Page:Fighting blood (IA fightingblood00witw).pdf/377

 case you get rosey with me again! Now lay off acting like a villain in the movies. You got people looking at you."

Rags glances sharply across the street and sees a little group of innocent bystanders rapidly gathering. The hand in his coat pocket relaxes, but his set face don't. Honest he glares at me with his beady eyes glittering till he looks more like a tiger than a human being.

"Galen," he says, in a hard voice, but it was steady enough, "I'll get you if it's the last thing I do! If I do kill you, I'd just as soon it would be the last thing. I'd die happy!"

Sounds like a play, don't it? I know. That's what I thought, too. I think I grinned—I couldn't help it, Rags sounded so dramatic. I didn't think he'd ever have the nerve to shoot a rabbit, judging from his past performances. That just shows there's plenty of things I don't know.

Well, I got Mr. Brock interested in the possibilities of "Judy Punch" and he came through for me as he has scores of times before. Came through to the extent of loaning me enough jack to begin the manufacture of my drink the way it should be manufactured and he took my notes for the loan. He didn't want nothing but my word, but I didn't want to start in business without doing everything in a regular business-like manner. I never was strong on accepting favors, not because I hate myself, but because I hate to think I can't stand on my own feet and operate from that point.