After waiting half an hour for their return, Ben got a little uneasy, and went in search of his friends. He found that they had jumped the train, and his two hundred and fifty dollars had gone where the woodbine twineth. Then it was that he saw the “sucker” not a very desirable kind of fish to be.
CHAPTER XXII.
Another Challenge to Allen—Brookville and Indiana Adventures.
Upon his arrival in Syracuse, Ben went into training with the expectation of making a match with his old antagonist, Tom Allen. His ground for believing that such a match might be brought about was the suspicion that the Allen-Rourke fight, which was then under way, would fall through. In that case, Ben wanted to be ready to step in, and offer to fight Allen immediately.
During the four weeks he thus spent in training, he was assisted by Tommy Foster, who was himself an excellent athlete, as was shown from the fact that, weighing only one hundred and forty pounds, he could put up a one hundred and sixty pound bell.
At the end of his month’s training Ben went to Pittsburg. Meantime Allen’s fight with Rourke had, as was anticipated, fallen through. Ben, therefore, as soon as he reached Pittsburg, issued the following challenge:
“I see that the Allen-Rourke fight did not take place as proposed. A large number of sporting men having assembled to witness this contest, I herewith propose, in order to prevent them from being disappointed, to take Rourke’s place and fight Allen for five hundred or one thousand dollars, or any other sum which he may name. The fight to take place immediately upon the acceptance of this challenge.”
Allen’s excuse for refusing to take up with Ben’s offer was that he had business to attend to at home, and so could not spare the time to fight anybody.