"She got in Jake's cab and drove off," someone volunteered.
"Maybe he had a good reason for what he did," said the soldier.
Norman felt the attitude of the crowd change.
One of the men holding him retorted, "Nobody's got a right to treat a lady that way." But the other one slackened his grip and asked Norman, "How about it? Did you have a reason for doing that?"
"I did. But it's my business."
He heard a woman's voice, high-pitched. "A lot of fuss over nothing!"
Grumbling, the men let him go.
"But mind you," said the more belligerent one, "if she'd stuck around and complained, I'd 've sure taken a crack at you."
"All right," said Norman, "in that case you would have." His eyes were searching for a scrap of paper.
"Can anyone tell me the address she gave the cab driver?" he asked at random.