him, and the memory of
the brief glimpse I had had of the Van Wyck girl's face when he lay in
the ring inflamed me anew. I know not what--some vestige of my thought
reached him, for he drew me toward him and when I bent my head he
whispered in my ear,

"Marcia--was there?"

I nodded.

"She stayed--saw--?"

"Yes."

He made no sound, and submitted silently to the ministrations of his
trainers.

Flynn was philosophical.

"The fortunes of war, Misther Canby. 'T'was a gran' fight, as fine a
mill as you'll see in a loife time--wid the best man losin'--'S a
shame, sor; but Masther Jerry w'u'd have his way--bad cess to 'm. You
can't swap swipes wid a gorilla, sor. It ain't done."

"He beat me fairly," said Jerry sitting up.

"Who? Clancy? I'll match you agin him tomorrow, Masther Jerry," and he
grinned cheerfully, "if ye'll but take advice."

"Advice!" sighed Jerry. "You were right Flynn--I--I was wrong."

"I wudden't mind if it wasn't for thinkin' of that fifteen thousand."

"I think he earned it," laughed Jack.

Jerry sat up on the edge of the bed and stared around, one eye only
visible. The other was concealed behind a piece of raw meat that Flynn
was holding over it.

"You lost something, Flynn?" he asked.

"A trifle, sor."

"And the Kid and Tim?"

"_And_ Rozy and Dan--all of us a bit, sor. But it don't matther."

"Well," he said with a laugh. "I'll make it up to you, all of you, d'
you hear? And I'm very much obliged for your confidence."

It didn't need this munificence on Jerry's part to win the affection
of these bruisers, but they were none the less cheerful on account of
it. As Jim Robinson he had won their esteem, and all the evening they
had stood a little in awe of Jerry Benham, but before they left him
that night he gave them a good handshake all around and invited them
to his house on the morrow. Between the crowd of us we got him into
street clothes and a closed automobile in which Jack and I went with
him to his house uptown.

CHAPTER XVII

MARCIA RECANTS

Thanks to the formidable size of Jerry's training partners, we had
managed to avoid the reporters at the Garden, and when we reached
Jerry's house we gave instructions to the butler to admit no one and
answer no questions. Christopher, now Jerry's valet, we took upstairs
with us and got the boy ready for bed. As the telephone bell began
ringing with queries from the morning newspapers, I disconnected the
wire and we we