"Had a breakdown?" enquired the voice.
John recognized it. It was the voice of Kid Brady.
The Kid, as he had stated that he intended to do, had begun his training for his match with Eddie Wood at White Plains. It was his practise to open a course of training with a little gentle road-work, and it was while jogging along the highway a couple of miles from his training camp, in company with the two thick-necked gentlemen who acted as his sparring partners, that he had come upon the broken-down taxicab.
If this had happened after his training had begun in real earnest, he would have averted his eyes from the spectacle, however alluring, and continued on his way without a pause. But now, as he had not yet settled down to genuine hard work, he felt justified in turning aside and looking into the matter. The fact that the chauffeur, who seemed to be a taciturn man, lacking the conversational graces, manifestly objected to an audience, deterred him not at all. One cannot have everything in this world, and the Kid and his attendant thick-necks were content to watch the process of mending the tire, without demanding the additional joy of sparkling small talk from the man in charge of the operations.
"Guy"s had a breakdown, sure," said the first of the thick-necks.
"Surest thing you know," agreed his colleague.
"Seems to me the tire"s punctured," said the Kid.
All three concentrated their gaze on the machine.
"Kid"s right," said thick-neck number one. "Guy"s been an" bust a tire."
"Surest thing you know," said thick-neck number two.
They observed the perspiring chauffeur in silence for a while.
"Wonder how he did that, now?" speculated the Kid.
"Ran over a nail, I guess," said thick-neck number one.
"Surest thing you know," said the other, who, while perhaps somewhat deficient in the matter of original thought, was a most useful fellow to have by one--a sort of Boswell.
"Did you run over a nail?" the Kid enquired of the chauffeur.
The chauffeur worked on, unheeding.
"This is his busy day," said the first thick-neck, with satire. "Guy"s too full of work to talk to us."
"Deaf, shouldn"t wonder," surmised the Kid. "Say, wonder what"s he doing with a taxi so far out of the city."
"Some guy tells him to drive him out here, I guess. Say, it"ll cost him something, too. He"ll have to strip off a few from his roll to pay for this."
John glanced at Mr. Parker, quivering with excitement. It was his last chance. Would the Kid think to look inside the cab, or would he move on? Could he risk a shout?
Mr. Parker leaned forward, and thrust the muzzle of the pistol against his body. The possibilities of the situation had evidently not been lost upon him.
"Keep quiet," he whispered.
Outside, the conversation had begun again, and the Kid had made his decision.
"Pretty rich guy inside," he said, following up his companion"s train of thought. "I"m going to rubber through the window."
John met Mr. Parker"s eye, and smiled.
There came the sound of the Kid"s feet grating on the road, as he turned, and, as he heard it, Mr. Parker for the first time lost his head. With a vague idea of screening John, he half-rose. The pistol wavered. It was the chance John had prayed for. His left hand shot out, grasped the other"s wrist, and gave it a sharp wrench. The pistol went off with a deafening report, the bullet pa.s.sing through the back of the cab, then fell to the floor, as the fingers lost their hold. And the next moment John"s right fist, darting upward, crashed home.
The effect was instantaneous. John had risen from his seat as he delivered the blow, and it got the full benefit of his weight. Mr.
Parker literally crumpled up. His head jerked, then fell limply forward.
John pushed him on to the seat as he slid toward the floor.
The interested face of the Kid appeared at the window. Behind him could be seen portions of the faces of the two thick-necks.
"h.e.l.lo, Kid," said John. "I heard your voice. I hoped you might look in for a chat."
The Kid stared, amazed.
"What"s doin"?" he queried.
"A good deal. I"ll explain later. First, will you kindly knock that chauffeur down and sit on his head?"
"De guy"s beat it," volunteered the first thick-neck.
"Surest thing you know," said the other.
"What"s been doin"?" asked the Kid. "What are you going to do with this guy?"
John inspected the prostrate Mr. Parker, who had begun to stir slightly.
"I guess we"ll leave him here," he said. "I"ve had all of his company that I need for to-day. Show me the nearest station, Kid. I must be getting back to New York. I"ll tell you all about it as we go. A walk will do me good. Riding in a taxi is pleasant, but, believe me, you can have too much of it."
CHAPTER XXIX
A REPRESENTATIVE GATHERING
When John returned to the office, he found that his absence had been causing Betty an anxious hour"s waiting. She had been informed by Pugsy that he had gone out in the company of Mr. Parker, and she felt uneasy.
She turned white at his story of the ride, but he minimized the dangers.
"I don"t think he ever meant to shoot. I think he was going to shut me up somewhere out there, and keep me till I promised to be good."
"Do you think my stepfather told him to do it?"
"I doubt it. I fancy Parker is a man who acts a good deal on his own inspirations. But we"ll ask him, when he calls to-day."
"Is he going to call?"
"I have an idea he will," said John. "I sent him a note just now, asking if he could manage a visit."