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236 THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. |
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I studied a while, and see my chance, then I says :
" Well, I see the niggers go in there several times."
Both of them give a little jump ; and looked like they hadn't ever expected it, and then like they had. Then the duke says :
"What, all of them ?"
" No—leastways not all at once. That is, I don't think I ever see them all come out at once but just one time."
" Hello—when was that ? "
" It was the day we had the funeral. In the morning. It warn't early, because I overslept. I was just starting down the ladder, and I see them."
" Well, go on, go on—what did they do ? How'd they act ? "
" They didn't do nothing. And they didn't act anyway, much, as fur as I see. They tip-toed away; so I seen, easy enough, that they'd shoved in there to do up your majesty's room, or something, sposing you was up; and found you warnH up, and so they was hoping to slide out of the way of trouble without waking you up, if they hadn't already waked you up."
" Great guns, this is a go ! " says the king ; and both of them looked pretty sick, and tolerable silly. They stood there a thinking and scratching their heads, a minute, and then the duke he bust into a kind of a little raspy chuckle, and says :
" It does beat all, how neat the niggers played their hand. They let on to be sorry they was going out of this region ! and I believed they was sorry. And so did you, and so did everybody. Don't ever tell me anymore that a nigger ain't got any histrionic talent. Why, the way they played that thing, it would fool anybody. In my opinion there's a fortune in 'em. If I had capital and a tneatre, I wouldn't want a better lay out than that—and here we've gone and sold 'em for a song. Yes, and ain't privileged to sing the song, yet. Say, where is that song ?—that draft."
" In the bank for to be collected. Where would it be ?"
" Well, that's all right then, thank goodness."
Says I, kind of timid-like : |
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