, 1923-01-20

oSt no III Turn "A8 uestlneo 70 III
t%erruption.
Say, : yuh want mo to throw this
old goat out O. hero?" was Gunboat
Dorgan's crisp and angry demand of
the girl.
stop itT' cried Teddie, with a
stamp Of h foot. stop It. right here
and right nowl I'm tire of all this.
I'm 30 tired of It I can't stand an.
other moment Of itr'
Then. with a deep breath, she turned
about to the old Commodore with the
rosebud in his buttonhole.
TITS been very kind Of you, I'm
sure" h sad. in n voice OF labor.
iously achieved patience. but you
can't possible help me, and you can't
possibly do any good by remaining
hero. So II youu permit T1r. Dorgan
and me to talk this quietly over. by
Ourselves"
You are requesting mo to leave
your her would.be benefactor in.
CURED. as he reached for his mi
You must" announced Teddie.
Then permit me. Miss Hayden"
said h other with dignity. Ito bid
not only you, but also your-your pro-
f%ess!onal boxer, n good afternoon"
And the old Commodore buttoned
his coat and took his departure. He
CALLED forth with considerable trepi-
dalton, trepidaton which remained
with him even until he stopped in at
a telegraph offlco on lower Fifth Ave
nue.. There he despatched q mono too
carefully worded message to Uncle
Chandler in Hot Springs. announcing
that things looked very dark indeed,
as Theodore seemed to be mixed up
with a young pr!ze-nghter by the
name Of Dorgan. and suggesting that
the sooner Theodora's uncle could get
back to the city the better II might
be for all concerned.
TEDDIE. alone with her irare young
Il prize.hghter. turned and regarded
him with a studlously narrowed eye.
Now. what do you want to known"
she quietly demanded.
She felt oddly and immeasurnbly
older than she had felt only one short
week ago.
81 want o know who's playin'
double in this mix-up." Gunboat Dor.
gan promptly asserted.
II don't quite understand" protest
ed Teddie.
'NH hAoN AAAAAbB 1 WANT u KIN
Just what yuh said about h n car.
"When?" t~emperorized Teddie. And
where7"
Just b'fore I kissed yuh. right here
in this room" asserted the over.
honest youth.
Whereupon Teddie stifrened and
WINGED and had to take n grip on her.
self before she could control her voice.
sHIspn nrt-, Nharat. 49,.
about It." explained Teddie, doing her
best to DO patient. "I remember now,
I said. you could have the car. And,
as a matter Of fact. you are perfectly
welcome to It. or what's left OF itr'
Then why's this man West talkin'
so big about grand larceny and gettin'
mo locked up7 What . he know about
what's been passin' strictly b'tween
yuh and me? Yuh were UP ag'inst 1t.
and I could see 1t, and helped yuh
out the same as I'd help any girl. And
I didn't have me hand out when 1
did itr'
That was tho trouble. Mr.. Dor.
gan" Teddle tried to tell him. ~
was willing to accept service from you
without stopping to consider whether
or not It could be repaid. / mean ade.
quately repaid. And that's where l
made my mistake. You'll have to at.
tribute that mistake. I'm afraid, to
the defects in my bringing up. It's
a sort Of penalty for the past. One
gets into the habit OF accepting things.
just as n accepts cinnamon.toast
from the footman. or a trip across the
Hudson from the ferryboat. without
being actively conscious OF any hu.
man obligation. That man had made
himself unbearably offensive TO me,
and / asked o to punch his nose for
me, without approaching the danger I
was bringing"
"Risksl' cried Gunboat. with a do.
risive boot. finally arriving at a def.
mite idea in what seemed a morass 1ut
distractions. Where's the risks in
tandin' up to a big stinr like THAR"
I'm afraid I wasn't thinking OF the
rihks to YOU" Teddie rather wearily
explained. II was rather seIfshly re.
Wondering the risks TO myself"
We'll. yuh amt suffered none from
II, have yuh?' derided her still indig.
nant'eyed cross-examiner.
i've just paid Raoul Uhlan twenty.
five thousand dollars as compensation
for his injuries" explained Teddie, as
CoolIy AZ bne was hDle.
GUNBOAT DORGAN fell back,
" CAPPED a little. and then swallowed
hard.
"Yuh paid-yuh paid that mutt
that money-for-for what he'd get
tarred and feathered for-down in my
haliwick" he sasped. wide-eyed with
incredibly.
Teddle nodded.
And Gunboat. seeing that movement
OF acquiescence. repeated Twenty.
five thousand dollarsl'
Then he began TO stride medltatively
back and forth. pacing the studio rug
with his characteristic pantherllke
step.
Teddie watched him, without speak.
Ing without moving. She watched
him until he came to an abrupt stop.
Say, Ruby was right in this, after
oll.' he suddenly proclaimed. II was
the u that got Off his nut. Yuh-
yuh locke so good to me I got my
numbers mixed. 1 got to dreamin'
things.
But twenty-five thousand bucks in
cold cas- ain't no dream. And d. yuh
know what I'm going to do. and do
RIGHT nAWr9 ~. .H