"I—I 'spects I'd bettah be lookin' fo' annudder place, perfesser," he said quietly.
"Why, you aren't afraid to go to Mars, when you went with us in the Flying Mermaid down into the earth, are you?" asked Jack.
"'Scuse me, Massa Jack," said the colored man solemnly, "dis trip am wuss dan any ob de udders. It suah am. Good land a' massy! T' t'ink ob being projected transmigatorially in de obverse tangent ob de parallelism circumdelegated on de inverse side ob a duodecimo. It's too altogether imparipinated fo' dis chile! I'se afraid dat's what I is! I'se too much afraid t' go," and Washington started to run from the shop, as if he feared that the big projectile would take after him.
CHAPTER XI
A STRANGE EXPLOSION
"Here, come back, Washington," called Mr. Henderson.
"No, sah! I ain't gwine t' entrust mahself 'n any sech t'ing as dat!" cried Washington. "I ain't gwine t' be shot up froo de sky. Why, good land a' massy! 'Sposin' we was t' hit a star, or land on de moon? I'd look purty, wouldn't I, hangin' on one ob de moon's horns? How's I eber gwinee git down? I axes yo' dat. How's I gwine f git down?"
"Well," said Professor Henderson with a laugh, "if you did get caught on one of the horns of the moon, Washington, I guess it would be a pretty hard matter to get down."
"Dat's what I done said," insisted the colored man.
"You could slide down a moonbeam," said Jack with a laugh.