thug! I thought you would meet me with a gentleman's weapons and--"

"I ain't got a marshmallow on me," butts in the Kid, grinnin', "or I
would have done that thing. You come at me without no warnin', didn't
you?"

"Merciful Heaven, what grammar!" says the other guy. "I didn't come at
you, as you say in that quaint English of yours, I thought you could
take a joke or--"

"Yeh?" interrupts the Kid. "That's what the formerly Kaiser has been
tryin' to tell the world, but it ain't goin' into hysterics over his
comedy!"

"Well," says the other guy, buttonin' up his coat and glarin' at us
both, "this is not the end of the incident, you can rest assured of
that! The next time we meet I think the result will be different!"

"Say!" pipes the Kid. "What d'ye think I'm gonna do--fight a world
series with you? If you wanna scrap, I know where you can get all the
action you can handle."

"And where is that, pray?" asks the other guy.

"Russia!" says the Kid. "You must have seen it in the papers." He
pats him on the shoulder. "And now, good-by and good luck," he goes
on. "I'm sorry I had to bounce you, but--"

"Enough of this nonsense!" cuts in the other guy, pullin' out a card
and passin' it over to the Kid. "My seconds will wait upon you
to-morrow. I choose rapiers!"

"You which?" says the Kid, examinin' the card. "I don't make you."

"I said that my choice of weapons is rapiers!" explains this guy. "And
as a matter of fairness I must tell you that I have never met my equal
with a sword!"

"Are you tryin' to kid me?" asks Scanlan. "What d'ye mean rapiers?"

"Is it possible you have never handled a blade?" exclaims the other
guy, like he couldn't have heard it right.

"I used to, at that," admits the Kid, "but now I use a fork, except to
pat down the potatoes!"

"So much the worse for you, then!" frowns the sword-swallower. "But
you brought it upon yourself. Remember, to-morrow! And--" he stoops
over and hisses, "--rapiers, without buttons!"

"Ha, ha!" yells the Kid. "Raypeers without buttons! How are you gonna
hold 'em up?"

"Your ignorance is pathetic--not funny!" answers the other guy.

"I know," says the Kid. "I barely got through Yale!" He lays his arm
on this guy's shoulder. "Are you on the level with this fight thing?"
he asks him.

"I was never more in earnest in my life!" says the knife-thrower.

"Or nearer Heaven!" grins the Kid. "All right!" he goes on. "I'm
game, if you