“I’ll go my pile on that man!” said Perkins, when Ben had finished.
In this way he secured good backers, and was ready to fight for any reasonable sum.
According to agreement, he met Cummings next day.
“Look here,” said Ben, who wanted to get at once down to business, “you say that you are ready and anxious to fight Hogan?”
“That’s what I say,” answered Cummings.
“Well, now, suppose Hogan was to come in here now,” (they were in the Arcade saloon at the time) “would you go out and fight him?”
“I would,” was the answer.
“All right,” said Ben. “I am the gentleman in question, and I will fight you for five hundred dollars, or one hundred dollars, or a chew of tobacco, if you like! We’ll drive out of town now with a few friends and settle the whole business. What do you say?”
Cummings, upon finding himself face to face with the man whom he had been boasting he could whip, began to grow a little white about the gills. He professed, however, to be willing to accept Ben’s proposal, but instead of doing this he started off and got out a warrant for Hogan’s arrest on a charge of engaging in a prize fight.
Ben had very little trouble in getting released from custody, but he left Rochester thoroughly disgusted with Cummings.