"Why didn't you, then?"
"I——"
"Now, see here," interrupted the cabman, with a threatening air, as he put his face in very close proximity to Al's, "I don't want no muss with you. See? But I get that ten dollars. Do you think I'm driving this here thing for fun? Not on your life!"
This was Al's first experience with one of the class known in New York as "night-hawks," and for a moment he hesitated. Imagining that he had gained an advantage, the man added:
"Now, look lively! I've got something else to do besides standing here chinning with you."
"Yes," said the boy, quietly, "you have. On second thoughts, I'll keep your cab a little longer. Drive me to the nearest police station."
The man stared at him, then asked, rather uneasily:
"What for?"
"So that I can find out just what I ought to pay you. It won't take either of us long to get the information."
The night-hawk saw that he had, for once, met his match.