of doors. For five thousand years, more or less, the world has
been putting people like him behind bars, where they can't make
asses of themselves. Yet each year, and every day and every hour,
a new ninny is born who fancies he's cleverer than all his
predecessors put together. Talk about suckers! Why, they're
giants of intellect compared to the mentally lop-sided that five
thousand years of experience can't teach. When the
criminal-clown's turn comes, he hops, skips and jumps into the
ring with the old, old gag. He thinks it's new, because he
himself is so fresh and green. `Here I am again,' he yells, `the
fellow that'll do you up. Others have tried it. They're dead in
jail or under jail-yards. But me--just watch me!' We do, and
after a little we put him with his mates and a keeper in a barred
kindergarten where fools that can't learn, little moral cripples
of both sexes, my dear, belong. Bah!" He puffed out the smoke,
throwing his head back, in a cloud toward the ceiling.

I sprang from my seat and faced him. I was tingling all through.
I didn't care a rap what became of me for just that minute.
I forgot about Tom. I prayed that the cop wouldn't come for a
minute yet--but only that I might answer him.

"You're mighty smart, ain't you? You can sit back here and sneer
at me, can't you? And feel so big and smart and triumphant!
What've you done but catch a girl at her first bungling job! It
makes you feel awfully cocky, don't it? `What a big man am I!'
Bah!" I blew the smoke up toward the ceiling from my mouth, with
just that satisfied gall that he had had; or rather, I pretended
to. He let down the front legs of his chair and began to stare at
me.