As Ralph discovered his opponent's mettle he became more and more cautious.

He was now satisfied that Jim would eventually beat him.

The fellow evidently knew more about the spelling-book than old Noah Webster himself.

As he stood there, with his dull face and long sharp nose, his hands behind his back, and his voice spelling infallibly, it seemed to Hartsook that his superiority must lie in his nose.

Ralph's cautiousness answered a double purpose; it enabled him to tread surely, and it was mistaken by Jim for weakness.