de top
shelf. One mo' move an' us has fricasseed green chicken afteh de dinin'
cah man gits you."

"'Tenshun!" mocked the parrot. "At ease!" Lily, prone in the depths of
the linen closet, obeyed the commands.

The Wildcat tied the string around the parrot's leg. "Dere, dat holds
you, an quit mockin' me befo' I knocks yo' beak down yo' throat."

"At rest!" the parrot gurgled.

The Wildcat closed the door of the linen closet. The parrot lost no
time in biting the string loose from about her leg, after which she
rejoined her four-legged companion.

"'Tenshun!" she squawked. "At res'! Tenshun! At res'!"

Thereafter until dawn, obeying the perfect counterfeit of her master's
voice, Lily the mascot goat came to attention and subsided at rest with
the persistent rhythm of a man on a hand-car.

CHAPTER VI

The Wildcat returned to his shoe-shining. "When does us boys sleep,
Backslid?" "When de chance comes," the Backslid Baptist returned. "You
sleeps between stations an' 'twixt jobs of work. Gin'ally when de bell
rings at night you pay no 'tenshun to it. Folks is finicky. Dey gits
along just de same does you answer de bell or don't you. Hurry up wid
de shoes. When you gits 'em done come on up th'ee cahs ahead. Dey's
some res'less ivory on dat cah, an' mebbe us collects some money whut's
lonesome to change managers."

The Backslid Baptist departed for the third car ahead, where in the
smoking room the galloping ivory was clicking strong on the linoleum.

The Wildcat finished his work on the shoes of the passengers on the
Mazeppa. He carried the shoes forward with him until he came upon the
crap game.

"Heah's de shoes, Backslid," he said. "Men, howdy."

"Whut fo' you bring dem shoes all de way up heah?"

"Ah kain't read yo' numbehs whah at to distribute 'em."

"Lay 'em down. Ah'll take 'em back afteh while. Gimme dem bones. Shoots
five dollahs." The Backslid Baptist launched himself into an energetic
arm-swinging struggle, wherein presently he lost after his third pass.

"Take a ra'r, Wilecat. See is you still 'fested wid luck like you wuz
in de A.E.F."

The Wildcat was a stranger to everybody present except the Backslid
Baptist.

"Who dat boy?" one of the group of porters asked.

"Learnin' boy f'm Memphis. Ah knows him." With this endorsement the
Wildcat was plunged into the game.

"Gimme dem bones. Hind laigs at res'." The Wildcat subsided to the
floor. "Fingehs, lemme see kin you play de pickpo