ldn'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 _telling_ him 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 _himself_ awhile, 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 onto the niggers, and yet hadn't
done the niggers no harm by it.

CHAPTER XXVIII

By and by it was getting-up time. So I come down the ladder and
started for down-stairs; but as I come to the girls' room the door was
open, and I see Mary Jane setting by her old hair trunk, which was
open and she'd been packing things in it--getting ready to go to
England. But she had stopped now with a folded gown in her lap, and
had her face in her hands, crying. I felt awful bad to see it; of
course anybody would. I went in there and says:

"Miss Mary Jane, you can't a-bear to see people in trouble, and _I_
can't--most always. Tell me about it."

So she done it. And it was the niggers--I just expected it. She said
the beautiful trip to England was most about spoiled for her; she
didn't know _how_ she was ever going to be happy ther