"You heard what I said--you big liar, liar, liar!"
"You take that back!"
Here the newcomer flourished clinched fists and began to prance. The Wilbur twin crouched, but was otherwise motionless. The newcomer continued to prance alarmingly and to wield his arms as if against an invisible opponent. Secretly he had no mind to combat. His real purpose became presently clear. It was to intimidate and confuse until he should be near enough the desired delicacy to s.n.a.t.c.h it and run. He was an excellent runner. His opponent perceived this--the evil glance of desire and intention under all the flourish of arms. Something had to be done.
Without warning he leaped upon the invader and bore him to earth. There he punched, jabbed, gouged, and scratched as they writhed together. A moment of this and the prostrate foe was heard to scream with the utmost sincerity. The Wilbur twin was startled, but did not relax his hold.
"You let me up from here!" the foe was then heard to cry.
The Wilbur twin watchfully rose from his mount, breathing heavily. He seized his cap and drew it tightly over dishevelled locks.
"I guess that"ll teach you a good lesson!" he warned when he had breath for it.
The vanquished Hun got to his feet, one hand over an eye. He was abundantly blemished and his nose bled. His sense of dignity had been outraged and his head hurt.
"You get the h.e.l.l and gone out of here!" shouted the Wilbur twin, quite as if he did own the town.
"I must say! Cursing and swearing!" shrilled the Merle twin, but none heeded him.
The repulsed enemy went slowly to the corner of the alley. Here he turned to recover a moment of dignity.
"You just wait till I catch you out some day!" he roared back with gestures meant to terrify. But this was his last flash. He went on his way, one hand still to the blighted eye.
Now it developed that the two boys who had waited the Hun had profited cunningly by the brawl. They had approached at its beginning--a fight was anybody"s to watch--they had applauded its denouement with shrill and hearty cries, and they now felicitated the victor.
"Aw, that old Tod McNeil thinks he can fight!" said one, and laughed in harsh derision.
"I bet this kid could lick him any day in the week!" observed his companion.
This boy, it was now seen, led a dog on a rope, a half-grown dog that would one day be large. He was now heavily clad in silken wool of richly mixed colours--brown, yellow, and bluish gray--and his eyes were still the pale blue of puppyhood.
Both newcomers had learned the unwisdom of abrupt methods of approaching this wealthy group. They conducted themselves with modesty; they were polite, even servile, saying much in praise of the warrior twin. The one with the dog revealed genius for this sort of thing, and insisted on feeling the warrior"s muscle. The flexed bicep appeared to leave him aghast at its hardness and immensity. He insisted that his companion should feel it, too.
"Have some bologna?" asked the warrior. He would doubtless have pressed bologna now on Tod McNeil had that social cull stayed by.
"Oh!" said the belated guests, surprised at the presence of bologna thereabouts.
They uttered profuse thanks for sizable segments of the now diminished circle. It was then that the Wilbur twin took pleased notice of the dog.
He was a responsive animal, grateful for notice from any one. Receiving a morsel of the bologna he instantly engulfed it and overwhelmed the giver with rough but hearty attentions.
"Knows me already," said the now infatuated Wilbur.
"Sure he does!" agreed the calculating owner. "He"s a smart dog. He"s the smartest dog ever I see, and I seen a good many dogs round this town."
"Have some more bologna," said Wilbur.
"Thanks," said the dog owner, "just a mite."
The dog, receiving another bit, gave further signs of knowing the donor.
No cynic was present to intimate that the animal would instantly know any giver of bologna.
"What"s his name?" demanded Wilbur.
The owner hesitated. He had very casually acquired the animal but a few hours before; he now attached no value to him, and was minded to be rid of him, nor had the dog to his knowledge any name whatever.
"His name is Frank," he said, his imagination being slow to start.
"Here, Frank! Here, Frank!" called Wilbur, and the dog leaped for more bologna.
"See, he knows his name all right," observed the owner, pridefully.
"I bet you wouldn"t sell him for anything," suggested Wilbur.
"Sell good old Frank?" The owner was painfully shocked. "No, I couldn"t hardly do that," he said more gently. "He"s too valuable. My little sister just worships him."
The other guests were bored at this hint of commerce. They had no wish to see good money spent for a dog that no one could eat.
"He don"t look to me like so much of a dog," remarked one of these. "He looks silly to me."
The owner stared at the speaker unpleasantly.
"Oh, he does, does he? I guess that shows what you know about dogs. If you knew so much about "em like you say I guess you"d know this kind always does look that way. It"s--it"s the way they look," he floundered, briefly, but recovered. "That"s how you can tell "em," he concluded.
The Wilbur twin was further impressed, though he had not thought the dog looked silly at all.
"I"ll give you a quarter for him," he declared bluntly.
There was a sensation among the guests. Some of them made noises to show that they would regard this as a waste of money. But the owner was firm.
"Huh! I bet they ain"t money enough in this whole crowd to buy that dog, even if I was goin" to sell him!"
The wishful Wilbur jingled coins in both pockets.
"I guess he wouldn"t be much of a fighting dog," he said.
"Fight!" exploded the owner. "You talk about fight! Say, that"s all he is--just a fighter! He eats "em alive, that"s all he does--eats "em!"
This was for some of them not easy at once to believe, for the dog"s expression was one of simpering amiability. The owner seemed to perceive this discrepancy. "He looks peaceful, but you git him mad once, that"s all! He"s that kind--you got to git him mad first." This sounded reasonable, at least to the dog"s warmest admirer.
"Yes, sir," continued the owner, "you"ll be goin" along the street with George here--"
"George who?" demanded a skeptical guest.
For a moment the owner was disconcerted.
"Well, Frank is his right name, only my little sister calls him George sometimes, and I get mixed. Anyway, you"ll be goin" along the street with Frank and another dog"ll come up and he"s afraid of Frank and mebbe he"ll just kind of clear his throat or something on account of feeling nervous and not meaning anything, but Frank"ll think he"s growling, and that settles it. Eats "em alive! I seen some horrible sights, I want to tell you!"
"Give you thirty-five cents for him," said the impressed Wilbur.
"For that there dog?" exploded the owner--"thirty-five cents?" He let it be seen that this jesting was in poor taste.