Fear sprang into Fleming’s eyes.
“You said you wouldn’t,” he began.
“I said I wouldn’t thrash you in the presence of a lady, and I’m going to keep my word,” said Joe, imperturbably. “Please, Jim.”
He relinquished Mabel to his friend, and Jim assumed the responsibility with a cheerful grin.
“Don’t hurt him, Joe,” Mabel urged, hesitatingly.
“I won’t kill him, Mabel,” Joe answered. “I only want to impress a few things on his memory so firmly that he’ll never forget them.”
Jim gently urged Mabel out of sight beyond a curve two hundred feet away.
When they had vanished, Joe turned to Fleming.
“Take off your coat,” he ordered curtly.
“What are you going to do?” asked Fleming, fearfully. “I warn you that if you hit me——”