“Hand them back. I’m not an Indian.”
“You know I’d not give an Indian over five dollars.”
“I know that, but I don’t ask for a debt. You see I’m pretty free to do as I please. Hand ’em back.”
But the pelts were too good for MacTavish to let pass him, and after a show of hesitancy he placed them upon the shelf behind him and said reluctantly:
“They’re not worth it, but I’ll allow you twenty dollars each for them. But it’s a very special favor.”
“Needn’t if you don’t want them. I wouldn’t bankrupt the company for the world.”
“I’ll take them.”
The bargain concluded, Amesbury strolled away, humming:
“‘A diller, a dollar,
A ten o’clock scholar,