"Come on, son! We've got him surrounded! He can't git away now! He's our meat!"
My heart now sank until it could sink no more. I was palpitant with apprehension, as who similarly placed would not have been? Their meat! The meaning of the sinister phrase was unmistakable. These must indeed be maniacs of a most dangerous type!
"Young feller," continued the elderly man, fixing his glaring eyes full on me, "before we go any farther with this little job, would you mind tellin' me, jest for curiosity, whut you was doin' jest now down on that there sofa pillow?"
In this matter, at least, I could have no wish or intent to deceive him.
"Sir, I was taking a swimming lesson," I said with simple courtesy.
"A which?" he said as though not hearing me aright.
"A swimming lesson," I repeated plainly, or as plainly as I could considering my agitation and the fact that the cold in my head had noticeably thickened my utterance, making it well-nigh impossible for me to give the proper inflection to certain of the aspirates and penultimates.
"Oh, yes," he said; "I see—a—a—swimming lesson. Well, that certainly is a mighty cute idee."
"I am glad you agree with me," I said. "And now, my good fellows, if you have any business of your own to attend to—elsewhere—I should be more than pleased if you proceeded on your way and left me undisturbed. I have much to engage my mind at present, as you may have noted."
"Oh, there ain't no hurry," he said. "I figger we'll all be goin' away from here purty soon."