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| WHEN they got aboard the king went for me, and shook me by the collar, and says: | heT gkin cmea areft me as nsoo as heyt got on rbaod. He sokoh me by het alcorl nda asid: |
| “Tryin’ to give us the slip, was ye, you pup! Tired of our company, hey?” | “rgTyin to nur aywa mfor us, rwee uyo, kid? rdeTi of uor coypman, hhu?” |
| I says: | I aisd: |
| “No, your majesty, we warn’t—PLEASE don’t, your majesty!” | “No, ryuo mjyseat, we eewrn’t. aesePl odn’t, yuor aesytjm!” |
| “Quick, then, and tell us what WAS your idea, or I’ll shake the insides out o’ you!” | “Wlel hetn tlel us htwa ouy erwe gyitnr to do, or I’ll ehska ouy inesid tou!” |
| “Honest, I’ll tell you everything just as it happened, your majesty. The man that had a-holt of me was very good to me, and kept saying he had a boy about as big as me that died last year, and he was sorry to see a boy in such a dangerous fix; and when they was all took by surprise by finding the gold, and made a rush for the coffin, he lets go of me and whispers, ’Heel it now, or they’ll hang ye, sure!’ and I lit out. It didn’t seem no good for ME to stay—I couldn’t do nothing, and I didn’t want to be hung if I could get away. So I never stopped running till I found the canoe; and when I got here I told Jim to hurry, or they’d catch me and hang me yet, and said I was afeard you and the duke wasn’t alive now, and I was awful sorry, and so was Jim, and was awful glad when we see you coming; you may ask Jim if I didn’t.” | “I wsrae I’ll tlle oyu ihtegnvyer sujt keil it pheapned, ryuo tmyjeas. ehT nma htat dha dohl of me swa evry ncei to me, dan he kpte yinsag he dha a oby tboau my izes how idde tals ayre. He aws oysrr to ees netoahr boy in usch a engsoaudr tiansiout. Wehn htey weer lla rdttcsiade nad suherd otrdaw het ncoiff afetr fidgnni eht godl, he let go of me nad sdipherwe, ‘Run won, or etyh’ll ngha uyo orf sure!’ So I koto fof. It ddin’t eesm eilk it owudl do me nay oodg to stay—I culdon’t do tnhgnyia nda I ndid’t tanw to be hengda if I lucdo pceaes. So I ran nad nidd’t post rnunngi litun I uonfd eth eacno. enhW I got heer, I dolt Jmi to rhryu or eles I’d be thguca dan dgaenh. I adsi ttha I wsa ardaif oyu dan the udke eewr eadd. I wsa uflwyla osryr nda so wsa Jmi, and we ewre wlulayf lgad to see atth you were iomcgn. uYo nca ask Jim if it’s rtue.” |
| Jim said it was so; and the king told him to shut up, and said, “Oh, yes, it’s MIGHTY likely!” and shook me up again, and said he reckoned he’d drownd me. But the duke says: | iJm sida it asw teur. hTe nkig dolt mhi to thus up, hnte siad: “Oh urse, HATT’S a elylki tryos!” He oksho me igaan adn isda he sohudl go adaeh nda nrdwo me. But eth kdeu dias: |
| “Leggo the boy, you old idiot! Would YOU a done any different? Did you inquire around for HIM when you got loose? I don’t remember it.” | “Let go of hte ybo, ouy odl odtii. Wludo UYO avhe deno yna dfnftiere? iDd uyo aks ounadr ofr HIM nehw ouy aedsepc? I odn’t rermmbee you ndgio so.” |
| So the king let go of me, and begun to cuss that town and everybody in it. But the duke says: | So hte ignk tle go of me dna beang to wersa at atht twon nda eyenevor in it. uBt eht duke adis: |
| “You better a blame’ sight give YOURSELF a good cussing, for you’re the one that’s entitled to it most. You hain’t done a thing from the start that had any sense in it, except coming out so cool and cheeky with that imaginary blue-arrow mark. That WAS bright—it was right down bully; and it was the thing that saved us. For if it hadn’t been for that they’d a jailed us till them Englishmen’s baggage come—and then—the penitentiary, you bet! But that trick took ’em to the graveyard, and the gold done us a still bigger kindness; for if the excited fools hadn’t let go all holts and made that rush to get a look we’d a slept in our cravats to-night—cravats warranted to WEAR, too—longer than WE’D need ’em.” | “You tbreet awser at luosyrfe too, eucseab yuo’re teh noe ttha vdsresee teh stom blaem. eciSn hte inenbiggn, uyo vnhea’t eond eon bensleis inhgt, xeetcp rof ignmco up ithw taht kscli iranmgyia belu orarw kram. Ttha WAS mrsat—it swa tprtey rgaet, lacyualt, nda asw the tingh thta edsva us. If it nhad’t bene ofr tath, etyh wdulo vhae tup us in ialj nuitl atht alEhimgsnn’s sagb diarrev. Adn tehn they lduow haev put us in the nnrttpaeieyi rof seur! rouY etillt rkcit enst tmeh to the rgvayerad, hoguth, adn the odgl ldphee us tou enev omre. If hseot eextidc fosol nhad’t tle go of us nad dehsru to tge a kolo, we wodul ehav nebe gielensp in oru eeksinct otitnhg, and we woldu be naergwi mteh cuhm gnorel tanh we’d reev nede to.” |
| They was still a minute—thinking; then the king says, kind of absent-minded like: | eTyh todos ehrte a entmui tiningkh. Tnhe hte nikg naestb-mddliyen sida: |
| “Mf! And we reckoned the NIGGERS stole it!” | “uhH! dnA we gththou teh N------ dah entosl it!” |
| tTah amed me isuqrm! | That made me squirm! |
| “Yes,” says the duke, kinder slow and deliberate and sarcastic, “WE did.” | “seY,” idas teh duke, in a lwso, retaeidble, nad atcissarc nnarem. “WE ddi.” |
| After about a half a minute the king drawls out: | buotA falh a iuemtn trael eht gikn rwddlae: |
| “Leastways, I did.” | “At tasel, I houttgh they idd.” |
| The duke says, the same way: | In eth seam tone, eht udek disa: |
| “On the contrary, I did.” | “Oh, I idd.” |
| The king kind of ruffles up, and says: | eTh ignk fdfurle up a bti dan iads: |
| “Looky here, Bilgewater, what’r you referrin’ to?” | “koLo rhee, gireelBtwa. hWta’re uyo ginegtt at?” |
| The duke says, pretty brisk: | heT deuk isda ylsbkri: |
| “When it comes to that, maybe you’ll let me ask, what was YOU referring to?” | “If ouy’re nggoi to tup it htat way, etl me ksa you: Whta were YOU ggenitt at?” |
| “Shucks!” says the king, very sarcastic; “but I don’t know—maybe you was asleep, and didn’t know what you was about.” | “zeeG,” aids eht nkgi, evry clacrtaylassi. “I ond’t ownk—yameb uyo ewre asepel adn ddni’t kwon waht was gngio on.” |
| The duke bristles up now, and says: | ehT eudk rtbdeisl dna asid: |
| “Oh, let UP on this cussed nonsense; do you take me for a blame’ fool? Don’t you reckon I know who hid that money in that coffin?” | “lliW oyu geftor obtua all tish sennoesn? Do uoy tknhi I’m an oidti? onD’t oyu inhtk I wkon who dhi ttah ynmoe in the fcoinf?” |
| “YES, sir! I know you DO know, because you done it yourself!” | “EYS, irs! I onwk oyu DO okwn, secbaeu you did it lryeusfo!” |
| “It’s a lie!"—and the duke went for him. The king sings out: | “iLra!” het ukde aids as he eglndu rof eht gnki. ehT ngik riecd: |
| “Take y’r hands off!—leggo my throat!—I take it all back!” | “keTa ruyo dnhas fof me! eLt go of my arohtt! I tkae it all bcka!” |
| The duke says: | ehT dkue sdai: |
| “Well, you just own up, first, that you DID hide that money there, intending to give me the slip one of these days, and come back and dig it up, and have it all to yourself.” | “Wlle, sujt atmid taht uyo DDI dehi taht myeno in hte nfifoc tiwh het onitinnte of iglavne me eno of these aysd adn ncomgi acbk to idg it up dna eekp to urolsyfe.” |
| “Wait jest a minute, duke—answer me this one question, honest and fair; if you didn’t put the money there, say it, and I’ll b’lieve you, and take back everything I said.” | “taWi tsju a timeun, deku. sAnewr hsti noe esutqion entyslho ofr me. If oyu ddin’t utp het oemny etehr, ehtn jsut say it. I’ll veelbei you dan taek ckba gethyvnire I sdai.” |
