Sooey Wan did not seem to be impressed. “Helluva house you ketchum, boss, you fire Sooey Wan. Allee time you makee too much talkee-talk. Talk velly cheap, but ketchum money you likee buy whisky. You no mally Captain’s girl, eh? Well, when you mally Missie Maisie?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
Sooey Wan rubbed his corrugated brow and scowled in huge despair. “Go ’long, boy, go ’long,” he entreated wearily. “Allee time you makee Sooey Wan sick. Why I ask? Wha’s mallah? You no wanchee ketchum little baby—ketchum fi’, six son?”
“I haven’t thought about it,” Dan growled.
“Hully up. Thinkee quick!” Sooey Wan entreated. “Pitty soon if you no thinkee, evelything go blooey-blooey. Sooey Wan talkee Captain’s girl, she tellee me pitty soon ketchum my boss for mally. Now you say no ketchum. Wha’s mallah? You thinkee make fool of Sooey Wan? Listen, boy. When Captain’s girl say ketchum boss, then Sooey Wan bettee bankroll on Captain’s girl. She ketch you, sure. Oh-h-h, velly nice!”
Dan slammed the door in Sooey Wan’s face and hastened down the street. It was an hour’s walk to his office and his head ached from too much thinking. The exercise would do him good.
He purchased the morning papers and looked through them for Tamea’s picture and the story of her arrival, of her father’s dramatic death. Mellenger, for some unknown reason, had not featured his story as Dan had expected. It was a short straight news story, on the second page, with a very good picture of Tamea, and Dan noted that Mellenger had said nothing of the fact that he was to be Tamea’s guardian, that she was a guest at his home. The other paper had handled the story more flamboyantly and featured it on the first page, but with an eye single to local color the editor had run the photograph of Tamea in the Mother Hubbard dress.
“Brainless apes,” Dan growled. “Makes her look like a colored mammy. I hate them.”
Arrived at his office, he had scarcely read his mail before Ridley, the rice broker, called him up.
“I can unload that four thousand tons at Shanghai for cash,” he announced, “but the price I can get will not leave you much of a profit.”