"I what?"
"I've been watching you play, and you cheat. You don't even cheat good. You cheat sloppy."
The tall boy stood up slowly, and the other chairs were scraped back in anticipation.
"Now that's something," he said. "That's really something! The kid's here ten minutes, and right away he wants to be buried." His face became grim. "Boy, we've had 'em wise before, pal. But never like this."
Ron planted himself in front of him.
"So?" he said.
Shock's face clouded. "Say, are you kidding? You really like trouble that bad?"
His right hand lashed out, while the left headed for his jacket pocket. But it wasn't the right that Ron avoided. Both of his short arms shot out towards the tall boy's left, and stopped the descent of the arm. Shock's right hand thudded against Ron's shoulder, the blow only stinging him.
"Hey!" Shock cried. "Hey, you—"
It was a triumph for Ron. He had been right about the electrical circuit woven through Shock's clothing, the circuit he couldn't complete without his left hand tripping the mechanism in his pocket. With the power off, Shock's weapon was useless. He was caught by surprise, and Ron's quick-moving hands tumbled him to the floor.