ntly after a time, "that ye've
had aall ye earned, an' more. Ye left me without finishin' yer work, an'
ye'll get no more time from me. If ye waant more, go down to the ahffice
an' see if they'll give it to ye. I have no money fer ye here," and he
resumed a comfortable position before the fire, his hands behind his
back.

"It's siven dollars ye still owe me," returned the other, ignoring
Rourke's reply, "an' I waant it now."

"Well, ye'll naht get it," replied my boss. "I've naathin' fer ye, I'm
tellin' ye. I owe ye naathin'."

"Is that so?" returned the other. "Well, we'll see about that. Ye'll be
after givin' it to me, er I'll get it out of ye somehow. It's naht goin'
to be ch'ated out av me money I am."

"I'm owin' ye naathin'," insisted Rourke. "Ye may as well go away from
here. Ye'll get naathin'. If ye waant anything more, go an' see the
ahffice," and now he strode away to where the Italians were, ignoring
the stranger completely and muttering something about his being drunk.
The latter followed him, however, over to where he stood, and continued
the dispute. Rourke ignored him as much as possible, only exclaiming
once, "L'ave me be, man. Ye're drunk."

"I'm naht drunk," returned the other. "Once an' fer all now, I'm askin'
ye, arre ye goin' to give me that money?"

"No," replied Rourke, "I'm naht."

"Belave me," said the stranger, "I'll get it out av ye somehow," but for
the moment he made no move, merely hanging about in an uncertain way. He
seemed to have no definite plan for collecting the money, or if he had
he had by now abandoned it.

Without paying any more attention to him, Rourke, still very irritated
and defiant, returned to the fire. He tried to appear calm and
indifferent, but the ex-workman, a non-union mason, I judged, followed
after, standing before him and staring in the defiant, irritating way a
drunken man will, not quite able to make up his mind what else to do.
Presently Rourke, more to relieve the tedium of an embarrassing
situation than anything else (a number of accusatory remarks having been
passed), turned and began poking at the blaze, finally bending over to
lay on a stick of wood. On the instant, and as if seized by sudden
inspiration, whether because the tails of Rourke's long coat hung out in
a most provoking fashion and suggested the thing that followed or not, I
don't know, but now the red-faced intruder jumped forward, and seizing
them in a most nimble and yet vigorous c