| OCR Text |
Show l,8oat"n 9ae0r'9999999999999999aaaoa9t9e99a99aaa89s9aa9aaaaoea9aaa9aaaaaaoaaaao9oaaa99eGQeavaoo30oaaeatcvetooooaacsc9Cdaaaaoa : 1 V JNJ I 0 By Chares . Van Loan : J Tony. himself dosn't know w ha 1-771" s He talks: when he's sou.sed VnaT8 off particular who gets an car full awk aV; get this money down tomorro her' n! I you the tickets to hold. Thin'iel Se'"J ' ter come out here again?" d bel- 1 "No," said Howard ''I'll t ! on Thursday, and I'll 'phone J" ' to meet ine. There'll be Eo? hee I money for you to handle'' 6 rore "All right," said Martin. HaMi, coin is the best thing 1 do ?SlinE Ihe j Howard grunted in renlv- ni" away down the walk; a door c-E?? ; ly; but Tony never moved a ni?a8.d -ho heard the sudden throb of an 55 Utnil 1 the distance. Then lie stood Sme watched the black bulk of the P" n'J recede along the white road macbine r "A fine pair of rats!" said h. m.. Tony did not sleep that nL,Uerl-rolled nL,Uerl-rolled and tumbled from one Iffi1', He bed to the other, for his probUm A momentous one. Uverv word that v 8 heard came back to him He l-L e Johnny Martin was carrvinS ti,at twelve thousand dollars as a" in?- away he kne-w that a man like Bi'k n lec; never made a bet on a fight ufl?? knew something-; but in snitl ; s this evidence the bov coiiM , kf !1 himself to believe that his Idol hi. u 1? pion. "the best guy in the worlri m-a m-a party to the scheme. ' "Tom lay down to a dub likr n. thought Tony. "Why. he'd die fi1-Yet fi1-Yet if Donovan knew nothin- - . arrangement, how was It nosai'ntl , Billy Howard to name the ve f?r which the champion was to gd the count?- And the fact thai 0r thousand dollars had changed han ?"e a stone waU in Tony's path Was The question of right and wronr . entered into Tony's calcuJatW as a side issue Donovan himself could do no wrong at least." none tha C would ever acknowledge even tn self. The thing that wmj W. ftiSS heart was the thought that the 2," pion was to lose and to a secondS like Bob Rudd-! Vet he had I heard plan, and tne money had changed rinl "If Tom is in with .this thing' th1'. Tony, in an agony, "he'll tip it off ln fr somehow. He tells me, evervthlne i anything like that is going to", come ,,-and ,,-and Tom knows it. why does he thisnnghtr-how sy he's going 10 Out of the tangle of ideas a nlan u "-gan "-gan to lake shape. 'Til kind of hint around, and gtve a chance to say something," tboueii Tony. "I won't say that I know an thing, because if he's in on the plav tha would make him mad. but maybe he'ii tell me himself, and then it will be a1 right. Alas for Tony: He knew mam- thins about human nature, but he "did jw know that it is easiest to deceive tho; ; who trust implicitly. The next morning the champion did no road work, but walked to the viiiaa instead to buy some cartridges for & target rifle. Tony went with him His chance had presented itself sooner than he had expected. Tony Meets a Rebuff. "Only a week more, kid." said toe champion. "Then the big doings." "Yes," said Tony; "only a week, Tos don't think I mean you're sure, ain't you. Tom?" Tony stumbled miserably. It hard to put into words. "Sure about what?" asked Dono?u carelessly. "About winning this fight." said Tor-blurting Tor-blurting out the words as if tbev fc him. "There ain't a chance lor you ; to lose, is there?" Donovan laughed. I ' "Not a chance in the world," he said. "Not a single one?" Tony persistei His eyes held the champion's withost blinking. I m '"Of course not!" said Donoran. "You're not worrying about it, are -kid?" "He's in with it." thought Tony, "and he won't tell me! "What's the matter with you?'" as Donovan. I c: "Nothing." lied Tony, thinking desperately, desper-ately, and deciding to take the plunge. "Nothing only you might be doEte-crossed. doEte-crossed. or something like thai. To-:, they couldn't double-cross you. and yr-i not know it was coming off, could tbey?" 1 The cliampion's' jaw set, and 1 bard N Iook came into his eyes. "They:"' he said- ""Who do you m:-.r. by they?" "Well." said Tony, holding hi? breai: for an instant, like a swimmer before 0 ' plunge, "sometimes a fellow's manage? puts one over on him and " "That'll do you!" said Donovan, sternly, stern-ly, and the-tone was one which Tony iad never heard before. "I don't know what bug you've got in your head, hut if tot want to stick with me you get it oat. ; understand? You don't get along ven well with Billy, I know, but that dor': excuse your knocking him to me. I won't stand for a song and dance like t ha t fro m a n y hod y ! " Tony wilted. 1 ".teriy omsi-ri '? trudged along in the dust, not knowin? what to say for himself, but quite rtr-tain rtr-tain that he dared proceed no fanie along the line of mutual confidence. "One reason I like to have y around." said Donovan, and his tore kinder now. "is because you know bo to mind your own business." I jars Tony gulped. I "I know." he said. "And all you've got to do is to k on minding your own business. DM you worry your head about the fight" or the managing. We'll attend to that-"Yes." that-"Yes." said Tony. So the subject was abandoned. Tp. recognized defeat when he met it- r 1 frameup was going through as plann.-Donovan plann.-Donovan was to lose; an,"! Tony, t'1 the corner, would watch him count? r out. Left to himself, the champion none no-ne ver have thought of such a ih:n?- .J that Tony felt confident. It was u: Howard's doing, and the champion s rec-onl rec-onl would be marred by a d efcj7 knockout. No amount of money com compensate Donovan for that. The last week dragged along to finish and at the training quarters moment waxed and waned like w:t mittent fever, burning highest :n w afternoons, when the roadhouse crammed with sporting men. a l ly discussing the approaching m.u from everv possible viewpoint. Two das before the fight there j a grand gathering of BporQnc B at MeeshnrTs to watch the champion his lat sparring bouts. In the were il 01:0ns of sporting writers fnnjj : roast cMics. chief among them - 1 larrv Graham, a short. PO11',1. with a double chin and a kind-! Graham and Tony were great . the newspaper man found genuim mc in cultivating the odd little . whom he treated in every way . eviual, vastlv to Tony's pride. While the champion was being . '. down after his work. Graham came on the porch, where for ith was encaged in Cose conversation Ptllv Howanl. Win n Hilby w,n; js the now sparer man spied Ton iurir under a tree on the small lawn Ucilo. son!" said tlraham . walk down to the station wltj knew the bov would .lump at 'l10,t ft W hat s -ons wit!' on the .iaxs " - asked the writer. y. . as lively as you used to be. FWni rvlng vou?" "No-o." paid n-ny. FiVl. -.s deal of IHV out of Ivnovans 1 "JToH Picture was always b.Moiv 1 is ,;vr Donovan on the canvas o th, 1 and the referee counting a " ,l' MJM Havrv Graham also had la m lit Ho ad discovered a .oc bottlnc. and he could not indu your davs before there had J , dribble of Uu.id money m sn al " These who wished to wage! hf ivnov;,,, had found troub. In P M their bets. Then ovet j Noon a sudden saift. f RuJi Ivmvo.I the Pool boxes f . mone. and tin two to one to ten to et t. . , p Sj ovan moae was Hll.j! J -fast as it appeared. .'""cwdei-J friends ever where, had am , a scutamil that the groj i P n.oncv had been pM.V.I a a IVwman: and bowman. At W ,,,.,,,-d to Know, bad no im n own To make It PO J , shad. ooonl. and had "iJj,flo winter -aoe iraoks on the PJJJ (m Gham was ouahh o. J . nlMn sudden Influx of RjhM l methlnn, but the traH 1 .,0 -line wi'f v a-! 1h .J" tGonUtmed on rollovriiU Whenever Tony has reason to recall hi incident of his somewhat remarkable ca peer, he places It before or after the nigh when he stood outside of Trauhcl's res taurant waiting for the champion to fin fan ids dinner. That, In Tony's eyes, was the most im portant night of his life, and, as a con sequence, he dates history from it. Thli being Tony's story, it might as well begii on that mild spring evening outside Trail bel's restaurant, and we will leave Ton; there for a. moment, his nose flattened against the pane and his last edition: clutched under his arm. The champiol has just finished his soup, so we mav b '. .sure that Tony will . stand still "lout ; enough to be properly introduced. Tony is a hunchback. This is not plea for sympathy. It is a plain statement state-ment of fact. If sympathy had beer aimed at, it would have been easy to create cre-ate a blinding snowstorm and a biting wind off the river, and we would have left Tony shivering in the January blast, cold and perhaps hungry, in which case he w oudl have been peering enviously Through the plate glass and lace curtains, instead of staring with all a boy's curiosity curi-osity at the sight of one of the great ones of the earth eating fish with a knife. Understand Un-derstand us: No sympathy, please. Tony-did Tony-did not need it then, and he certainty does not need it now. From his infancy. Tony resented pity, and would have none of it. It was only when he became self-supporting that he found any good in it at all. Even at the supposedly tender age of six. there was a strong business instinct in the crippled coy. and when he discovered that he . . could turn his physical affliction to financial fi-nancial account, he worked that profitable profita-ble vein diligently. In. the days when he sold papers which were the, days preceding the great night he knew which women were most likely In be moved by the sight of his twisted little body, and lie learned to recognize rec-ognize a father by the look in the man'G eye as he fumbled in his vest pocket for . a coin. If the paternal look was there. Tony would make change very slowly, .aidiirg sentiment in every possible way, for it had been his experienco that fa-thers, fa-thers, hurrying home to their own straight-backed little ones, often paid Mm a nickel for a penny paper, and left the c' ange' behind them. Tony's crooked back was really an asset, and he accepted the nickels it brought him while rejecting the sentiment which prompted the bonus-foft-hearted women might murmur: 'T'oor little chap!' hut they never succeeded suc-ceeded in making Tony believe that it was true. Guided bv the same mercenary motive. Tony chcerfullv renounced one father, more or less worthless: one mother, neither better nor worse than most mothers moth-ers and several small 'brothers and sistersall sis-tersall straight-backed, but otherwise -uninteresting residing in a Hester street tenement. Tony found it' much more profitable to be an orphan, even in the days when he slept at home. At the age of fifteen. Tony had all the wisdom the streets could give him. most of the wickedness, and a smattering of gutter philosophy. - He also had a hobby, which he happened to mount as follows: Oue of Tony's most important business discoveries was that a "sport" was usual-lv usual-lv far more liberal than a gentleman with spats and side whiskers. Tony then began be-gan to cultivate "sports" and soon learned that of the various varieties, the "".-fight followers were by far the most open-handed. When this idea found permanent lodgment lodg-ment in Tony's head, he saw to it that no battle of local prominence escaped him. Tt would have been a heartless - gateman who could refuse admission to such a very small cripple, so Tony's de- - votion to the boxing game cost him nothing, noth-ing, and was a source of much profit. Though it was business interest which gave him his first impulse ringward. Tony soon found other interests, and became be-came the most rabid little fight fan on all Manhattan Island. He had no religion, re-ligion, but as every soul must have at least one deity r perish. Tony worshiped wor-shiped the demigods of th prize ring, which is exactly what he was doing when we last caught sight of him outside Trau-I'el's Trau-I'el's restaurant. Tony and His Deity. The great and only Donovan Thunderbolt Thun-derbolt Tom had just arrived in town from the far west, where his reputation, suddenly made, blazed like a meteor. Kx-cited Kx-cited critics said he was a pocket edition of John L. Sullivan. Bob Fltzsimmons and Kid 'McCoy rolled into one. New York clamored to see this wonderful young man, and in two weeks he was to "take on" a local trial horse in a ten-round ten-round bout. With his manager. Ponovan had been makins the rounds of Park Bow. shaking hands with sporting editors and leaving cigars and interviews behind him. Tills explains how he happened to he dining as far downtown as Traubel's. and also makes clear the manner in whjch Tony came to cut the trail of sporting America's latest idol. "Gee, kid!" said Butch Murphy, "who'd ye t'ink just wen a-past?" "I dunno," said Tony. "Tom Donovan!" "Aw, quit yer kiddin'!" "He sure did, an' he's down at Traubel's Trau-bel's now, a-feedin' his face!" Tony immediately deserted his station at the entrance to the Brooklyn bridge selected because Brooklyn is a city of fathers and if we wish to continue the story we must follow him to Traubel's restaurant. Tony's nose is still flattened against the pane. The dinner over, the champion glanced at the bill, and. taking a handful of gold from his pocket, selected a coin and tossed it to the waiter. "There, bo!" said he. "Keep the change, and stake yourself to a clean shirt." The waiter bowed and smiled and smirked obsequiously, though he would 1 have much preferred to hit the breezy utranger over the head with a chair. "Well, where to now?" asked the champion cham-pion of his companion, a small, rat-nosed Individual, who was also his manager. "No ccrap worth seeing carded for tonight, to-night, I suppose?" "Nothing but a lot of stews." said the manager carlessly, whose name temporarily tem-porarily happened to be Howard. "I-eL's go up and take another whirl at Bancroft's Ban-croft's joint. We got some of his dough last night, and we might repeat." "Whatever you say," yawned the champion. "Kay, Billy, do you think that foulette wheel is crooked?" "J don't know and I don't cire." answered Howard. "Roulette Is a luck-er's luck-er's game, a ny way. but if one of them drunken millionaire) kids should happen to he plunging on the f-olors or the odd and even, you copper his bets, see? Thy say Bancroft is on the level, but how Is a man going to run a square ga me In 1 town where he's giving up all the tirno for protection? You can't tell those stlck-up men that your game (h loser; whatever happens to tho house man. they've got to have theirs or they'll pinch the place. Bancroft Is up against u cinch, and there might be some wire In his wheels, at that; he ain't in I ho busineHH for his health. Why don't yon play a real man's game like the bank, for Instance?" "Not enough action B bout faO to suit rne," said Donovan, " Ilk1 to the little ball go round and round. Roulette, craps, Klondike all them good old west-rrn west-rrn games for mine. J,et's be on our way." Tn tho doorway thn rim m pion nrarly fall over a small flguro which net-rued to ti4 out of the sidewalk before him. "Buy a paper, Mister Donovan?" It said. The c ha m pion pauwd and surveyed Tony with some surprise. "Well, what d' you know about thai!" he ox'-lalmed. "The kid known rne,-billy! humpback. t that!" "Courts f know you!" Said Tony proudly. proud-ly. "And 1 know your fiord, loo. 1 sou Id repeat It by heart. Want to hour "Nix," hi id 1 m nova n, laughing. "Von rton'l b'-li" v. pv!ry' hlntf you S':o In tho record book, do "on, kid?" "Mure not!" snW Tony rarnfftUv. "It flyi In there that you alopuod Churllo 'same hour to introduce the same question, ques-tion, an open telegram in his hand. "Here's a wire from Porsano." said the manager. "He's fixed up our transportation transporta-tion and the tickets are at the railroad office here. He wants us to hurry up and get out there to start training." "How many tickets?" asked the champion, cham-pion, looking up from the writing desk, where he was inscribing photographs for various admiring friends. "How many do we usually have?" do-manded do-manded Howard. "Two. of course! What did you suppose?" "Wire Porsano tor another ticket," said Donovan. "What?" squealed Howard. "Tom. you don't mean to tell mc that we're going to take that kid all the way out to California?" Cali-fornia?" "To California, or China, or anywhere else I please," said the champion firmly. "Did vou think T was going to leave him flat here in Now York? And it's no skin off your nose. Billy. Porsano'll stand for the "extra ticket, and never say a, word. Why. lots of these fellows take their wives across the country with them, and he never kicks." "You're spoiling that kid." grumbled Howard. "Oh, no, I'm not," said Donovan. "He. ain't the spoiling kind. And, whatever you do, don't lip it off to the kid that he's going along. I want to spring a surprise 011 him. Have you noticed that the little rascal has never even hinted that he'd like to go out to the fight? Yet he'd give his eyes for the chance. That's what I. like ahout him. He's thankful for what he gets, and he isn't all the time trying to work you for something. Not a greedy hair on his head. Billy." "What would he want to be asking for things for?" said Howard sarcastically. "You've got him loaded down with junk now." "I'll show you what T think of that kid." retorted the champion. "He wants to go out to the coast more than anything any-thing in the world. We'll both keep- our mouths shut, and say nothing to him one wav or the other, and I'll bet you a hundred hun-dred that he's game enough not to ask if he can go. Are you on?" "T got you!" snapped Howard. "He'll, ask in a day or so." But not a. word did Tony say. Until the very day of the departure he waited for some word or sign from his patron, and his loyal heart ached as the hour approached. ap-proached. He had never dared to hope that Donovan would take him along; still the champion's silence hurt Tony. He might have said something, even if it was only that be was sorry to leave his mascot behind him. At the gate of the train shed Tony paused, and held out his hand, trying hard to smile. "Well, good-bv." he said bravely. "Remember "Re-member that Pll be pulling for you to win. I'm awful sorry you're going, and and when you come back again there'll Tom Donovan grasped the clawlike little lit-tle hand, and pulled Tony through the gate. "Good-bv!" he exclaimed. "Why, where do you get that stuff. Tony? You ain't going to quit me now. are you?' "You want me to go?" quavered Tony between hope and fear. "Wbv. sure!" said the champion. "1 had the porter pack all your stuff in one of the suit cases. T ntever thought you'd want to quit me " "I'll never quit vou as lontr as you want me to stick." said Tony; and that was as far as he could get, because something came up in his throat and choked him. "Thafy the way totalk!" said Donovan. Dono-van. "Stick to me. and we'll both wear diamonds." "Say," naid Tony huskily, "you're the best guy in the world, you are!" "Forsrct It!" said the champion sternly. stern-ly. "You lose, Billy." A New Word. That evening Tony Fat out on the ob-Bervation ob-Bervation platform of the Twentieth Century, Cen-tury, and watched the Hudson river turn to tarnished silver In the dusk. Ills heart was too full for words, and there were timrs when h" wondered if this could be the sam Tony who used to sell papers along Park How. Mfe had become a wonderful won-derful thing to the little hunchback a realltv with all the dazzling beauty of a dream, and be owed It to "the best guv In the world"; owed him. too, a debt of love Hnd devotion beyond everything, but Tony s willingness to pay should an opportunity- ever present itself. "You're my little pal," the champion had said, "you stick to me. kid. and I'll Stloa to you, and we'll both wear diamond's." dia-mond's." The champion's pal! I.ifc held no prouder poaltton ; at that mom cut Tony would not have called a king his brother. ct M.cuhan's roadhouse is situated across the bsy from San Francisco, among the green hills and valleys of Marin county. Many great fiKbters have trained with Meeghan: many Winners have returned to die old place to pack up their traps and open a last bottle of wine with the wise little proprietor "Hello. Mike!" said the champion, as be climbed do n from an automobile. "How's the old loy?" "Hello, Tom;" said Mike Meeghan. "How do. Hilly? Whom have ye there?" "This is my mascot." said the champion. cham-pion. "Tony, shake hands with Mr. Mee-ahan. Mee-ahan. 1 brought him a 'I the way from New York. Mike, and he's pot more luck t ha n you've not horse sense, and t hat's goine some." "Did y now "'' askad Meeghan, looking look-ing at Tony cuHously. "How alout a bottle bot-tle of the grape to clear the dust from the t'roat. eh?" Donovan laughed. "No." he said. 'T'm off the stuff. 1 got nil ne In the big town, and t here s ft Jot of sweating to be done before 1 get it out of my system. 1 canl he taking chances with this Texas bird. Mike." Huh!" ejaculated Meeghan. "Ye c'u'd lick two like him very day In the week. Hut you're right about rettin' in shape. Thev re betttn two to one on ye, son." "Only piker money," said 1 1 o ward scornfully. "Don't ye think it !" said Meeghan warmly. "There'll be barrels of money. hci on this short-end er. The Texas ladj has rrlenda. He was pointed nice Vt this match, an' they nursed him along fine and &IB Main's the lemon his manager man-ager picked out f 'r him, and, of courso. he put the soft marks out In a punch. Ye know how these things' are ribbed UP when there's a big mat'di In sight. Oh. t here' 1 1 be money enough bet on him, sure. Sucker money." A few days s ft or this con versa! ion Donovan's training whs In full swing, and In the afternoons, which ho devoted to gymnasium Work, the dusty road was filled with pilgrims ' from t he hear by cities, every man anxious to see for himself, him-self, and "get a line" on Ponovan's condition. con-dition. Gamblers, actors, business men, "sports." and kern -eyed loafers of every description sat ahout the walls In the gymnasium and nodded at each other knowingly. Tony was in his element. He held (he watch during the boxing bouts, be helped to pull off the chamulon'H gloves, and he was here, t hero and every where like r sparrow; never in the way, never nu Instant In-stant late In the performance of a duty. Tho dally Vial tore made, friends with Mm; the reporters Belied upon him as a "char-aoter, "char-aoter, and made much or him and his una int sayings; Mike Meeghan a wife t re 1 ted hi ni like I he ion she uover had. and altogether Tony found California a pleasant place Word came from Ihc rival camp that the Texas CyJIone, otherwise uob Rudd, was fit its hard work could make blin. and- that bin manager. Johnny Miutln, was QOIlfldently predicting victory. Tony read news of this sort In the morning papers, pa-pers, and at such times bis Up would cur) scornfully. "When wo gel In their with this fellow." fel-low." he would gay t0 thf champion, "polio him once for me. will you'.' Listen to what he nays the big stewP And then Tony would read aloud, carefully skipping the long words. "Thill's nil right." DonOVan would re-nuuk re-nuuk carelessly. "That's nil right, kid. lies only boosting the fight, it's all in the game." "Yes. but he says he's going , to make you jump out of the rinz"' Tony would cry, Ins eves blazing. "He says the first time he gets you good and hard on the jaw you'll crumple up the same as the rest of "cm." "Chances arc," Donovan would say. "that stuff was written in a newspaper office," "It's got his name signed to it!" Tony would retort. "Well, there's ninny a signed statement gets into print these days that's cooked up by a reporter. Don't let it worry you, Tony." "You wallop him once for mc. anyway." any-way." Tony would cry angrily. "It's com-to com-to him." One night after the champion had gone to bed, and the lights in the barroom were extinguished, as a sign that the day's work was over, Tony was sitting on the front porch behind the climbing rose tree, curled up In a big rocking chair. A bird of the night by nature and. habit, Tony w as usually the last one into bed. He enjoyed the cool air, with its hint of salt water from the distant bay, and his thoughts were always pleasant company. On this night Tony's eyes were on the long, white road twisting down the valley, appearing and reappearing amid the gloom of the trees like a dusty ribbon in the darkness. Me -was thinking of the day when he would be whirled along that road beside the champion on his way to defend his title. As Tony watched idly, a dark spot showed on the ribbon, grew steadily larger, larg-er, and there came the hum and throb of an engine. "Some fool running without lights,' thought Tony. "Probably wants a drink. I'll have to tell him there's nothing doing." do-ing." A Mysterious Circumstance. Tony sat up and waited for the automobile auto-mobile to come over the nearest rise; but as he listened the beat of the engine died away. "He's stopping somewhere." thought Tony. "Maybe he's going to light up." But no glare shone tli rough the trees; no sound of hasty cranking came out of the night. Tony speculated upon this circumstance, his chin upon his knees. He knew there was no house down in the hollow where the ear had stopped, and he wondered at the absence of the lights; but automobiles were common enough on that road, and they were always breaking break-ing down, he knew. A footfall aroused him. and he peered down the road. A single figure was approaching. ap-proaching. It seemed to skulk close to the fence, where the shadows were deepest. deep-est. An honest man. Tony thought, would have kept to the open road instead of sneaking along the fance, where there was no path. As he watched the mysterious stranger, undecided what to do, something clicked behind him, and, turning quickly, Tony saw the front door open noiselessly on its hinges. A man came out and closed the door behind him. It was Billv Howard. He stood on the steps for an instant, his cigar end glowing in the darkness. The skulker entered the yard, and, without a word of greeting, the two men seated themselves upon a rustic bench beneath the climbing rose tree, not six feet from where Tony was hidden behind the back of his rocking chair. "Everyone gone to bed?"' -inquired a voice which Tony did not recognize. "Long ago." said Howard. "I was beginning be-ginning to think you'd get cold feet on the proposition." Tony listened breathlessly. At first he had been of two minds: uncertain whether to disclose his presence. The automobile without lights, the stealth v approach of the visitor, and his evident desire to avoid discovery had aroused Tony's curi-.oity. curi-.oity. It was plain that the man. whoever who-ever he might he, was keeping an appointment ap-pointment with Howard: and if there was one gentleman whom Tony distrusted it was the champion's rat-faced manager. Why aJI this secrecy, unless there was something which Howard wished kept under cover? "There's something doing here, sure thought Tony. "If Billy Howard is trying try-ing to put one over on the champ " "Cold feet!" The stranger chuckled. ""Why. the whole thing is Working fine: This'll be tbe biggest fight of the vear. and the suckers are just eating up that short-end money, and fighting for the chance to give two for one. You could get fifty thousand in the pool rooms alone, and can you see what the moving mov-ing pictures will be worth with the champ being counted out".' Cold feet: M'liv, we can clean up a quarter of a million on the pictures alone"' "The champ being counted out!" Tonv could hardly believe his ears: vet on the evidence of those two wide-open members Rilly Howard and an unknown were discussing dis-cussing such an impossible happening "It's all right, is it?" demanded the unknown. un-known. "Sure, it's all right' said Howard. "He couldn't see It at first, but when I showed him where he could get the dough he came around, all right. Of course, he insists in-sists on the return match." He can write his own ticket on that." said the s; rancor. "There's likely to be a terrible squeal " said Howard. " 'The sereana of the trimmed sucker is music to the gambler's ear.'" Quoted the unknown. "Of course, there'll be a scream, but it won't be the first time a .Short -ender won from a champion nor it won't be the last. I.ct 'cm scream. Have you decided what round to pull it In? "The fourteenth." said Howard promptly. "That makes the pictures an attraction. A short fight wouldn't draw as well." , "Fourteen, eh?" said tbe other. "A fine Chance to step in and clean up on the mutuala. "Now, see here," said FUlv sharplv; you let the hotting on the rounds alone -see? buppose we should toss In some com On Rudd to win between the twelfth and the fifteenth; we'd clean up. all rUht but at the same time we might tip it oft that there was something doing. These newspaper men are keen enough when they one.' get on the trail. That follow Harry iralmiii watches the belting like a eat Suppose he should get to nosing around where would we be? Queered good and proper. No, Martin, vou let the mutuala alone." Martin' So the midnight visitor was Kudd s manager! Tonv knew thai there were crooked fighters and crooked manager man-ager in tho game, .Inst as he know that there was evil In everything tinder the sun: hut this whispered conference hqpught it homo to him with a shock which set the cold shivers to racing up and down his twisted spine. Thev were plotting Donpvan'a defeat calmly, deliberately, delib-erately, taking the passing of the title for granted. "you're absolutely sureabout him?" There was a note of anxletv In the strange voice. "He won't weaken'"' Bill j Howard did not repiv Immediate ly, hut Tony hoard the sound of rustling paper. ' "Count that, and tell mo whether von think he'll weakVn." said Howard. "That Ought to bo proof enough that we're going go-ing throuuh." A maf h flared In the darkness. After some tune Martin poke again. J make it twelve thousand." he said. "Correct," said Howard, "And vou can bet it for us. Hot a Utile for voursolf, to make It l.ok good, but the big bunch ought to be placed by some our else. Send the tickets to tne Just as soon 11 s vou get tho money covered. Rtglsteifed mall, I gueaa VOU can't trust vour own brother broth-er when you're pulling a thing like this." "Clood!" said Martin, "1 know a man who'll handle some of it. Well, I guess that'a about all, Isn't II?" "You're nm t tsflcd now, are you?" .sue. rod 1 low ard "Well." nald Mart in. rising, "I w ant od to sec the ro)iv of vour coin before I wont ati further, and" "My worti wasn't enough of course' said Howard unpleasantly. "I never trust anything that can talk," said Martin "That's the reason Kudd Crookall in nine rounds. It wasn't nine; it was seven. I looked up the right dope." Thunderbolt Tom looked at his manager with a grin. "Smart little devil, ain't he?" said the great man. "I wonder if he's lucky. Are you lucky, kid?" vTry me and see." said Tony quickly. "They say humpies are the luckiest people on earth." remarked the champion. "Billy, let's take the kid along with us. and see if he's 'there. Hop into the car. kid!" A big blue automobile sw'ung In to the sidewalk, and Tony climbed to the front seat beside tne chauffeur and snuggled down luxuriously. If Butch Murphy could only see him now! "Bancroft's!" ordered the champion as the car rolled along Broadway past CWy Hall Park, purring like some great animal, ani-mal, and. like an animal, switching Its tail in and out among the traffic. Tony sat perfectly still on the front seat, but his eyes roved the sidewalks in the hope that some professional acquaintance might see and recognize him. "Gee. this is the class!" thought Tony to himself. "Some style to this guy!" ,He did not know where the champion was taking him; he did not care. It was enough for him to be In such distinguished distin-guished company, the invited guest of the great Tom Donovan. Oh, what a story to tell the gang! Fifth avenue was unexplored territory to Tony, and he had long since given up the hope of seeing anyone he knew. When well into the Forties, the car turned sharply to the left and drew up at the curb before a modest brown-stone front which bore every outward evidence of solid respectability. "Better not wait," said Billy Howard to the chauffeur. The man at the door shook his head doubtfully at sight of the hoy, but Donovan Dono-van only laughed and said: "This is my official mascot. The game is pretty strong, so I brought him with me. You wouldn't bar a man's luck, would you?" Tony Becomes a Mascot. The man grinned and a heiivy Bteel door swung open". Tony was not without with-out experience of gambling houses, but this was the first one he had ever seen with thick rugs on the floors, hanri-'arved hanri-'arved stair rails, and scantllv dressed females painted on the ceilings. likewise, like-wise, he had never seen men dressed like head waiters, at work behind tables inlaid with ebonv and mother-of-pearl. Other men. similarly attired, were scattered about the rooms or seated on stools before be-fore the tables fumbling with towers of Ivory chips. Tony looked at these men curiously, and then at '.lis patron; ho was proud of Donovan's well-fitting sergo sack suit. "Well," said tho champion, shaking hands with a tall, gray-haired gentleman, "here we are again. Mr. Bancroft, aftr some more of your dough. This Is my official of-ficial mascot. If I knew his name, I'd give you a knockdown to him." Bancroft smiled, and Hafd ho was charmed; Donovan made his way to one of the roulette layouts. Billy Howard was already buying chips In another corner, where a slim, distinguished-looking man with a green eyeshade was sliding cards from a lacquered box. ".Stand behind me, kid." ordered Don-van Don-van Then to Hie dealer: "A hundred to start with, bo." Three men who worc.jilayf ng at (he ts-bie ts-bie glanced up a 1 this rreeVandf easy salutation, salu-tation, and one of them sniffed audibly, The dealer grinned In a friendly manner. man-ner. "So oon, Mr. Donovan?" het asked. "The gome rauat look easy to you." "It dnfs," h;i Id Donovsn briefly, tossing toss-ing a bill across the table. The dealer slid a single stack of yellow chips tows to-ws rd 1 he customer, dropped Do nova n's hundred -doiia r bill carelessly into a drawer, and flicked the Ivory ball out of a compartment with a deft movement of one finger. "Know anything abOUf this game, kid?" aalced Donovan, rattling his ofiwA "No, sir. T never saw It before " "All the better 1" said the champion. "Now, then, what numbers shall I play?'' Tony did not know It. but he staked 'his future Upon the first three number; which cHinfl Into his head. "Seven, eleven and thirteen !" sn Id he without an instil ni 'm hesitation, "That's tho way to talk!" said Dono- I van. Then, with a reckless prodigality which sent Tony's heart Into bfS mouth, he divided di-vided his stack Into three piles and placed them upon tho seven, tho eleven and tho thirteen. "Oot a new system tonight." he explained ex-plained to tho denier. "I'm trying out a mascot -Humpy, here, f ho S got the right dope, he'll wmir diamond. HI mot, old horse!" Tho lUtlo ball sang in the groove, the ot her players sea ttered their he's ner-vousl'.', ner-vousl'.', Tom Donovan roue from IiIm ctool lo follow Its flight, and after what neenicd to Tony to bo an Interminable wait thore was a Hharp clicking sound, and a Hpol i of white whirling In one of the black compartments. "Thirteen," announced the dealer, nonchalantly. non-chalantly. "Quite a mascot you've got there." "He called it!" exclaimed fhe champion cham-pion delightedly. "The littlerascal called The dealer began moving stacks of chips across the board, and Tony, whose heart had almost Mopped beating at the falling of the ba.ll. saw that the champion now had twelve stacks of chips instead of one, with a few over, for good measure, meas-ure, Tony supposed. Twelve hundred dollars! No wonder the little hunchback's eyes fairly popped nut of their sockets. "What now, kid?" asked the champion. It was then that Tony showed excellent judgment- He had demonstrated his value as a mascot and established his reputation. It seemed good to him to stand pat upon it. Thirteen Wins. "Beat it"' advised Tony, "Vou bumped 'em once good and hard, but If you stick they'll clean you sure. Take the dough and beat It:" Donovan roared, much to the disgust of the gentleman who had sniffed. "Regular sharpshooter, ain't he?" asked the champion of the dealer. "Hit 'em one wallop, and run, eh? That's the best bet. is it. kid?" "Sure!" said Tony firmly. "Twenty-three "Twenty-three for yours!" "The screw number, eh?" said Donovan. Dono-van. "J guess I'll have to snowball the t wenty-lhree." He proceeded to t lie "snowballing' of the twenty-three, a process which Involves In-volves a financial interest In tho eight numbers surrounding it. two on each corner, cor-ner, two on earh dividing line, and four chips in the center, "I didn't tell you to play that," argued Tony. "Vou better get off It, too. because be-cause it won't win." Once more the ball rolled and dirked. Number twenty-six won. whereat more Ivory counters moved across the table, and Donovan called loudly for an eye-shade. eye-shade. "Ir looks like a big night," he remarked to the dealer. "Vou know what the gambler's wife did when he won the first pot," said the dealer, "lis bad luck to start off too strong " "Anyway." said Tony. "I said tho twenty-three wouldn't win." "All right. Humpy," said Donovan. "You've done your stunt for one night. I Stick around now and watch me gather." As the night advanced, the rooms filled up with men in evening clothes, play ran high, wine flowed liberally, and Tony, perched on a utool at Donovan's elbow, wat'died the flux and reflux of tho champion's cham-pion's fortunes with bright eyes. At II o'clock In the morning Donova n was forced to admit that Tony's advice bad been sound. All the "velvet " had gone bacA across the board, and lie was buying buy-ing chips steadily. "Time to go." whispered Tony warn lnglv. "They'll clean you If you don't!" "One more roll, kid." said Donovan. "They've got me six hundred in the holfl What shall I play?" Tony haJ another Inspiration. "Oct on t hat t wenty-t hrec ! he whispered. whis-pered. "If It blows, you blow with It!" "R(ght!" Maid the champion, buying another stack. Once more the "ncrew number" was snowballed with yellow Chips, but this time a shoul went 'up RS the ball dropped. "Twenty-three wins." announced the dealer, "and It. looks as If Mr. DonOVSn will dO some bus! 11 ess. That 's tho t tme you caugnt It good." Tony bopped down from Ids StOpj and plucked the champion's sleeve, "Come on!" he urged. "Vou said you'd quit Remember you got to fight next week. Men 1 it 1" Tom Donovan hesitated, rose. ftrOtOhed himself a nd la ughed. "illvc mo the coin," he said. "I'm through." Tom Takes Advice. The dealer- a new man who came on at midnight counted out h thick roll of bills and pushed It over to tho winner. "Don't forget the number." he nald. Hilly I OWard. who was a hea vy loser, refused tn llHlen to reanon, so Tony and the champion left the place togethon, "Vou pulled me out of a bad bole there, kid." said Dondvan, "1 guess there's something in thai talk About humpies be Iiik lucky. I'm going tO stake you." 11 put his hand Into his pocket and drew out n roll of IiIIIh. "f don't want your money," said Tony stoutly. The odd thing about It was that he meant what he said, "lint It's coming to yon." persisted Donovan, "Take It and Ket something for your mother," Once uioio Tony showed e-.ccilent judgment judg-ment . "I ain't gul none," be said. "Whore do you live?" demanded Dono v n 1 1 , "Any old place," said Tony. "No home?" Tonj shook bin hend, l le hud h - n over the same ground before many a time. "Ves," you have!" said Donovan suddenly. sud-denly. "Vou won a home tonight. I've heard of mascots, but I never saw a real one before tonight, and I guess I'll just freeze onto vou for luck. How'd you like that job7" "Better than anything in the world," said Tony honestly. "Come on, then," said the champion, "we'll flag a taxi and go over to the hotel." Thus Tony, the hunchback, through a mixture of SUperSltlon. blind luck and a little judicious lying, became a member of Tom Donovan's official family. Greater fortunes have been founded on less. When the champion fought the New York trial horse and knocked htm out in three rounds, an odd figure appeared in Donovan's corner. Purple and fine linen did not spoil Tony, neither did the glitter of a small diamond horseshoe scurf-pin blind his eyes to old friends and acquaintances, acquain-tances, lie waved his bands at the men he knew, and smiled down on the common com-mon nerd with besoming condescension. Crooked back and all. Tony would not have exchanged places with a man in the house. A real tailor had done all he could for Donovan's mascot at most hot a great deal and from head to foot the hune.h-ba hune.h-ba cl's equipment was new and 1 he best that money could buy. Tom Donovan never did tilings by halves. The 'din ni pion, h hlg-bcsrl od boy with a streak of reul kindness in his nature, had hfconic attached to the little cripple. Tony's knowledge of human nature, his our>one philosophy. Ids comments on men of the sporting world, amused Duno-van Duno-van immensely, while the hunchback's almost al-most idols t rous worship of his distinguished distin-guished pat mil appealed to t he paternal germ in the champion's makeup. Tony Has an Enemy. Pllly Howard saw no need of attaching a mascot to the Donovan entourage, and said so. "What do you want a hunipbaek like that around for?" he demanded. "What's tho good of him?" "Never you mind what I want him for. Billy." the champion answered-. "The kid Is all right; I like. him. and that settles it. Understand! He minds his own business nnd behAves like a lit t le gentleman, and that's more than you do. Outside of the fact that he's lucky, he's a mighty nice Httio shaver, nnd 1 like to hav him around, Ho Sticks, sec, and If you bother him, I'll make you wish that you'd kept your oar out of my personal affairs. Do you get mc, RlllyV" That settled the matter, for Ton Donovan, Dono-van, boyish nnd good-natured at most times, bad an ugly temper when crossed, AS Howard knew to his sorrow. Tony soon became Quite a pMPonago In the sporting world. The first time his picture appeared In a New ork evening 'paper ho made a trip down in Dark Ttow, where he held a levee at the Hrooklyn bridge entranOCi Word Of his good for-tune for-tune had preceded him, and the companions compan-ions of his less prosperous days gathered about and listened brea t lib'ssly to "tho Inside dope" on the mighty Donovan. Kor the first time In his life. Tony knew what It folt like to be nnvled by his fellows. "Whee!" sighed Butcll Murphy. "1 tvtshl I bad a hump on me back, too! Pretty oft for you, Tony, pretty sort! MOW much did you say he won on tho tins you give hhn"" Yes. It was srdt for Tonv, bit I in his prOSpsrlty he did not ent I rey forget t he fa mil. v on Hester hI reel . hut paid his mother a call of ceremony a nd left a twenty dollar Dole behind him", "J got a new Job, ma." ho said, "with a man that thinks I'll bring him luck. Il's be 1 1 er grs ft than selling papers, Don't you (ell the old man, or he'ii io getting BOUSed SOme time nnd rflaklftfi t rouble. ni slip you some money every week or so to gel things for yourself and the kids, but don't vou till 11 off tO the old until. Vou know how be Is when he's goi g bun OH, 1 had to lell thin feller I didn't have no folks." Tony's mother wept, and pfOmJsedi and t he little brothers and sitters fingered t lie diamond horseshoe with wide-open eyes, gsjrfng upon Tony as :i visitor from another world, which Indeed be was. "And bow lung Is this fltio job to last?" asked Tony's mot her, wiping her eyes and examining the twenty-dollar bin with Interest "Won't this man gel tired of, having you underfoot all the time?" Ah, that was the question which was keeping Tony awake nlghtsl HOW long was tho dream to last? Within I WSeM Donovan was to start for tho PaClflO eon ft, Where he had Signed articles to m -el the Texas Cyclone at twenty rounds for the flhamplonshlPi s gold belt, and no itabl the press agent of the club a side iet of five thousand dollars at prevailing; odds, iii may have t go away on business, i.u." Hulu Tony, "but he'll oome buck Home dv. VVhonevor he's In New York, I'll ha with him " Oddl: mmugh, Hilly Howard chose tho If there's anything doing, I give you mv word " "You'd say that anyway," interrupted Graham eoolr. "I'm just telling you that it can't come off. Remember what I told you two days ago about the bet-Ling?" bet-Ling?" Porsano snorted. "That dosn't prove anything. ' he said stoutly. "They always playthe short-ender short-ender In this town." "Pikers yes." said Graham: "but pikers don't flood the pool rooms with big bets. Now, I know that a big bunch of that money came straight from the Donovan camp. Part of it was Donovan's, Dono-van's, and the re,st of it belonged to Howard; Martin went out and got it. and the next day it showed up in the pool rooms. There's a frameup for Donovan Don-ovan to go out in the fourteenth round." Porsano's eyes were fairly popping from his head. "Wha-wha-what'e that?" he gasped. There was no denying his emotion, but I ready In their corners. The veteran announcer an-nouncer was bawling into the open sky, and the referee, trim and neat, was H calmly rolling up his shirt sleeves. Joe Porsano, crouched in a ringside box, chewed hard at an unlighted cigar, and devoutly hoped for the best- Tony ffl reached up through the ropes, and timidly timid-ly patted the champion's calf. "Go get him, Tom'" he said. "Get away from there!" snarled Howard. How-ard. Clang! At the gong the men leaped forward from the angles of the ropes; but, quick as they were, the referee was between them, one hand held high over his head. "Gentlemen!" he shouted. In a voice which carried to every corner of the great open-air arena. "For good and sufficient reasons. I declare off all bets on this contest'" Then he skipped nimbly out of the way, and left two very much amazed young men facing each other one innocent. - the other guilty; but it ' would have taken more than a shrewd eye to tell which was which. The crowd hummed with sudden excitement. ex-citement. "All bets off!" The murmur ran from mouth to mouth. "What's that for? All bets off!" Billy Howard leaped to his feet as If to protest, but dropped back again, muttering mut-tering Imprecations. Johnny Martin's face, seen under the lower rope of the ring, was white as chalk. Somebody knew, then !" ! ' What the guilty fighter might have done will never be known, because the Texas Cyclone, always a better fighter than a thinker, reached over and rapped tH the champion smartly on the jaw with Ids left. Tom Donovan grunted angrily, and, stepplug in. planted a terrific right Jn under Rudd's heart, which made the Cyclone Cy-clone gasp and clinch, and Porsano breathed again. There would be a real fight, after all. The referee, who was a man to be ; trusted with secrete, smiled grimly as he M went betwen the fighters. i "Xone of that now!" he said. "Break!" '( The champion hissed a question in the H referee's ear. i "Never you mind what for," said the o:'f:.-i;i !. "All you've got to do now is to 'II fight." ! Indeed, he spoke the truth, for where there are no bets there is no profit in dishonesty. It took the champion something some-thing less than seven seconds to appreciate appre-ciate this. Ji.d then he followed the referee's ref-eree's advice vigorously. The most that can be atd for the Tex- IH as Cyclon' is that hi was pine. He 1 fought with all his l.v.ghr, which was Bj consideran'e ; and " ith all j-;!s knowledge, M winch was considerably less than his V might; but he was -(.:ng a very angry H champion of the wor.d. who had no one i clue ut h. T,d irpon whom to spend his i wrath; and the result was never In l doubt J , The Texas Cyclone fadei away to a i i gentle zephyr in the third round, and I died entirely in the fourth. It took John- , ny Martin and his first -aid-to-t-he-in- I jured squad seventeen minutes by the ! timekeeper's atch I revise faint signs of Ufa In the battered hulk which they IH dragged back to the corner with them. As the, champion, still a champion hi spite of himself, and by reason of cir- 1 1 cumstances over which he had no con- .ii I trol, walked slowly back to his corner. B I tearing viciously at his gloves, a small ft I figure hurled itself und.-r the ropes. : I "Oh. Tom. I made you win it' Sure. I j I did!" . yelled Tony, entirely forgetting B himself In the excitement of the mo- i ment W "Somebody made me win it!" mum- j' bled -the champion; and he did not smile. I; ekher. "It wasn't you, Tony, but I'd IH give a thousand bucks right now to know I who It was!" j . If Tom Donovan had believed his mas- ill rot, and taKen his words literally, Billy HI Howard would have been spared several weeks of quiet, but fruitless, Investlga- 1, tlon. Johnny Martin also descended into the sporting underworld, seareuing for a j leak, but what be found, added to the HI sum total of Billy Howaid's discoveries. 1' might best be represented by a large, iH round zero. So Tom Donovan never If knew who made him win, ana perhaps J that Is why he still carries with' him a Ii small hunchback named Tony, who is if now too wise to tell all he knows, even 11 to "the best guv in the world." 1 (Copyricht, 1019, by the Bell Svrdi- M cate, Inc.) 1 whether It sprang from surprise, or rage at being left outside when a killing was planned, Graham could not tell. Briefly the newspaper man recited the facts, and gave the supporting proof- as he had found it. "That's the lay of the land. Joe." iio concluded. "I've got the. goods on everybody every-body but Kudd, and, being as he's to win, it wouldn't be necessarv for him to know -anything about it. It makes one less to cut up with. too. But I've got the others dead to rights Howard and Donovan and Martin. I guess It's a three-way cut-up. and they left vou" out of it " "I guess thev did!" snarled Porsano "AU right, then," said Graham. "The main thing Is to protect the sucker money and keep these burglars from putting over a raw fake on the community. com-munity. The fight game won't stand for many more frameups, you know, and the legislature is getting harder to handle every year. My paper stands for square fights, and boosts the game, but it won't stand for a frame, and neither will I. Joe. it's up to you to do the right ihing. If you don't do It. so help me, I'll put the whole bunch of you out of business. Now, then, how about it? "But I stand to lose thousands of dollars!" dol-lars!" walled Porsano. "If I call this fight off. now, with every seat in the house sold " "Joe, Joe!" chided Graham. "Where are your wits? Isn't there a way to do this so that it need never be tipped off'.' Isn't there a way to make these men fisht on the level, and at the same time protect the public? Where's our head, : Joe?'- "I'm a fool!" he cried. "The bets, of course!' Poi"sano's big outdoor arena was a spa of straw hats and white shirts when the chnmpion of the world passed under the ropes. Close behind him came Tony. A careful observer might have Intercepted a keen, questioning glance In Graham's direction. The newspaper man slowly closed one eye. and opened It again. The Texas Cyclone was already in his corner a hairy, ferocious-looking human, hu-man, with a prognathous jaw and a slanting skull a true fighting type. He smiled when he shook hands whh the champion, and his smile was more terrible terri-ble than his customary scowl. The Referee Explodes a Bomb. There ensued a long, b!tter wrangle over gloves and bandages a clever bit of byplay on the part of the managers; and the great unwise, sitting beyond the ropes, marked the evident lack of good feeling between the two arch rascals with a thrill of satisfaction. If the managers man-agers hated each other so bitterly, what must be the spirit of the principals? "Going to be a nasty fight,' was the prophecy. Tony marked the wrangle over the gloves, and stole a look at Graham. He was writing steadily, apparently the most unconcerned man at the ringside: but of all the thousands present, he was one of three men who knew exactly what was going to happen. I At last the ring was cleared of human encumbrances, and the fighters stool TONY (Continued from Preceding Page.) trudged along the road In silence. Tony was struggling with a new idea which had come to him. "You think Totn'U win, don't you, Mr. Graham?" he asked. "I know he ought to win," said the sporting writer. Tony was quick to catch the emphasis on one word In the sentence. sen-tence. "But you don't think he will?" "I haven't said so." "I know, but what do you think?" "Ah!" said Graham, "I think a lot of things." Tonv was feeling his way cautiously, a scheme unfolding before him. "You don't think there's anything doing, do-ing, do you?' Tony's manner of asking the question brought Graham up standing, stand-ing, and he shot a quick glance at the anxious little face. "Do you?" He shot the question back like a flash, and Tony hesitated, faltered, fal-tered, grew red in the face, and when he begun a lie valiantly, it was too late. "Yes." said Graham, when the boy had finished. "I like Donovan, too. He's a very decent fellow, as fighters go. But, Tony, there's a man In his camp who is going to hurt him." "Billy!" said the cripple instantly. "You've, named him." said the "sport- I ing writer, keenly watching Tony's ex-, presslon. "Billy Howard has not got an honest face he looks like a crook and he is one. Whatever is being cooked up, Howard is in with it. But he won't get away this time. They may put It over, but sooner or later I'll land 'em. It seems a pity that a decent chap like Tom Donovan Don-ovan should be put out of his fignting game, doesn't it?" "Put out how?" asked Tony. "By not being able to get any more fights," said -Graham. "If I could get hold of this tiling in time I could save Tom and the game from an awful black eye. You can't fool me, my boy. You know something, and if you'll take my advice you'll do Donovan a good turn by telling me what it is; and I promise you nobody will ever know where the tip came from. Better cough up, boy. I'd like to keep Donovan out of this mess as much as you would. Don't vou believe be-lieve that?" "And you won't ever tell anybody?" demanded Tony. "Honor bright," said Graham. "Let's sit down under this tree." Joe Porsano, the manager of the fight club, was a very busy man on the morning' morn-ing' of the great day; but when Harrv Graham said that his business was urgent and private he retreated to his inner office, and turned the kev behind him. "Now, then, what's on your mind?' he demanded briskly. 9 "I won't stall with you," said the newspaper man. "Joe, I don't know whether you're in with this job or not. but I'm on. and I tell you it can't be pulled off." "Job?" sputtered Porsano. "What job? |
