“Tom, Dick, and Harry, and the baby; a hopeful lot of you. All right. So much for first names, though I don’t believe they’re genuine. Give us the last name and be quick about it,” ordered this odd man.
“Our name is Smith. That’s our father’s name and our mother’s. Why? Do they owe you something? ’Cause if they do, I wish, I wish you’d please go away, quick as a wink, and not let them know you’ve been here. My father can’t help it. He—something got wrong with the business, and I’ve heard them talk lots of times. They”—explained Tom.
Just there it occurred to the little fellow that he was discussing family affairs too freely with a stranger, and instinct made him pause.
“Well, ‘they’ what? Is his name Joseph? Joseph Smith? Has he a brother who is a twin?” asked the stranger.
Tom considered, there seemed no harm in answering these questions.
“Yes, his name is Joseph. He has a brother who is a twin, same as me and Dick.”
Then there ensued the following dialogue, begun by the visitor with the next question:
“Where does this uncle of yours live?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t know? Haven’t you ever seen him?”