They were upon their great theme: “When I get to be a man!” Being human, though boys, they considered their present estate too commonplace to be dwelt upon. So, when the old men gather, they say: “When I was a boy!” It really is the land of nowadays that we never discover.
“When I'm a man,” said Sam Williams, “I'm goin' to hire me a couple of coloured waiters to swing me in a hammock and keep pourin' ice-water on me all day out o' those waterin'-cans they sprinkle flowers from. I'll hire you for one of 'em, Herman.”
“No; you ain' goin' to,” said Herman promptly. “You ain' no flowuh. But nev' min' nat, anyway. Ain' nobody goin' haih me whens I'm a man. Goin' be my own boss. I'm go' be a rai'road man!”
“You mean like a superintendent, or sumpthing like that, and sell tickets?” asked Penrod.
“Sup'in—nev' min' nat! Sell ticket? NO suh! Go' be a PO'tuh! My uncle a po'tuh right now. Solid gole buttons—oh, oh!”
“Generals get a lot more buttons than porters,” said Penrod. “Generals——”
“Po'tuhs make the bes' l'vin',” Herman interrupted. “My uncle spen' mo' money 'n any white man n'is town.”
“Well, I rather be a general,” said Penrod, “or a senator, or sumpthing like that.”
“Senators live in Warshington,” Maurice Levy contributed the information. “I been there. Warshington ain't so much; Niag'ra Falls is a hundred times as good as Warshington. So's 'Tlantic City, I was there, too. I been everywhere there is. I——”
“Well, anyway,” said Sam Williams, raising his voice in order to obtain the floor, “anyway, I'm goin' to lay in a hammock all day, and have ice-water sprinkled on top o' me, and I'm goin' to lay there all night, too, and the next day. I'm goin' to lay there a couple o' years, maybe.”