"Nothing but paste. They weren't worth thirty dollars."
A light of understanding came into Spike's eyes. His face beamed with the smile of one to whom dark matters are made clear.
"So dat's why you wouldn't stand for gettin' away wit' dem!" he exclaimed.
* * * * *
The last voyager had embarked. The deck was full to congestion.
"They'll be sending us ashore in a minute," said Jimmy. "I'd better be moving. Let me know how you're making out, Spike, from time to time. You know the address. And, I say. It's just possible you may find you want a dollar or two, every now and then. When you're going to buy another automobile, for instance. Well, you know where to write for it, don't you?"
"T'anks, Mr. Chames. But dat'll be all right. I'm going to sit in at another game dis time. Politics, Mr. Chames. A fr'en' of a mug what I knows has got a pull. Me brother Dan is an alderman wit' a grip on de 'Levent' Ward," he went on softly. "He'll find me a job!"
"You'll be a boss before you know where you are."
"Sure!" said Spike, grinning modestly.
"You ought to be a thundering success in American politics," said
Jimmy. "You've got all the necessary qualities."