Soup was no coward. He had fought many fights; but this fat person; who wore flapping leather chaps, spurs and a heavy belt, did not give him a chance. The cap, which contained the loot, went flying under a chair, when Slim Simpson got Soup by the legs, handling him like a wheelbarrow, and rammed him viciously into the underpinning of a heavy chair.
Soup went limp. Slim tossed Soup’s legs aside, as if he had no further use for them, and stared at Alicia. Came the “bump” of some one boarding the car, and Sadie came in. Her face was streaked with dust, but in her eyes was a great resolve. She wasn’t going to lose Slim Simpson, not without a battle. Slim gawped at her and waved his arms weakly.
“Huh—hello, Sadie,” he panted, and then turned to the dazed Alicia.
“You—you tell her,” he said dramatically, pointing at Sadie. “You tell huh-her about that wink. Hurry up, can’tcha?”
“The—that wink?” faltered Alicia wonderingly.
“You winked at me?” queried the perspiring Slim. “Back there at the depot, you winked.”
“At you?” Alicia shook her head. “No. I—I didn’t. It was a cinder in my eye.”
“Now, yuh see?” Slim was triumphant.
“Do yuh see——”
But just at that moment Soup Lannigan decided that it was a mighty good time for him to leave. He jumped to his feet, knocked Sadie aside and darted out of the rear door.