kindness will accomplish much more than force.”

”Kindness!” repeated Harry, sneeringly; ”as if kindness could have any effect on a Hiller!”

”They can tell when they are kindly treated as well as any one else,”

said George.

”And another thing,” said Ben. Lake; ”these Regulators must be a foolish set of fellows to suppose that the Hillers are going to stand still and be whipped. I say, as an old sea-captain once said, when it was proposed to take a man-o'-war with a whale-boat, 'I guess it will be a puttering job.'”

”Well,” said James, ”I shall do all I can to prevent a fight.”

”So will I,” said Frank.

”_I_ won't,” said Harry, who, with his arms buried almost to the elbows in his pockets, was striding backward and forward across the steps. ”I say the Hillers ought to be thrashed.”

”I'm afraid,” said William, without noticing what Harry had remarked, ”that our interference will be the surest way to bring on a fight; because, after I refused to join the company, they told me that if any of us attempted to defend the Hillers, or break up the company, they would thrash us, too.”

”We don't want to break up their company,” said Frank, with a laugh.

”We must have a talk with them, and try to show them how unreasonable they are.”