“Aint he, though?” said Dick. “He treated us just as if we were young gentlemen.”
“Ida seemed to take a great fancy to you.”
“She’s a tip-top girl,” said Dick, “but she asked so many questions that I didn’t know what to say.”
He had scarcely finished speaking, when a stone whizzed by his head, and, turning quickly, he saw Micky Maguire running round the corner of the street which they had just passed.
CHAPTER XVIII.
MICKY MAGUIRE’S SECOND DEFEAT
Dick was no coward. Nor was he in the habit of submitting passively to an insult. When, therefore, he recognized Micky as his assailant, he instantly turned and gave chase. Micky anticipated pursuit, and ran at his utmost speed. It is doubtful if Dick would have overtaken him, but Micky had the ill luck to trip just as he had entered a narrow alley, and, falling with some violence, received a sharp blow from the hard stones, which made him scream with pain.
“Ow!” he whined. “Don’t you hit a feller when he’s down.”
“What made you fire that stone at me?” demanded our hero, looking down at the fallen bully.
“Just for fun,” said Micky.
“It would have been a very agreeable s’prise if it had hit me,” said Dick. “S’posin’ I fire a rock at you jest for fun.”