“You’d better not,” said Jim, pugnaciously, under the impression that Gilbert was apologising. “Just you leave here!”
Gilbert eyed him quietly.
“I shall not interfere with you,” he repeated; “nor will I allow you to interfere with me,” he added, firmly.
Jim looked at him attentively, and his opinion of him was somewhat altered.
“What does a boy with good clothes want selling papers?” he asked.
“He wants to make a living,” said Gilbert. “Paper, sir?”
The man addressed purchased a four-cent paper. Gilbert made change in a business-like manner, and directly afterwards sold another, while Jim Noonan looked on enviously.
“I’ve a good mind to bust your head,” he said, angrily.
“Better go to work and look for customers,” suggested Gilbert, coolly.
Jim eyed him with angry discontent. He would like to have pitched into him, but Gilbert was compactly made, and, though smaller than his fellow-newsboy, looked difficult to handle. Jim had hoped to frighten him; but his success was not encouraging.