"A hard jolt!" said Douglas emphatically.
"Then what's the answer?"
"That it is more unfair than I thought you could be, to deprive me of my Little Brother, because you deem the man across the hall unfit to have one. Do I look as if you couldn't trust me, Mickey?"
"No, you don't! But neither does Mr. James Minturn. He looks as if a fellow could get a grip on him and pull safe across Belgium hanging on. But you know I said the same woman——"
"I know Mickey; but that only proves that there are times when even the strongest man can't help himself."
"Then like Ulhan I'd trot 1:54-1/2 to the judge of the Juvenile Court," said Mickey, "and I'd yell long and loud, and I'd put up the proof. That would get the lady down to brass tacks. See?"
"But with Mrs. Minturn's position and the stain such a proceeding would put on the boys——"
"Cut out the boys," advised Mickey. "They're gold plated, staining wouldn't stick to them."
"So you are going to refuse education, employment and a respectable position because you disapprove of one man among millions?" demanded Douglas.
"That lets me out," said Mickey. "She educated me a lot! No day is long enough for the work I do right now; you can take my word for it that I'm respectable, same as I'm taking yours that you are."