"Some hero."

"A boy said you gave the eagle a good run for it, even if you didn't get
it. He said you came near it."

Hervey just sat on the rail swinging his legs. "I came pretty near the
eagle, that's right," he said; "and if I'd got a little nearer I'd have
choked his life out. That's how much I think of the eagle."

Skinny looked as if he did not understand.

"Did you see that bird that Tom Slade got? He got the nest and all. It's
hanging in the elm tree near the pavilion. There's an oriole in that
nest."

"Get out!"

"Didn't you see it yet?"

"Nope."

"All the fellows saw it. That bird has got a name like the one you
called me."

"Asbestos?"

"Something like that. Why did you call me that name--Asbestos?"

"Well, because you're more important than an eagle. See?"