for the swiftness with which it came.

Her eyes had leaped to the figures of two men in the street from
whom the rest had separated like oil from water. One was slim and
well dressed; the other bulky, mackinawed, and lowering of
feature. It was the smaller who spoke, and for a moment she
misjudged his bloodshot eyes and swaying carriage to be the result
of alcohol, until she saw that he was racked with fury.

"Make good, I tell you, quick! Give me that bill of sale, you--."

The unkempt man swung on his heel with a growl and walked away,
his course leading him towards Glenister and the girl. With two
strides he was abreast of them; then, detecting the flashing
movement of the other, he whirled like a wild animal. His voice
had the snarl of a beast in it.

"Ye had to have it, didn't ye? Well, there!"

The actions of both men were quick as light, yet to the girl's
taut senses they seemed theatrical and deliberate. Into her mind
was seared forever the memory of that second, as though the
shutter of a camera had snapped, impressing upon her brain the
scene, sharp, clear-cut, and vivid. The shaggy back of the large
man almost brushing her, the rage-drunken, white shirted man in
the derby hat, the crowd sweeping backward like rushes before a
blast, men with arms flexed and feet raised in flight, the glaring
yellow sign of the "Gold Belt Dance Hall" across the way--these
were stamped upon her retina, and then she was jerked violently
backward, two strong arms crushed her down upon her knees against