m back two quarters, and started to punch a cash-fare
slip. He looked up to find the man holding out one of the quarters
insistently, if somewhat unsteadily.

"What's the matter?" demanded Hawkeye brusquely.

"Bad," said the man.

A drummer grinned; and an elderly gentleman, from his magazine, looked
up inquiringly over his spectacles.

"Bad!" Hawkeye brought his elbow sharply around to focus his lamp on the
coin; then he leaned over and rang it on the window sill--only it
wouldn't ring. It was indubitably bad. Hawkeye, however, was dealing
with a drunk--and Hawkeye always did have a mean streak in him.

"It's perfectly good," he asserted gruffly.

The man rolled an eye at the conductor that mingled a sudden shrewdness
and anger, and appealed to his fellow travelers. The verdict was against
Hawkeye, and Hawkeye ungraciously pocketed the lead piece and handed
over another quarter.

"Shay," observed the inebriated one insolently, "shay, conductor, I
don't like you. You thought I was--hic!--s'drunk I wouldn't know--eh?
Thash where you fooled yerself!"

"What do you mean?" Hawkeye bridled virtuously for the benefit of the
drummer and the old gentleman with the spectacles.

And then the other began to laugh immoderately.

"Same ol' quarter," said he. "Same--hic!--ol' quarter back again. Great
system--peanut boy--conductor--hic! Pass it off on one--other passes it
off on some one else. Just passed it off on--hic!--peanut boy for a
joke. Goin' to give him a dollar when he comes back."

"Oh, you did, did you!" snapped Hawkeye ominously. "And you mean to
insinuate that I deliberately tried to----"

"Sure!" declared the man heartily.

"You're a liar!" announced Hawkeye, spluttering mad. "And what's more,
since it came from you, you'll take it back!" He dug into his pocket for
the ubiquitous lead piece.

"Not--hic!--on your life!" said the man earnestly. "You hang on to it,
old top. I didn't pass it off on _you_."

"Haw!" exploded the drummer suddenly. "Haw--haw, haw!"

And the elderly gentleman smiled.

Hawkeye's face went red, and then purple.

"Go 'way!" said the man petulantly. "I don't like you. Go 'way! Go an'
tell peanuts I--hic!--got a dollar for him."

And Hawkeye went--but Toddles never got the dollar. Hawkeye went out of
the smoking compartment of the parlor car with the lead quarter in his
pocket--because he couldn't do anything else--which didn't soothe his
feelings any--and he went out mad eno