So, on the whole, he
decided that some other business would suit him better, and
resumed the blacking-box, which he had abandoned on embarking in
commercial pursuits.
Mike Donovan and Jim Parker were two notoriously bad boys,
preferring to make a living in any other way than by honest
industry. As some of these ways were not regarded as honest in
the sight of the law, each had more than once been sentenced to a
term at Blackwell's Island. They made a proposition to Paul to
act as decoy ducks for him in the same way as for Teddy. He
liked neither of the boys, and did not care to be associated with
them. This refusal Mike and Jim resented, and determined to "pay
of" Paul if they ever got a chance. Our hero from time to time
saw them hovering about him, but took very little notice of them.
He knew that he was a match for either, though Mike exceeded him
in size, and he felt quite capable of taking care of himself.
One day Mike and Jim, whose kindred tastes led them to keep
company, met at the corner of Liberty and William streets. Mike
looked unusually dilapidated. He had had a scuffle the day
before with another boy, and his clothes, always well ventilated,
got torn in several extra places.
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