train out of here to-day and I'll accept a plain yes or no!"
His proposal was nothin' less than to have Kid Roberts "carry" red Fleming in their comin' scrap and take a draw decision. Eddie's world's champion, Bob Young, would then fight Fleming for a big purse before takin' on Kid Roberts, a thing he couldn't do if the Kid knocked Fleming for a mock orange. Both Young and his manager figured Fleming a pushover, and they was anxious to box him ahead of the Kid, which they knew would be tougher to stop. Toledo Eddie likewise points out to me that if Kid Roberts holds Fleming up in this mill it will give us another battle and another juicy purse with him, whether we knocked off the champion or not. If we're business men enough to do this paltry little favor for the champ, why, Eddie stands ready to present us with a certified check for $25,000 as a slight token of his esteem.
Well, I liked this double-crossin' second-story man the same way I liked sulphuric acid, not only because of the many obstacles he had continually put in the path of me gettin' the champ into a ring with Kid Roberts, but for other good and sufficient reasons. This looked like a lifetime chance to hand him the run around he justly deserved, so instead of tellin' him he was all wet I pretended to give the matter lots of due consideration. Fin'ly I told Eddie O. K. and slipped his check for twenty-five grand in my pocket. I had no intentions of cashin' it. Toledo Eddie then gayly blows back to New York to rehearse Fleming and oil his manager. I says nothin' what the so ever about the
