Page:Fighting Back (1924).pdf/92

 About the middle of this ball game there was a excitin' little coincident come to pass which must of made Dolores very thoughtful.

A ball is batted plumb into the box where Dolores and the Don is sittin', and in the scramble to get it the Don is lucky. He takes out a fountain pen, writes somethin' on the cover of the ball, and presents it to Dolores with a bow and a flourish. Watchin' out of the corner of his eye, Kid Roberts grits his teeth. A few minutes afterward a special copper comes up lookin' for the lost ball, like they always do. Ptomaine Joe, which has been mutterin' and glarin' at Don Miguel ever since the fair Beatrice cracked about the Don pesterin' her, grabs the cop's sleeve and points out the Don as the shoplifter. Mr. Cop taps him on the shoulder, and when the man from Spain turns around angrily he looks right into a Tenth Avenue scowl and a request for the baseball.

"Go away, creature!" frowns Don Miguel, excitedly brandishin' his shoulders. "I have not your property. I am a nobleman, and this is an insult! I will sue"

The copper grabs the Don by the collar, and they commence strugglin' hithers and you all over the box, whilst everybody within eyesight forgets about the ball game to watch what might be a two-handed scrap. Kid Roberts, at first enjoyin' the thing, sees that Dolores is on the brink of death from mortification, and he steps right into the breach.

"Just a moment, officer," says the Kid, layin' a hand on the copper's shoulder. Friend Cop swings around ready to take on all corners, but the second he