For a few minutes the young auctioneers paid no attention to the four negroes, excepting to see that they did not take up something without laying it down again. The fellows moved around through the crowd, and at length two of them leaned up heavily against one of the show-cases which belonged to the store fixtures.
The combined weight of the two men was too much for the top glass of the case, and with a sharp crack it broke into half a dozen pieces.
“Hullo! dat glass dun gone and got broke!” cried one of the negroes. “I wonder how dat happened?”
“You broke that glass!” exclaimed Matt sharply. “You and your companion.”
“Me?” returned the offender in pretended surprise.
“Yes, you—and your friend.”
“Dat ain’t so at all, boss! We didn’t touch dat yere glass. Did we, Jeff?”
“’Deed we didn’t, Tooker.”
“We didn’t come in here to do no kind ob damage, boss.”