Another blow behind the ear. Heaven and earth spun furiously round

Mr. Hoopdriver, and then he became aware of a figure in a light suit

shooting violently through an open gate into the night. The man in

gaiters sprang forward past Mr. Hoopdriver, but too late to intercept

the fugitive. There were shouts, laughter, and Mr. Hoopdriver, still

solemnly squaring, realized the great and wonderful truth--Charles had

fled. He, Hoopdriver, had fought and, by all the rules of war, had won.

That was a pretty cut under the jaw you gave him," the toothless little

man with the beard was remarking in an unexpectedly friendly manner.

The fact of it is," said Mr. Hoopdriver, sitting beside the road to

Salisbury, and with the sound of distant church bells in his cars, "I

had to give the fellow a lesson; simply had to."

It seems so dreadful that you should have to knock people about," said

Jessie.

These louts get unbearable," said Mr. Hoopdriver. "If now and then we

didn't give them a lesson,--well, a lady cyclist in the roads would be

an impossibility."

I suppose every woman shrinks from violence," said Jessie. "I

suppose men ARE braver--in a way--than women. It seems to me-I can't

imagine--how one could bring oneself to face a roomful of rough

characters, pick out the bravest, and give him an exemplary thrashing.

202

The Wheels of Chance