"I seen him scrap once or twice—he's sure ugly in a rough-house, but in th' ring—well, I dunno!"
"Has he a punch?"
"Bo, he's got a sleep-pill in each mitt if—if he can land his wallop right! Yes, siree, if Bud can hit a guy where it'll do most good, that guy's sure goin' to forget his cares an' troubles for a bit. But he's slow an' heavy, Bud is, though I ain't never seen him mix it in th' ring, mind."
"H'm," said Ravenslee thoughtfully, "M'Ginnis seems to have it all his own way around here—why?"
"Well, because Bud's Bud, an' because Bud's old man is a Tammany boss—which gives Bud a big pull wid d' police. 'Nuff said, I guess."
"Quite!" nodded Ravenslee, and walked thereafter deeper in thought than ever. "Where are you taking me?" he enquired, as they turned a sudden corner.
"To d' river!"
"This is Eleventh Avenue, then?"
"Yep! Watch out you don't trip on d' railroad tracks." And now the Spider seemed to have become thoughtful also, and somewhat gloomy, judging by his face as seen by an occasional feeble light as they traversed the unlovely thoroughfare.
"Bo," said he suddenly, "I'm thinkin' there's some guys in this world as would be better out of it. I'm thinkin' of some guy as got a little girl into trouble—an' left her to it. Her kid died, an' her folks turned her out, an' she'd have died too, I guess, if it hadn't been for Miss Hermione an' old Mother Trapes—ye see, she was all alone, poor little kid! Now a man as would treat a girl that ways ain't got no right t' live, I reckon. I should like t' know who that guy was! I should like t' meet that guy—once!"