with an inveterate hatred. He chose to live on as he had lived, accepting
no concessions, disguising nothing, and Chisley quite conscientiously
discovered in his sullen exclusiveness and his vicious dislike of worthy
men the workings of homicidal blood, and accepted him as an enemy of
society.

Early in his teens Jim recognised the value of brute strength and human
guile in his dealings with the youth of Chisley, and set himself to work
to cultivate his physical qualities. All that the pugilists and wrestlers
could teach him he picked up with extraordinary quickness, and to the
arts thus acquired he added cunning tricks of offence and defence of his
own contriving. He had a peculiar aptitude for wrestling and pugilism,
delighted secretly in his strength and swiftness, and would walk five
miles to plunge like a porpoise in the stormy sea.

He had submitted to much in his joyless youth, but now, conscious of his
strength and expertness in battle, he set himself deliberately to defy
his enemies and resent with force of arms every encroachment upon his
liberty, every insolence. There was a sudden epidemic of black eyes
amongst the youth of the village; cut faces, broken ribs, and noses of
abnormal size served the heirs of Chisley as stinging reminders of the
old shame and the new courage and power of Jim o' Mill End, that being
the name given to the boy in accordance with an awkward provincial custom
of identifying a man with his property, the situation of his residence,
or some peculiarity of manner.

On one occasion the lad fell upon a hobbledehoy who had just given a
highly diverting pantomime representing the hanging of a man, with
realistic details, and, having beaten him in fair fight, broke his
collar-bone with an atrocious fall. For this outrage Jim o' Mill End was