"Corsair." He even proposed to go directly to the Common, and settle
the account at once; but Ralph, in whose heart revenge held a very
small place, persuaded him out of the notion.

But Oscar, unlike Ralph, was not the boy to forget or forgive an
injury. A day or two after the occurrence just related, while coasting
on the Common, he fell in with the boy who run into his brother.
Keeping his eye upon him until he could catch him a little aside from
the other boys, when the favorable moment came, he suddenly dealt him a
severe blow, which nearly knocked him over, accompanying it with the
remark:

"There, take that for running down my little brother, when he was
coasting with my sled, the other day."

The other boy, without saying a word, sprang at Oscar, and, for a
moment or two, blows and kicks were freely exchanged. But though they
were about of a size, it was evident that Oscar was the stronger or
most resolute of the two, and his antagonist soon gave up the contest,
but not until he had been pretty roughly handled. Other boys soon came
flocking around, to whom Oscar explained the cause of the assault; but
his antagonist denied all knowledge of the affair for which Oscar had
attacked him. An angry war of words ensued, but the excitement finally
subsided without any further resort to blows, and Oscar returned home,
well pleased with his adventure.

One of Oscar's favorite winter amusements was skating. Early in
winter, as soon as the little pond on the Common was frozen over, he
might be seen gliding over the smooth ice; but later in the season,
when there was good skating on "Back Bay," he preferred that locality,