“If you don’t leave here immediately,” she began indignantly, “I’ll call Mr. Sammis——”
“Hold on there, little one!” he interrupted blandly. “I know I ain’t welcome here, but don’t go up in the air before you hear what I got to say. If you don’t let me get it off my chest, you’ll be sorry. I’ve come to tell you something about that letter-carrier friend of yours—something that’ll help him.”
The girl hesitated. “Well, hurry up and say it,” she said coldly. “I’ll listen.”
“I met Sheridan on the street a little while ago,” said Hines, “and he looked so bad that, honest, I couldn’t help feelin’ sorry for him.”
“He doesn’t need your pity,” declared Dallas scornfully.
“Maybe not,” said Hines; “but at the same time he’s got it. It almost made my heart bleed to see him lookin’ like that, and I made up my mind that I’d like to do something for him.”
The girl received this declaration with an incredulous laugh; but, unheeding this, her visitor went on: “I’ve got a little money saved, girlie—a couple of thousand dollars that I don’t need just now. If you think your carrier friend could use it, he’s very welcome to it.”
Dallas looked at him in great astonishment. This generous offer quite took her breath away. Her tone was a little less hostile as she said:
“Why, that’s very kind of you, Mr. Hines; but I don’t think Owen—Mr. Sheridan is in need of money.”
“I reckon he is,” replied Jake, with a grin. “I know very well that he ain’t got a dollar to his name. I don’t like the feller—he’s a crook, and I ain’t got any use for crooks—but at the same time, as I say, I feel sorry for him. And, besides, he’s a friend of yours, and any friend of yours, little one, can command Jake Hines’ bank roll. So you tell him the next time you see him that if he can use a couple of thousand he’s welcome to it.”