"No, not a bit of it."
The phrase slipped out before Jack could check it. Luckily the German was not aware of the lapsus linguae.
"Zat is not bolite English; you should say, 'No, sir, I am sorry, or I regret, zat I cannot say Excellenz.' Vell, can you call me 'mein Herr-r-r'?"
"He no belongey lightee China-side. My no can talkee so-fashion. China boy tly; he say 'mine hell'."
"Ach!" grunted the German. "Zat vill nefer do, not at all. But I cannot vaste ze time to egsblain. You must zen call me—master. Ver' vell. Now, my name is Schwab—Hildebrand Schwab." Jack suddenly remembered the letter his father had shown him on the day before the arrest; this, then, was the representative of Schlagintwert & Co. and correspondent of the Illustrirte Vaterland und Colonien. "And remember zis," continued Schwab. "If you meet any man vat vant Birmingham screw, Manchester soft goots, Viltshire bacon, or hair-oil, superfine, you vill let me know at vunce—at vunce. Ven ze var is ofer I shall do goot business in all zose zinks—ja, and many more. It is only in var zat I am gorresbondent; in beace I rebresent ze solid firma Schlagintwert Gombany of Düsseldorf. You understan'?"
"Allo lightee, Herr."
"Ver' goot, ver' goot inteed. You say it not so bad. Now I tell you ozer zink. I haf come at great egsbense from San Francisco to take photographs of ze scenes of var. I am already some veeks here, vaiting, vaiting, for bermission to go to ze front. You understan'? At last it come. I haf it now in my pockett. How do I get it? Ach! it vas qvite simble. Ven I am tired of vaiting, I go to Herr Oberst Pesteech, bresscensor, and I say: 'Your servant, noble sir; Hildebrand Schwab. Entweder you give me ze bermission to see zis var business, or I vire to our Kaiser who is in Berlin. At Berlin, and viz ze Kaiser, business are business.' Zat is ze vay I shpeak. So I return to my hotel: siehe da! ze bermission is already zere. Zat vere business. Ver' vell. Now I tell you vat ve do. To-morrow ve go to ze front, vere ze var is. You vill haf ze camera; you vill assist me to make my photographs. I vill learn you how. And give notice, boy, zat I am not bermitted to photograph ze bositions of ze Russian army; nor Russian troops on ze march; nor Russian troops in action, egzept I get anozer bermission from ze Russian general. Vat is zat for a kind of bermission I do not say. Zerefore you vill take photographs ven I tell you, and no ozer time. You understan'?"
"Savvy allo masta talkee; my tinkey velly nice."
"So; come zen viz me; I vill learn you ze—ze—ze control of ze photographabbaratus."
CHAPTER XI