The top that almost took my eye

I had more than a few fights during my grammar school years, some the natural result of rough play, but others  forced on me by larger and older boys who enjoyed making two reluctant boys fight. Outside of a black eye or a bloody nose I was never hurt in those type of fights. The time I had a serious injury, almost losing an eye, was not a real fight.

There was a time when spinning tops was a popular game.  The wooden tops had a spike at the end and was spun by wrapping a string around it and yanking the string.  I walked up to join a group watching two boys warring with tops ( one would get his top spinning and the other would spin his top behind the first one and try to knock it down.)  Suddenly a boy walked up struck at my eye with his fist.  My eye stung like fire and blood began to cover my face.  He took off running but I caught him and hit him in the face.  Someone helped me across the grounds to the home economics cottage where the wound was taped and I was forced to lie down. Mr. Trout, the seventh grade teacher, came to check on me and he laughed as he said the boy already had a black eye and that I had his chased him down and given him another one. The cut was at the very edge of the bone above my eye.  A tiny fraction of an inch lower and the spike would have pierced my eye.

I don't recall ever getting the boy to give me a reason why he attacked me.  Since he already had a black eye, I could only surmise that from my back he might have thought I was the person who had beaten him.  I don't really know, though.