“So his name vos Hank,” murmured young Dill, as he listened. “All righd, Hank, you gedt fixed by a ker-ank—by chiminy, dot’s boetry de firstest vot I ever make!” exclaimed the lad, as he formed the involuntary rhyme.
“Oh, I’ll fix him, never fear,” rejoined Hank. “The tallow-headed buttinski! But first we’ve got other things to attend to. The Dutchman can wait.”
“You chust bedt he can vait, Mister Hank,” muttered Heiny, on his side of the partition, “vaiting is one of der best things he does, und ven he gedts idt goodt undt retty den he yump—by chiminy!—he yump!”
“That’s right, we had better discuss what we mean to do. If they make that trial trip to-morrow we shall have to act quickly,” said Miles in reply to Hank’s last remark.
“What did you find out?” he added.
“Well, I spent quite a bit of time snooping around up there. I found a fool of a colored man who told me a lot.”
“Dot vos der plack feller, I bedt you my life,” chuckled the German boy, with his ear to the partition. “Veil he iss a chump und dot’s der first true word der feller in der next room has spoken.”
“So the colored man was easy, eh?”
“Easy? I should say. I told him I was from Edison’s place and was just looking around. He didn’t loosen up much so I gave him a dollar and he told me all he knew. He’s a bigger chump than that Dutch kid.”
“So-o-o-o!” fairly hissed Heiny, on his side of the wall, “veel, Mister Schmardty, maype dot der Tutch poy is not so much of chump as you dink.”