第72章

"Was you in my room night before last?"

"No, your majesty" -- which was the way I always called him when nobody but our gang warn't around.

"Was you in there yisterday er last night?""No, your majesty."

"Honor bright, now -- no lies."

"Honor bright, your majesty, I'm telling you the truth.I hain't been a-near your room since Miss Mary Jane took you and the duke and showed it to you."The duke says:

"Have you seen anybody else go in there?""No, your grace, not as I remember, I believe.""Stop and think."

I studied awhile and see my chance; then I says:

"Well, I see the niggers go in there several times."Both of them gave 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 tiptoed away; so I seen, easy enough, that they'd shoved in there to do up your majesty's room, or something, s'posing you was up;and found you WARN'T 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 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 WASsorry, and so did you, and so did everybody.Don't ever tell ME any more 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 theater, 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:

"Is something gone wrong?"

The king whirls on me and rips out:

"None o' your business! You keep your head shet, and mind y'r own affairs -- if you got any.Long as you're in this town don't you forgit THAT --you hear?" Then he says to the duke, "We got to jest swaller it and say noth'n': mum's the word for US."As they was starting down the ladder the duke he chuckles again, and says:

"Quick sales AND small profits! It's a good business -- yes."The king snarls around on him and says:

"I was trying to do for the best in sellin' 'em out so quick.If the profits has turned out to be none, lackin' considable, and none to carry, is it my fault any more'n it's yourn?""Well, THEY'D be in this house yet and we WOULDN'T if I could a got my advice listened to."The king sassed back as much as was safe for him, and then swapped around and lit into ME again.He give me down the banks for not coming and TELLINGhim I see the niggers come out of his room acting that way -- said any fool would a KNOWED something was up.And then waltzed in and cussed HIMSELFawhile, and said it all come of him not laying late and taking his natural rest that morning, and he'd be blamed if he'd ever do it again.So they went off a-jawing; and I felt dreadful glad I'd worked it all off on to the niggers, and yet hadn't done the niggers no harm by it.