"You said you are Dago John," he said slowly. "Who might Dago John be, pard?"
"They call me Dago John because I look like an Italian, I suppose, although I am not one," replied the detective. "But I try to carry out the idea. If you have worked your way through the South at all, maybe you've heard of Sheeny John. It will do as well as Dago John. A name doesn't make much difference."
"It makes a sight of difference here, my friend. What's your lay?"
"Anything that I can turn my hand to—or my brains."
"You have an education?"
"Yes."
"Can you write a good hand?"
"It's my one fault that I can—too good a one."
"Have you looked through the screens?" (Been in prison.)
"Never yet—to stay there. What do you want to know all this for?"