“How do you know about the thigh slap?” he demanded. His assailant straightened — and that’s when Cole saw that it wasn’t Darren at all. “Ty?” he gasped. “What — what’re you doing? Why did you —?” Ty held up a hand. “Hang on.” Then he called, “Okay, fellows, come on out.” One by one, the bucktoothed boy, the one who spit, and finally Darren emerged from the underbrush. Cole tensed, his eyes shifting from Ty to the three other boys. “What’s going on?” he asked. “I’m really sorry that I scared you like that, Cole,” Ty said. “I did it for a good reason.” Cole backed up, still on his guard. “Oh, yeah? What?” “I had to prove to Darren that if he came after you, you’d wallop him.” Cole blinked. “Huh?” Ty nodded.
