"Can I? Try me and see."
"You won't tell a soul?"
"I'll give you my word. But what's up?"
"I'm not coming back."
"What!"
"It's a fact."
"Do you mean that you are going to run away?"
"That's the plain English of it, Sam. I'm tired of living with my uncle. He doesn't treat me fairly."
"I believe that. My father thinks he is the meanest man in the State of Ohio."
"Well, I don't know about that, but he is pretty mean, I can tell you that. I'm not going to stand it any longer."