“To think of a bit of a flea like that having so much cheek! Here is America for you!”
“America for a country and ‘dod’ll do’ [that’ll do] for a language!” observed one of the young men of the group, indulging one of the stereotype jokes of the Ghetto.
The passage at arms drew Jake’s attention to the little knot of spectators, and his eye fell on Fanny. Whereupon he summarily relinquished his partner on the floor, and advanced toward his shopmate, who, seeing him approach, hastened to retreat to the girls’ bench, where she remained seated with a drooping head.
“Hello, Fanny!” he shouted briskly, coming up in front of her.
“Hello!” she returned rigidly, her eyes fixed on the dirty floor.
“Come, give ush a tvisht, vill you?”
“But you ain’t goin’ by Joe to-night!” she answered, with a withering curl of her lip, her glance still on the ground. “Go to your lady, she’ll be mad atch you.”
“I didn’t vonted to gu here, honesht, Fanny. I o’ly come to tell Jaw shometin’, an’ dot’sh ull,” he said guiltily.
“Why should you apologize?” she addressed the tip of her shoe in her mother tongue. “As if he was obliged to apologize to me! For my part you can dance with her day and night. Vot do I care? As if I cared! I have only come to see what a bluffer you are. Do you think I am a fool? As smart as your Mamie, anyvay. As if I had not known he wanted to make me stay at home! What are you afraid of? Am I in your way then? As if I was in his way! What business have I to be in your way? Who is in your way?”
While she was thus speaking in her voluble, querulous, harassing manner, Jake stood with his hands in his trousers’ pockets, in an attitude of mock attention. Then, suddenly losing patience, he said: