Miller: “Hold on! Er—er”—

Mrs. Crashaw, as if the boy had to be communicated with through an interpreter: “Ask him if it’s ever happened before.”

Miller: “Yes. Were you ever caught before?”

The Elevator Boy: “No.”

Miller: “He says no.”

Mrs. Crashaw: “Ask him if the elevator has a safety device.”

Miller: “Has it got a safety device?”

The Elevator Boy: “How should I know?”

Miller: “He says he don’t know.”

Mrs. Curwen, in a shriek of hysterical laughter: “Why, he understands English!”