Show Broken I Thie Threads ads o iA 1 SERVICE INC i Continued from froni preceding page and trim of a a. eg Jim opened up on him from a distance of ot twenty feet Sa Say you he barked the big idea gettin fresh with a couple of ot little girls in their own back ack yard ard to stir up some trouble for yourself S CHAPTER III Rusty and Betty standing together er Or looked at each other and their eyes eres grew bigger Little girls gasped Bett Betty Now what do of that Hes He's gettin getlin worse overy day daY- The man In the tho alley had stepped back some three feet as Jim ap ap- ap- ap He heard Jims Jim's remarks with a grinAn grin An who the hell do you think you are he asked coolly Anthe Anthe An the little girls youre you're about abou where are they mean them then two queens over there with th the Goldilocks hair Little girls like so much say much say they're grand ladles ladies bucko Im I'm tellin yuh see ant antIm and Im I'm might call a or I of ot feminine I am I know class when I see It Jim gritting his teeth leeth notified him that he would show him some class that he Jle le knew nothing about abou and jumped the fence But in less than ten seconds Jim Elwell realized perfectly that he he was up against a proposition that tha had toughness spelled all over it Things weren't running t true Ue ue to prescribed prescribed pre pre- scribed form The fellow v was only a shade larger than himself a himself a matter matter matter mat mat- ter of or only a few tew pounds pounds but but something something some some- thing was wrong It Ii occurred to i Jim that when he lashed out with his fist he should have connected I somewhere But he Ills His IlS little playmate merely ducked and andIn andIn andin In In the language of commercialized commercial commercial- fighting socked fighting socked him in the eye Jim was going to get tossed around a bit he knew that and right before his admirers too For this bum he had had tackled handled hi his fists in a way that Jim pretty handy with his own had never seen before And nd nd the strangers stranger's wallops seemed to explode when they landed Within a minute Jims Jim's right eye closed and a red stream was pourIng pourIng pour- pour Ing log from his nose But he bored In for Jim was no quitter and he was mad clear through A swift uppercut that came all the way up from the hip caught Jim Elwell on the point of the the jaw jaw a and and spun him around twice But he wasat wasn through yet He was still on his feet he told himself and ant ant- Th Then n something happened His one seeing ey eye caught the flash of ofa ofa ofa a bright object He lie heard a dull smack like wood striking bone and the he face tace in front of him the face that was grinning and dancing about dropped from his line of vision He looked down His flis mist mist- touched gaze took in the form of his ils late adversary stretched out still on th the ground As he stared in astonishment at at what he be saw Jims Jim's rolling glance stopped on the bright object that he ie had glimpsed as it flashed through the air all It was a white- white striped croquet ball He looked up and around and across the Hie fence Cence Rusty and Betty stood there their heir hands gripping the t top p board their heir lips parted and their eyes wide in a fas fascinated stare And then hen all ali of oC a sudden n the truth hit Jim with a jolt that made him gasp It was not for nothing he re reflected reflected re- re that he had trained those kid pals of his his' in the way he though kid pals should go It was just as well that he had taught them how to throw a baseball Rusty Especially could have made madea a big leaguer look lOOI serious when she put it across the plate It was all clear to Jim now ObvIously Obviously Obviously Ob Ob- Ob- Ob the two had observed how the trend trend- of battle was wag going against them So Rusty had jumped Into action with a croquet ball She had contributed something of her own to the battle A gasping grunt came from tram the ground beside Jim El Elwell well He looked down again and beheld the vanquished stranger struggling to toa toa toa a sitting position In one hand he held the croquet ball Slowly his head lifted and he looked at Jim Then his gaze shifted to the girls on the other side of the fence The expression in his eyes was still a a little uncertain and befuddled but buthis buthis buthis his mouth began to spread In a natured good grin and with that case ease case of ot action aNIon that marks the trained athlete he rose to his feet and Held out his Ills hand J I 1 know when Im I'm Im licked he said and he spoke with a it little drawl that carried a touch of the South I 1 apologize to the the the-er- er little girls an yourself You put up UI a good scrap an I like a game fighter any place I find him Lemme Lemme Lemme Lem- Lem me Introduce myself Heres Here's my callin card He reached into Info an Inner pocket and dr drew w out an envelope the name on that he said Its me Jim accepted the envelope and read Battling Kid McCarthy Heavyweight Heavyweight- Champion of or Mis 1 sour Elwell glancing up remarked that he had heard quite a lot about the Battling Kid They tell me i stuff you know your yOUl The Kid SKid accepted t the e corn compliment compliment ment graciously Im rm out doln doin a little he explained reaching for his calling card an and with the other rubbed rubbe 1 his ms 1 head ruefully N i S 'S Just a little stick of advice be before ber be- fore I J go he added with a grin grm Any time hereafter when yuh start box DOX to clean up on a champion fighter be sure you take rake al e your little girl friends along They're great mascots Ill I'll say Ill say especially the one that heaved th the cocoanut She could play left field on the White Sox Sox anybody that throws like that That aint no lie He brother She's got gol gotan golan an arm like Joe Birmingham Jim Elwell looking thoughtfully at the twin wh who had heaved the murderous croquet ball tho thought so too Hope she didn't hurt hUlt you ou much Kid Ind She darn dun near ruined me that's a all Rusty gasp gashed gaped d find and nd the Kid added but hut I guess I had it Well I gotta be goin Im I'm sorry ladles adles S 5 3 all ll 1 right rIm Jim Elwell told him McCarthy stuck out his hi hand Kayo Well Vell so O long lons- V- V 1 J r S. S S. S I r I SJ S d dyr b yr frt Within a minute his eye closed and a red stream was pouring S from his nose Jim Elwell's misty gaze made gaze made mist misty by the Incapacitated eye fol eye fol followed lowed ved the prize prize- prizefighters prizefighter's fighters fighter's receding form for a full minute Then he J turned once more to the twins Well if that guy aint the best ever ever ever- T Oh Jim cut in Rusty with a quick little sob In her throat your eye is swelled shut and your you shirts shirt's all blood And so Is your our nose the woodshed till we wash was you up and put tut a- a beefsteak poultice on your poor eye Jim admitted there was merit merI in iii inthe inthe the suggestion S An your nice pants pants- they're all bloody too an this is Saturday supplemented Betty with witha a quick eye for the proprieties better better- h hurry rry before somebody somebody some some- body sees you S Jim waited no longer on bm the or order order order or- or der of His Kis going D t onCa He glanced down at his once mice flossy he had tad Jumped back over the fence They looked ed as s one of ot the he twins suggested as it if they had been wafted through a Chicago packing house Betty he said might help him out outa a bit Looy here you OU go up to m my room and sneak a clean shirt another another another an an- other an tie and my blue serge pants An dont don't for the love of Mike let Prof Prot or oi orr Mollie catch you They They'd d kid Idd me for tor the next six months if they found out about this Ill I'll be get gettin tin washed up In the meantime So while Rusty and Jim went to the he woodshed to wash away the fa facial facial fa- fa cial evidence of the late sanguinary battle Betty sneaked in the back backdoor backdoor backdoor door and up to Jims Jim's room to obtain the he wherewithal for concealing his unfortunate attempt to lick a box- box fIghting champion Rusty in reply to o Jims Jim's congratulations on her trusty rusty right arm blushed and made for or the kitchen She came out some minutes later just as her twin sister had ad arrived from upstairs Her two hands gripped the sides of a whole porterhouse steak cu cut t thick Well Veil have you got your nose washed she inquired as Jim threw the he towel he had been using into a nearby clothes basket and looked around If It you have Ill I'll Just put this his steak on your our eye and bind it up Her hero looked at the big slab of ot porterhouse and his mouth gave a twitch witch Mike like he gasped You dont don't think youre you're goin to put that hunk lunk o 0 meat on my eye with all that hat bone in It do you Bett Betty snickered and Jim hastened to o assure Rusty that he thought her intentions mentions were vere excellent But she tossed ossed her head which sent her recently rc- rc washed hair flying and he her hermuth herrmuth uth muth curled in disdain There was the he ax she informed Jim nodding toward oward a block in which the Instrument instrument ment of amputation was sunk Jim could take It and cut the bone out If f It didn't suit him Jim bowed grinning Youre You're a marvel Rusty He took the steak and nd with the ax carved It to suit his Is fancy The girls looked on fas- fas Mollie Mollio was keeping that steak for or tomorrows tomorrow's breakfast observed Betty In a casual tone as she watched watch- watch ed d Jims Jim's artistic surgical work worl Jim JIn look J at the other twin who shrugged Indifferently Oh well Jim can an put it back In the Icebox before he go goes gs s to bed Who'll know the difference after after- its it's cooked It'll probably eat just as well Such uch deplorable lark lack of delicacy he had never seen before Jim told her her The gladiators agreed that It would be he preferable to eat supper with Nurse Dalton who now lived JIved next door doom rather than flaunt the traces of baUle battle at the table with Mollie and Prof Nurses Nurse were so mu h more practical In their views of ot such Eich things j. M Martha rtha D Dalton Dalton- wanted an ito n ex- ex she would feed u. u 1 she been able to conquer a womans woman's natural aversion to wounds but never her hem curiosity She gently g chided JIm lm and toI told him hun hed he'd better be careful about picking people peo peo- pl to fight tight with But these twins twIns- she Sighed 1 hed She was thinkIng thinking think think- ing back k to that stormy October night when she had brought their ther inc to the Elwell home Some time later and just a as the sun was as goine down Rusty Betty Detty Ill ind Jh Jim strolled casually Into the living iving room where Prof and Mollie were resting Jim Tim was now n attired in blue serge pants a 1 sky blue shirt with collar attached and he wore his right eye neatly b bandaged under a piece of juicy and boneless beef beet steak S Explanations were elc due he ie knew knew- as soon as he encountered hi his mothers mother's Inquiring e eyes es To be continued Jim and the twins go on n a hunting hunt hunting ing expedition and Jim by cool thinking averts a tragedy I |