king his lips;
"you see, Mr. Haley 's a puttin' us in a way of a good job, I reckon;
just hold still--these yer arrangements is my forte. This yer gal, Mr.
Haley, how is she? what is she?"

"Wal! white and handsome--well brought up. I'd a gin Shelby eight
hundred or a thousand, and then made well on her."

"White and handsome--well brought up!" said Marks, his sharp eyes,
nose and mouth, all alive with enterprise. "Look here, now, Loker, a
beautiful opening. We'll do a business here on our own account;--we does
the catchin'; the boy, of course, goes to Mr. Haley,--we takes the gal
to Orleans to speculate on. An't it beautiful?"

Tom, whose great heavy mouth had stood ajar during this communication,
now suddenly snapped it together, as a big dog closes on a piece of
meat, and seemed to be digesting the idea at his leisure.

"Ye see," said Marks to Haley, stirring his punch as he did so, "ye see,
we has justices convenient at all p'ints along shore, that does up any
little jobs in our line quite reasonable. Tom, he does the knockin' down
and that ar; and I come in all dressed up--shining boots--everything
first chop, when the swearin' 's to be done. You oughter see, now," said
Marks, in a glow of professional pride, "how I can tone it off. One day,
I'm Mr. Twickem, from New Orleans; 'nother day, I'm just come from my
plantation on Pearl river, where I works seven hundred niggers; then,
again, I come out a distant relation of Henry Clay, or some old cock in
Kentuck. Talents is different, you know. Now, Tom's roarer when there's
any thumping or fighting to be done; but at lying he an't good, Tom
an't,--ye see it don't come natural to him; but, Lord, if thar's a
feller in the country that can swear to anything and everything, and put
in all the circumstances and flourishes with a long face, and carry 't
through better 'n I can, why, I'd like to see him, that's all! I b'lieve
my heart, I could get along and snake through, even if justices were
more particular than they is. Sometimes I rather wish they was more
particular; 't would be a heap more relishin' if they was,--more fun,
yer know."

Tom Loker, who, as we have made it appear, was a man of slow thoughts
and movements, here interrupted Marks by bringing his heavy fist down on
the table, so as to make all ring again, _"It'll do!"_ he said.

"Lord bless ye, Tom, ye needn't break all the glasses!" said Marks;
"save your fist for time o' need."

"But, gentlemen, an't