“I ain’t chi-hiked by cab-runners,” she said; “and I ain’t Emily—except to my friends.”

The man laughed roughly. He jerked a thumb at Ffolliott:

“This—one of your friends?” he asked with a sneering raw mouth.

“Yes,” she said—“you leave him alone—or——”

“Yuss?” he jeered, inquiringly.

“I’ll put my bonnet-pin in your face,” she said calmly.

“You make your friendship pretty prompt, Em’ly,” said he; and added with a mirthless laugh: “I saw your bleery aristocrat follow you from the bleery the-ayter—I saw the whole bleery scandal. Yer see, I’ve been sleepin’ out under the blue a night or two, and lookin’ slippy for a light job, so I have my two eyes about me when I fall up against a the-ayter door at closin’ time and the audience is a-gettin’ the chuck-out. See?”

The girl put her hand before her mouth:

“Excuse me yawnin’,” she said, “but you make me sleepy.”

“Yer ain’t goin’ to sleep too much to-night,” he said, scowling upon her.