u I know you will never
go out of this house without giving me a benefit, and all my boys expect
it, and will enjoy it, the same as I will; now, let 'er go."

I felt that it was up to me to do something to maintain the reputation
I had made, so I said, "Your majesty, I will now proceed to make it
interesting for you, if you and the boys will kindly be seated in a
circle around me." They got into a circle, all laughing, and I took out
of my pistol pocket a half pint flask, of glass, covered with leather,
and with a stopper that opened by touching a spring, and I walked around
in front of each one of the Royal family, mumbling, "Ene-mene-mony-my,"
and opening the flask in front of each one, and pretty soon they all
began to get nervous, and scratch themselves, and the Emperor slapped
his leg, and pinched his arm, and put his fingers down his collar and
scratched his neck, and the Crown Prince jumped up and kicked his leg,
and scratched his back, and said, "Say, kid, you are not hypnotizing
us, are you?" and I said, "Ene-meny-mony-my," and kept on touching the
stopper.

By and by they all got to scratching, and the Emperor turned sort of
pale, but he was going to see the show through to the end, as long as
he had a ticket, and he said, "What is the joke, anyway?" and I kept on
saying, "Ene-mene-mony-my," and walking around in front of them, and dad
began to dance around, too, and dig under his shirt bosom, and scratch
his leg, and then they all scratched in unison, and laughed, and a
little prince asked how long before they would know what it was all
about, and I said my ene-mene, and looked solemn, and dad said, "What
you giving us?" and I said, "Never you mind; this is my show, and I am
the whole push," and everybody had raised up out of his chair and each
was scratching for all that was out, and finally the Emperor said, "I
like a joke as well as anybody, but I can't laugh until I know what I am
laughing about," and he told dad to make me show what was in the bottle,
and I showed the bottle and there was nothing in it, and there they
stood scratching themselves, and I told dad we better excuse ourselves
and go, and we were going all right enough when dad said, "What is it
you are doing?" and as we got almost to the door I said, "Your majesty,
I have distributed, impartially, I trust, in the Royal family of
Germany, a half a pint of the hungriest fleas that Egypt can produce,
for they have been in that flask three weeks