OFFICIAL. 'Verstehe nicht'.
AMERICAN. Well, just watch my gestures. I was saying [He points to the LITTLE MAN, then makes gestures of flying] you have an angel from heaven there. You have there a man in whom Gawd [He points upward] takes quite an amount of stock. You have no call to arrest him. [He makes the gesture of arrest] No, Sir. Providence has acted pretty mean, loading off that baby on him. [He makes the motion of dandling] The little man has a heart of gold. [He points to his heart, and takes out a gold coin.]
OFFICIAL. [Thinking he is about to be bribed] 'Aber, das ist zu viel'!
AMERICAN. Now, don't rattle me! [Pointing to the LITTLE MAN] Man
[Pointing to his heart] 'Herz' [Pointing to the coin] 'von' Gold.
This is a flower of the field—he don't want no gentleman in buttons
to pluck him up.
[A little crowd is gathering, including the Two ENGLISH, the
GERMAN, and the DUTCH YOUTH.]
OFFICIAL. 'Verstehe absolut nichts'. [He taps the telegram] 'Ich muss mein' duty do.
AMERICAN. But I'm telling you. This is a white man. This is probably the whitest man on Gawd's earth.
OFFICIAL. 'Das macht nichts'—gut or no gut, I muss mein duty do.
[He turns to go toward the LITTLE MAN.]
AMERICAN. Oh! Very well, arrest him; do your duty. This baby has typhus.
[At the word "typhus" the OFFICIAL stops.]