The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald Page A

to me.
    “Not in a fist fight,” I said.
    “I’m talking about a rough and tumble fight,” Tom said.
    Then he put on a pair of boxing gloves. “Now Basil,” he said, “I’ll fight and you wrestle.”
    Basil nodded as they squared off. Tom hit Basil a left and a right before they clinched. Then Basil got a headlock tm Tom and threw him down. They tried it several times, with Tom getting in a few punches before Basil clinched with him and wrestled him down. Then Tom showed Basil how, in a rough and tumble fight when you get a boy down, you put your knees on his arms to pin him down so you can clobber his face with your fists.
    The next morning Tom sent me to get Sammy while he went to get Basil. Sammy was playing One-O-Cat in the Smiths’ vacant lot with Danny Forester, Jimmie Peterson, and Pete Hanson. I told Sammy that Basil wanted to fight him again. Sammy did a lot of bragging to his friends on the way to our barn, about how he would clobber Basil again.
    Tom and Basil were waiting inside the barn.
    “This is going to be a rough and tumble fight,” Tom announced. “Anything goes, lumberjack style.”
    “Suits me,” Sammy said, grinning.
    Tom put a chip of wood on Sammy’s shoulder. Basil knocked it off and got pasted on the jaw in return. They began sparring around.
    “Look at him!” Sammy shouted, laughing. “He hasn’t even got his fists doubled up.”
    Sammy led with a left feint to the body and slammed a right cross to Basil’s eye. It worked so well that Sammy tried it again and this time threw a right cross to Basil’s nose which began to bleed. Then Sammy shot three straight left jabs on Basil’s nose making it bleed a lot more. Again Sammy tried a feint to the body and a right cross, but this time Basil clinched with him. Basil got a headlock on Sammy and threw the bigger boy down. Then Basil straddled Sammy as Tom had taught him to do in a rough and tumble fight. Sammy was at Basil’s mercy now.
    “Paste him!” Tom shouted. “Pay him back for that bloody nose and black eye! Let him have it!”
    Basil doubled up his right fist and raised his arm as we all waited breathlessly for him to whale the devil out of Sammy.
    “What are you waiting for?” Tom yelled. “This is a rough and tumble fight! Anything goes! Let him have it, Basil!”
    But Basil unclenched his fist and got to his feet.
    “He just got lucky,” Sammy said as he jumped to his feet.
    “Have another go at it,” Tom said. “I can’t declare anybody the winner if you stop now.”
    The two boys began circling each other. Sammy popped Basil on the nose. The punch made Basil’s nose bleed so much the blood was running all over Basil’s chin and down on his shirt. Sammy got in three more good punches before Basil could clinch with him. Basil got another headlock on Sammy and threw the bigger boy down. Again Basil straddled Sammy. Again Basil doubled up his right fist.
    “Paste him!” Tom shouted: “Let him have it!”
    Basil looked at his helpless victim as he slowly unclenched his fist. “Me no mad at you now, Sammy,” he said. “Next time you pick on me, I paste you good.”
    Basil got to his feet. Danny, Jimmie, Pete, and I all crowded around Basil to congratulate him. I guess because Sammy had whipped all three of them several times, it made Basil a sort of hero to them. And I guess Sammy thought it best now to have Basil for a friend instead of an enemy. He got up and held out his hand.
    “Friends?” Sammy asked.
    “Friends,” Basil said as they shook hands.
    Sammy must have guessed his defeat was the result of my brother’s great brain. “I’ll bet you could lick any kid in town in a rough and tumble fight,” he said to Basil, but the words were meant for my brother. “I’ll bet you could even whip Tom.”
    “You can’t get me to fight him rough and tumble,” Tom said, grinning.
    “Me only fight to show me no cry baby or Mamma’s boy,” Basil said, which was quite a mouthful of English for