“You won’t admit it then?” he demanded.
“Admit something that isn’t true?” I exclaimed, with indignation. “Honestly, are you crazy?” I put as much contempt into this last question as I could muster. I knew it would make him furious.
And it did. “I suppose it was you I saw in Le Mans a couple of days after I saw you here!” he declared with a sarcastic pitch of his voice.
“Why, I suppose it was,” I replied evenly. “I was in Le Mans not long ago, and it is very possible that you saw me there.” Oh, what a lie!
He laughed. “Yeh—but it just happens that I noticed there were no chevrons on Leon’s sleeve—and you’re a sergeant.” He laid his hand on my arm. “Laugh that off now!” he invited.
And I did try to laugh it off, ending with another little lie, to the effect that on the day referred to I happened to have on a new blouse which I had to take before the tailor got through with it.
“Say—do I look that dumb?” he demanded.
“No—you don’t look very dumb,” I admitted, “but you sure do talk dumb as hell.”
Just then I caught the sound of a whistle—a familiar whistle, and sure enough, a moment later Esky bounded into view, followed by Ben.
I was scared stiff lest my tormentor say something so loud that Ben would hear it, but while I was entertaining this worry I felt myself seized in Jay-Jay’s arms and I knew at once that the fight was on. I scratched and bit and kicked and did everything possible to prevent him from putting his hands where he wanted to put them: at the moment it seemed to me that the whole world depended upon my keeping him from satisfying himself that his suspicions were correct. He was terribly mad and some of his curses weren’t very nice, but I was mad, too, and hated him from the bottom of my heart. I was so mad I could have burst into tears—but before that could happen, my assailant was suddenly removed from my vicinity and the next thing I heard was a dull thud as he hit the sidewalk some six or eight feet distant. Ben stood glowering beside me and Esky was dancing around as if he were having the time of his life.