“Yes, Douglas,” returned the young man, after a pause, during which it could be seen he was fighting with himself. “I’m—I’m afraid!”
Mackenzie Douglas was silent for a second. Then, after raising his hand on high, as if calling Heaven to witness the awful disgrace, he pointed a long finger at Bob Gordon, saying, in a tone of denunciation and scorn:
“Hoot awa’! You—you—coward!”
CHAPTER V.
A CONFESSION.
It is hardly necessary to relate that Douglas took the part Bob Gordon should have played, and gave the burly Dan Mosely the trouncing of his life. That followed, as a matter of course. The fellow had to be punished for insulting the singer, and if Gordon would not do the work, why, Mackenzie Douglas was only too pleased to take on the job.
But Bob Gordon did not wait to see the battle.
“Coward!”
The hateful, ignominious word seemed to pursue him, as, with bent head, he forced his way through the crowd to escape from the garden. Once clear of the lights and jeering faces, he strode rapidly to a remote part of the extensive grounds that were all part of the Savoy premises.
What should he do? He could not stay up in the woods and work as a lumberman any longer. The men would make life unbearable for him—unless he were to fight a few of them.