“Work velly good! No work, Tie Co die.”
Fabian looked at the lad protectingly, wondering in a careless way why this Chinaman seemed to him so different from the others.
“Wouldn’t you like to be back in China?” he asked.
“No,” said Tie Co decidedly.
“Why?”
“I not know why,” answered Tie Co.
Fabian laughed.
“Haven’t you got a nice little wife at home?” he continued. “I hear you people marry very young.”
“No, I no wife,” asserted his companion with a choky little laugh. “I never have no wife.”
“Nonsense,” joked Fabian. “Why, Tie Co, think how nice it would be to have a little woman cook your rice and to love you.”