“What’s he say?”
“Says it’s technical.”
“What?”
“Technical.”
“Yeah, well, what’s that he’s hitting with the hammer? What is that? It looks like a cracker.”
“Naw, what’d he hit a cracker for—you kiddin’?”
“Boy, look how that sledge busts up the sidewalk! Man, that’s some sledge he’s got there!”
Within a very short time indeed, the gathering had spilled over into the street, interfering with the traffic there and causing the tough Forty-Second Street cop to wade growling into the heart of the crowd. “Okay, break it up!” he kept saying. “Shove off!” And when he reached the center where the operation was being carried out, he stood for a long while with his cap pushed back on his head, hands on hips, and a nasty frown on his face, as he watched the man in the tin hat smash a few more crackers with the giant sledge.
“Are you workin’ for the city, bud?” he finally asked in an irate voice.
“That’s right,” said the tin-hat man without looking up. “City planning. This is technical.”