wart on the side of his nose, and
a----"

"That will do. That is sufficient. How comes it that Jimmy never
mentioned you to me?"

"You'll have to ask Jimmy that, I reckon--and you might burn yourself if
you undertook to do it. I reckon it's hot where Jimmy is, madam."

She smiled at this. Nick could see that he was making a good impression
upon her. He was still wondering if she were indeed the chief, or if she
were only his representative. It was certain that he had had no
expectation of finding a woman in this place.

"And what do you wish me to do with you, now that you are here?"

"I reckon that I'll have to leave that to you. I didn't come with my
eyes shut. I guessed pretty well what I was up against. But I came here
to be made one of you, and I hope you will give me a chance."

"What do you know of Hobo Harry?"

"Nothing."

"What do you think he is?"

"The head gazabo of this bunch."

"What do you suppose he is like?"

"Just at present writing, madam, he looks to me very much like a
beautiful woman who has the grace of a siren and the courage of a lion."

"You should be a Frenchman instead of an Italian."

"I am neither one nor the other. I'm just a--a yeggman."

"You were about to say something else."

"I was going to say--a crook."

"You have not been a yeggman always, have you?"

"I never knew anybody who had been, madam."

"You are not really a yeggman, or a hobo. Confess the truth now; aren't
you under cover, and playing the role for the purpose of being out of
sight for a time?"

"I'm willing to say yes, if it pleases you."

"What has been your line of work, Dago?"

"Well, I'm a fair penman; I'm a good mechanic; I could be a passable
druggist if I tried, and I wouldn't shy at taking a hand at running a
bank, if it was big enough for the risk."

"I begin to think that you are all right, Dago."

"You can betcher life that I'm all right, madam, if it comes to that.
But I don't reckon that you'll take me on my say-so. You'll be wanting
some sort of proof of me before you consent to take me into the fold."

"You are correct about that."

"I'm ready for anything."

"You have told me that you are a penman, which means that you could be a
forger; you have said that you are a mechanic, which means that you
could crack a crib if necessary; you called yourself a druggist, which
means that you know how to use the chemicals, and the poisons, too, if
necessary; and you would not refuse