"Yes. That. Well, he follows the man that tells him the girl's in danger and really the man——"
"If you don't call 'em names," said William, "I can't tell which is which. Let's call the man wot you don't know where he was goin' home from Alberto (that's a good tale name), and the one wot says that the girl wot Alberto's in love with's in deadly danger Rudolpho (they all end with -o in a book I've been readin'; it sounded fine). Well then, Rudolpho tells Alberto that the girl wot Alberto's in love with's in deadly danger. I think that's a jolly good tale, but I think that Alberto oughter have a secret treasure somewhere, an' let's have another man in called Archibaldo (I've gotter nuncle called Archibald) wot wants the secret treasure an' he's gotter trail of dynamite laid to right under Alberto's bed to blow him up in the night when's he's asleep, an' let's have another girl in called Rosabellina wot Rudolpho's in love with—a proud an' beautiful maiden, you know, an' Rudolpho gets hold of her an' she yells out, 'Avaunt! Unhand me, varlet!'... Well, you finish yours first an' we'll put in my bits afterwards. You'd jus' got to Alberto comin' home from somewhere you din't know where an' followin' Rudolpho.... Wot comes next?"
Vivian Strange stared in front of him. He was once more the rabbit and William the snake. Some power in William's earnest, freckled countenance compelled him to proceed.
"The—er—the second man was really a secret service agent——"
"Wot's that?" inquired William disapprovingly.
"Oh, it's—er—it's a kind of glorified policeman, I suppose."
"Much better have him a pirate or a red injun," said William, "but never mind. Go on."
"Well, he wants to got hold of some letters that—er—Alberto has, and leads him to a lonely house and locks him up there, and says he'll keep him there till he gives them up."
"Hurlin' vile threats?" said William, his face alight with earnestness. "Let him say it hurlin' vile threats an' precations an' insults in his teeth. Wot happens nex'?"
"I don't know," said the young man. "That's as far as I got. I can't get on with it. I can't think what he'd say or do next."