"Stop that! What do you mean?" cried the manager of the restaurant,
still several yards away.
The patrons of the place had been thinning out for the last few
minutes. Most of those remaining were near the front. Some of the
waitresses were already seated at a table next to the kitchen slide,
eating their suppers.
"Take him off me!" roared the man squirming on the floor under Tunis
Latham's hand. "That thief of a girl set him on me. This is a nice
thing, be overcharged and then assaulted!"
He was talking for the benefit of the black-haired man. The latter
swooped down upon them. His face was purple with wrath and his fat
jowls trembled.
"Let him up! Do you hear me?" he exclaimed.
"He insulted this lady," said Tunis, indicating the waitress. "You
just heard him repeat it. He'll beg her pardon or I'll wring his
neck."
"What do you mean?" cried the restaurant man. "What's the girl to
you? One of her friends, are you? Well, you are doing her no good
with me, I assure you."
The captain of the _Seamew_ flung the little man face down upon the
floor and held him there with his foot while he reached with both
hands for the proprietor. He got him. The latter uttered a squeak
like a captured rat.
Pages:
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90