Fred worked over me like a second ministering to a fighter between rounds. While he worked, he talked. “One good thing,” he said, “you aren’t bruised up any. That nose is going to be red for a while. It’s going to be sore. Don’t touch it. Don’t try to blow it. Now then, a little alcohol on the back of the neck. There, that’s fine. Let’s slap a little over your chest—oh, that chest is sore, is it?—too bad. Nothing cracked, though, just a little wallop—you shouldn’t have tried to hit me, Lam. Let me tell you something about hitting. When you’re going to throw a right at a man, don’t hook it around. And don’t draw back your hand before you start a punch. I’m sorry you’re so tender now, because you wouldn’t take any interest in a lesson. But I could show you how to start a punch and the path a fist should travel, and in ten minutes it would make you about eighty per cent better when it comes to a fight. You’ve got what it takes. You’ve got guts, but you’re too light to stand up against a punch. You’d have to learn to get away from ’em, and that takes foot work. Now then, let’s put a little more alcohol on there—that’s fine. The bleeding’s stopped. That cold water’s great stuff. Your hair will be wet for a while, but that won’t hurt anything. Now then, on with the shirt—that’s it. Now let’s try the tie—rather a loud pattern to go with that suit, but it doesn’t look bad at that.”

The woman said, “Give him a shot of whisky, Fred.”

“Brandy’s better,” Fred said. “Brandy will pick him right up. Get some of that seventy-five-year-old stuff, a big snifter of it. Don’t be afraid of giving him too much. He’s been knocked around a bit and it will take something to get him back to normal. He’s a little bit light to take heavy punches like that. That one I hung on his jaw was pretty good. How is it, buddy? No teeth gone—that’s fine. The jaw’s sore, of course. It will be for a while.”

Madge came back with a big snifter of brandy. Fred said, “This is the chief’s favorite. He likes to dawdle around sipping it after meals, but you take it and gulp it right down. He says this is sacrilege, but you need it. Here we go, buddy.”

I drank the brandy. It was smooth as sirup. It traced a hot streak down into my stomach, and then began radiating little branches of warmth which tingled along the nerves.