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 save Kid George from further punishment. Personally, I'm glad he does stop it, as I don't want to hit this game boy no more, but Rags won't pay Spence off because he claims it wasn't a clean knockout. Can you imagine a cheater like that? Everybody in the world knows that a fight stopped that way counts the same as a knockout, but this Rags insists that the bet go over to my next fight, which is the one with Shifty McTague, thereby giving himself two chances to win the bet.

Well, when I see how Rags is trying to gyp Spence out of his two hundred and a half I get red-headed and I tell Spence I will flatten Shifty McTague if I have to hit him with the bucket!

"Don't worry, Gale," laughs Spence, "you won't have to do that, you hit too hard with your hands! I'll bet a year or so from now I'll be going around saying: 'Six-Second Smith, the world's champion middleweight? Oh, yes, I know him well. We used to be chums in

"Do you think you'll be saying we used to be chums, Spence?" I cut in, "I mean, is the fact that I'm a prize fighter going to wind you and me up?"

Spence is half turned away and beginning to laugh, but he breaks off and swings around to me in a flash.

"Is that the way I strike you, Gale?" he asks quietly.

Well, after a look into his fine brown eyes I'm ashamed of myself, no fooling!

"No, Spence," I says. "That ain't the way you strike me—and I'm sorry I made that crack!"

Spence shows me all his nice white teeth again.