nickel to-night ... dere ain't even a sailor
out a night like dis... Oh, oh, kid, don't treat me dis way..."

Her voice died down to a gasp of pain.

Officer 4434 was within ten feet of the couple by this time. He
recognized the type though not the features of the man, who had now
wrenched the woman's arm behind her so cruelly that she had fallen to
her knees, in the snow. The fellow was so intent upon his quest for
money that he did not observe the approach of the policeman.

But the woman caught a quick glimpse of the intruder into their
"domestic" affairs. She tried to warn her companion.

"Jimmie, dere's a..."

She did not finish, for her companion wished to end further argument
with his own particular repartee.

He swung viciously with his left arm and brought a hard fist across the
woman's pleading lips. She screamed and sank back limply.

As she did so, Officer 4434 reached forward with a vise-like grip and
closed his tense fingers about the back of Jimmie's muscular neck.
Holding his night stick in readiness for trouble, with that knack
peculiar to policemen, he yanked the tough backward and threw him to
his knees. Annie sprang to her feet.

"Lemme go!" gurgled the surprised Jimmie, as he wriggled to get free.
Without a word, the woman who had been suffering from his brutality,
now sprang upon the rescuing policeman with the fury of a lioness
robbed of her cub. She clawed at the bluecoat's face and cursed him
with volubility.

"I'll git you broke fer this!" groaned Jimmie, as 4434 held him to his
knees, while Annie tried to get her hold on the officer's neck. It was
a temptation to swing the night-stick, according to the laws of war,
and then protect himself against the fury of the frenzied woman. But,
this is an impulse which the policeman is trained to subdue--public
opinion on the subject to the contrary notwithstanding. Officer 4434
knew the influence of the gangsters with certain politicians, who had
influence with the magistrates, who in turn meted out summary
reprimands and penalties to policemen un-Spartanlike enough to defend
themselves with their legal weapons against the henchmen of the East
Side politicians!

Annie had managed by no mean pugilistic ability to criss-cross five
painful scratches with her nails, upon the policeman's face, despite
his attempt to guard himself.

Jimmie, with tactical resourcefulness, had twisted around in such a way
that he delivered a strong-jaw n