bearing the name of Micky Maguire. This boy, by his boldness
and recklessness, as well as by his personal strength, which
was considerable, had acquired an ascendancy among his fellow
professionals, and had a gang of subservient followers, whom he led
on to acts of ruffianism, not unfrequently terminating in a month
or two at Blackwell's Island. Micky himself had served two terms
there; but the confinement appeared to have had very little effect
in amending his conduct, except, perhaps, in making him a little
more cautious about an encounter with the "copps," as the members
of the city police are, for some unknown reason, styled among the
Five-Point boys.

Now Micky was proud of his strength, and of the position of leader
which it had secured him. Moreover he was democratic in his tastes,
and had a jealous hatred of those who wore good clothes and kept
their faces clean. He called it putting on airs, and resented the
implied superiority. If he had been fifteen years older, and had a
trifle more education, he would have interested himself in politics,
and been prominent at ward meetings, and a terror to respectable
voters on election day. As it was, he contented himself with being
the leader of a gang of young ruffians, over whom he wielded a
despotic power.

Now it is only justice to Dick to say that, so far as wearing good
clothes was concerned, he had never hitherto offended the eyes of
Micky Maguire. Indeed, they generally looked as if they patronized
the same clothing establishment. On this particular morning it
chanced that Micky had not been very fortunate in a business way,
and, as a natural consequence, his temper, never very amiable,
was somewhat ruffled by the fact. He had had a very frugal