" I says to Genaro, "and this
is Kid Scanlan, welterweight champion of the world, and if you pull any
more of that joosta wait stuff, you'll be able to say you fought him!"

He drops his hands and smiles.

"Excuse, please!" he says. "I maka mistake!" he grabs hold of his head
again and groans, "Gotta bunch bonehead here this morning," he goes on,
noddin' to 'em. "Driva me crazy! Shakespeare he see these feller play
Reechard, he joomp out of he'sa grave!" He swings around at them all
of a sudden and makes a face at 'em, "Broadaway star, eh?" he snarls.
"Bah! You maka me seek! Go away for one, two hour. I senda for
you--you all what you calla the bunk!"

On the level I thought he was gonna bite 'em!

The merry villagers scatter, and Genaro turns around to us and wipes
his face with a red silk handkerchief.

"You knowa the piece?" he asks us. "Reechard the Third, Shakespeare?"

"Not quite!" I says. "What is he--a local scrapper?"

The Kid butts in and shoves me away.

"Don't mind this guy," he says to Genaro. "He's nothin' but a igrant
roughneck! _I_ got you right away. I remember in this Richard the
Third thing--they's a big battle in the last act and Dick tells a
gunman by the name of MacDuff to lay off him or he'll knock him for a
goal!"

"Not lay off!" says Genaro, smiling "Lay on! Lay on, MacDuff!"

"Yeh?" inquires the Kid. "I thought it was lay off. I only seen the
frolic once. I took off a member of Dick's gang at the Grand Oprey
house, when I was broke in Trenton."

"Nex' week we start _your_ picture," says Genaro to the Kid. "Mr. Van
Aylstyne he'sa write scenario now. This gonna be great for
you--magnificent! He'sa give you everything! Firsta reel you fall off
a cliff!"

"Who, me?" hollers the Kid,

"Si!" smiles Genaro. "Bada man wanna feex you, so you no fighta the
champ! You getta the beeg idea?"

"What's next?" asks the Kid, frownin'.

"Ah!" pipes Genaro, rollin' his eyes at the sky. "We giva you the
whole picture! Second reel you get run over by train--fasta mail! You
see? So you no fighta the champ!"

The Kid looks at me and grabs my arm.

"This guy's a maniac!" he hollers. "Did you get that railroad thing?
He--"

Genaro goes right on like he don't hear him.

"Thirda reel!" he says. "Thirda reel you get hit by two automobiles,
this bada feller try to feex you so you no fighta the champ!"

"Wait!" I butts in. "You must--"

"But fiftha reel--aaah!" Genar