enough!"

Jimmy's head dropped an instant. His feet slowly shuffled in
improvising a new step, and then he moved away, thumping the milk pail
and chanting:

"A couple of fish poles underneath a tree,
A bottle of Rye and Dannie beside me
A fishing in the Wabash.
Were the Wabash Paradise? HULLY GEE!

Tired out, he dropped across a chair facing the back and folded his
arms. He regained breath to ask the Thread Man: "Did you iver have a
frind?"

He had reached the confidential stage.

The Boston man was struggling to regain his dignity. He retained the
impression that at the wildest of the dance he had yelled and patted
time for Jimmy.

"I hope I have a host of friends," he said, settling his pleated coat.

"Damn hosht!" said Jimmy. "Jisht in way. Now I got one frind, hosht all
by himself. Be here pretty soon now. Alwaysh comesh nights like thish."

"Comes here?" inquired the Thread Man. "Am I to meet another
interesting character?"

"Yesh, comesh here. Comesh after me. Comesh like the clock sthriking
twelve. Don't he, boys?" inquired Jimmy. "But he ain't no interesting
character. Jisht common man, Dannie is. Honest man. Never told a lie in
his life. Yesh, he did, too. I forgot. He liesh for me. Jish liesh and
liesh. Liesh to Mary. Tells her any old liesh to keep me out of
schrape. You ever have frind hish up and drive ten milesh for you night
like thish, and liesh to get you out of schrape?"

"I never needed any one to lie and get me out of a scrape," answered
the Thread Man.

Jimmy sat straight and solemnly batted his eyes. "Gee! You musht
misshed mosht the fun!" he said. "Me, I ain't ever misshed any. Always
in schrape. But Dannie getsh me out. Good old Dannie. Jish like dog.
Take care me all me life. See? Old folks come on same boat. Women get
thick. Shettle beside. Build cabinsh together. Work together, and domn
if they didn't get shmall pox and die together. Left me and Dannie. So
we work together jish shame, and we fallsh in love with the shame girl.
Dannie too slow. I got her." Jimmy wiped away great tears.

"How did you get her, Jimmy?" asked a man who remembered a story.

"How the nation did I get her?" Jimmy scratched his head, and appealed
to the Thread Man. "Dannie besht man. Milesh besht man! Never
lie--'cept for me. Never drink--'cept for me. Alwaysh save his
money--'cept for me. Milesh besht man! Isn't he besht man, Spooley?"

"Ain't it true that you served Dannie a mean littl