He was rather an unpleasant looking man, with a very sallow face, high cheek-bones, and a heavy goatee on the tip of his chin, which wagged up and down as he talked in quite a wonderful way.
"Stones, sticks, plaster?" said Uncle Moses. "Course not."
The official looked intently at him, and then at the boys. After this he conversed with his companion in Italian. These companions were quite as unprepossessing in their appearance as himself. Then the first speaker turned to the boys.
"You, sare," said he to Frank, in rather an unpleasant tone, "haf you de stones or de bones?"
"Not a stone, not a bone," said Frank, smilingly. "I did take a few at first, but I pitched them away."
"And you, sare?" said he to Bob.
"Don't deal in such articles," said Bob, with a grin—"not in my line—not my style."
"Pardon," said the official, with a sickly smile, "but I must put de usual interrogatoree. You, sare?" and he addressed himself to David.
David turned pale.
He hesitated for a moment.