“Oh, but you must be sure of me,” he expostulated in answer to what the lunatic had said. “Just watch the signs I give you, and if you can do the same that will prove that we both belong to the same lodge.”
The disordered wits of the man above saw something interesting in this, and he nodded gravely.
Joe stretched out his left hand and made a number of mysterious passes in the air, at the same time closing and unclosing his fingers.
Then he stopped and the man extended his left arm and went through the same motions as nearly as he could.
“Good!” cried Joe, and the madman capered about in childish pleasure at the commendation.
“Now, do this,” commanded Joe, and he went through a similar lot of mummery with the right hand.
The crazy man imitated him, but to do it he had to change the baby from his right arm to the left, and this gave Joe an inspiration.
“Now, here’s the hardest thing,” said Joe, as he lifted both arms at once and made them revolve. “If you can do this, I’ll know for sure that you’re all right.”
The stranger started to lift both arms to imitate Joe’s revolutions, but found himself encumbered by the baby. He looked at Joe in a sheepish way, as though for advice.