"By George!" said the young man, "you made the claret flow!"
"It took two of them to hold me or I'd have got back at him," said Angel.
"It took fwee o' them to hold me," piped The Seraph, "or I'd have punched evwybody!"
"How did it start?" enquired the young man.
"That biggest one asked me my name," replied Angel, "and before I thought I'd said, 'Angel,' and that started them. Of course my real name is David, but I forgot for the moment."
"Pet names are a nuisance sometimes," said the young man, smiling, "I had one once. It was John Peel. But no one calls me that now."
"I will tak' dem home now," interrupted Tony. "Come," taking The Seraph's hand, "dere will be no more running da street for you little boys!"
"I'll walk along, too," said the young man, "I've nothing else to do."
I strode along at his side greatly elated. I was as hot as fire, and some of the gamin's blood was still on my hand. I cherished it secretly.
Although the young man had quiet, even sad, eyes, it turned out that he was wonderfully interesting. He had travelled considerably, and had even visited South America, yet he could not have been an engineer like father, building railroads, for he looked very poor.
[144]
