Wanted--A Match Maker | Page 5

flimsy cotton shirt, so bereft of buttons that the whole chest was exposed to the cold which but a little while before the girl, clad in furs and sheltered by the carriage, had yet found so nipping. She raised her free hand and laid it gently on the exposed breast, and slightly shivered as she felt how little warmth there was.
"Please put the fur rug over him," she requested; and her companion pulled it from under their feet, and laid it over the coiled-up legs and body.
The weight, or the second dose of the stimulant, had an effect, for Miss Durant felt the body quiver, and then the eyes unclosed. At first they apparently saw nothing, but slowly the dulness left them, and they, and seemingly the whole face, sharpened into comprehension, and then, as they fastened on the blue coat of the policeman, into the keenest apprehension.
"Say," he moaned, "I didn't do nuttin', dis time, honest."
"I ain't takin' you to the station-house," denied the officer, colouring and looking sideways at his companion.
"You were run over, and we are carrying you to where a doctor can see how much you are hurt," said the gently.
The eyes of the boy turned to hers, and the face lost some of its fright and suspicion. "Is dat on de level?" he asked, after a moment's scrutiny. "Youse oin't runnin' me in?"
"No," answered Miss Durant. "We are taking you to the hospital."
"De horspital!" exclaimed the little chap, his eyes brightening. "Is Ise in de rattler?"
"The what?" asked Constance.
"De rattler," repeated the questioner, "de ding-dong."
"No, you ain't in no ambulance," spoke up the officer. "You're in this young lady's carriage."
The look of hope and pride faded out of the boy's face. "Ise oin't playin' in no sorter luck dese days," he sighed. Suddenly the expression of alarm reappeared in his face. "Wheer's me papes?"
"They're all right. Don't you work yourself up over them," said the roundsman, heartily.
"Youse didn't let de udder newsies swipe dem, did youse?" the lad appealed anxiously.
"I'll pay you for every one you lost," offered Constance. "How many did you have?"
The ragamuffin stared at her for a moment, his face an essence of disbelief.
"Ah, hell!" he ejaculated. "Wot's dis song an' dance youse givin' us?"
"Really, I will," insisted the girl. She reached back of her and took her purse from the rack, and as well as she could with her one hand opened it.
The sight of the bills and coin brought doubt to the sceptic. "Say," he demanded, his eyes burning with avidity, "does youse mean dat? Dere oin't no crawl in dis?"
"No. How much were they worth?"
The boy hesitated, and scanned her face, as if he were measuring the girl more than he was his loss. "Dere wuz twinty _Joinals_" he said, speaking slowly, and his eyes watching her as a cat might a mouse, "an'--an'--twinty _Woilds_--an'--an' tirty _Telegrams_--an'--an'--" He drew a fresh breath, as if needing strength, shot an apprehensive glance at the roundsman, and went on hurriedly, in a lower voice, "an' tirty-five _Posts_--"
"Ah, g'long with you," broke in the policeman, disgustedly. "He didn't have mor'n twenty in all, that I know."
"Hope I may die if Ise didn't have all dem papes, boss," protested the boy.
"You deserve to be run in, that's what you do," asserted the officer of the law, angrily.
"Oh, don't threaten him," begged Miss Durant.
"Don't you be fooled by him, mum. He ain't the kind as sells Posts, an' if he was, he wouldn't have more'n five."
"It's de gospel trute Ise chuckin' at youse dis time," asserted the youngster.
"Gospel Ananias--!" began the officer.
"Never mind," interrupted Miss Durant. "Would ten dollars pay for them all?"
"Ah, I know'd youse wuz tryin' to stuff me," dejectedly exclaimed the boy; then, in an evident attempt to save his respect for his own acuteness, he added: "But youse didn't. I seed de goime youse wuz settin' up right from de start."
Out of the purse Constance, with some difficulty, drew a crisp ten-dollar bill, the boy watching the one-handed operation half doubtingly and half eagerly; and when it was finally achieved, at the first movement of her hand toward him, his arm shot out, and the money was snatched, more than taken. With the quick motion, however, the look of eagerness and joy changed to one of agony; he gave a sharp cry, and, despite the grime, the cheeks whitened perceptibly.
"Oh, please stay quiet," implored Miss Durant. "You mustn't move."
"Hully gee, but dat hurted!" gasped the youngster, yet clinging to the new wealth. He lay quiet for a few breaths; then, as if he feared the sight of the bill might in time tempt a change of mind in the giver, he stole the hand to his trousers pocket and endeavoured to smuggle the money into it, his teeth set, but his