You see,
you are responsible for our having lost our champion, so we really feel
that we have a claim upon you."
"Give me a moment, gentlemen. It is very unexpected. I am afraid the
doctor would never consent to my going--in fact, I am sure that he would
not."
"But he need never know--not before the fight, at any rate. We are not
bound to give the name of our man. So long as he is within the weight
limits on the day of the fight, that is all that concerns anyone."
The adventure and the profit would either of them have attracted
Montgomery. The two combined were irresistible. "Gentlemen," said he,
"I'll do it!"
The three sprang from their seats. The publican had seized his right
hand, the horse-dealer his left, and the Cantab slapped him on the back.
"Good lad! good lad!" croaked the publican. "Eh, mon, but if thou yark
him, thou'll rise in one day from being just a common doctor to the
best-known mon 'twixt here and Bradford. Thou art a witherin' tyke,
thou art, and no mistake; and if thou beat the Master of Croxley,
thou'll find all the beer thou want for the rest of thy life waiting for
thee at the 'Four Sacks.'"
"It is the most sporting thing I ever heard of in my life," said young
Wilson. "By George, sir, if you pull it off, you've got the
constituency in your pocket, if you care to stand.
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