beeples see de sign, dey laughs and say good, and it make all mine
customers dink dat I cheat dem.'

"'Is that all?' inquired a bystander.

"'No,' said the German, emphatically, 'I can tell you more as dat.'

"'But how do you know these boys did all these things,' inquired
another.

"'All de beeples say dey is de fellers,' was the reply.

"'What did they do to-night?' inquired another of the crowd.

"'Vell I tell you dat,' said the persecuted merchant. To night I vas
shtand in front von mine shtore, to talk mit a carman, who have bring
some dings to me. Pretty soon, he get on his cart and drive off, and ven
he shtart, a parrell von botatoes, dat shtand on de edge fon de
shtep-valk, tip over in de shtreet, and de botatoes fall out and
shcatter about, and the parrell it go yumping along de shtreets, mit de
cart; I holler for de carman and he shtop. Ven I go to see, I find dat a
rope vas tie round the parrel, and hitch to de cart-veel close; vell, I
bick up de botatoes, and put de parrel vonce more on de shtep-valk, and
keep vatch. Soon I see dese boys come along, and dey look at me mit de
tuyvel in deir eyes, and I know it vas dem. Yust den I run and ketch
dem.'

"The details of the case being pretty well understood, it became a
question with the crowd what should be done. The general opinion was
that the boys were wrong in their continued annoyances of the Dutchman,
though they did not think the case was one sufficiently aggravated to
justify their being turned over either to the police or to the vengeance
of the grocery-man. At last a portly old Knickerbocker, who had laughed
heartily at the Dutchman's narration, essayed to act as spokesman.

"'What's your name,' said he to one of the boys with assumed gravity.

"'Mike Hannegan,' said he, 'and this 'ere boy is Barney Doolan.'

"'Oh, you young rascals,' continued the gentleman, 'you deserve to be
arrested for your bad ways. You are very bad boys, you know you are,
whether you are the ones who have bothered the Dutchman or not. He
guessed right, I think, in supposing you to be the boys. But if these
gentlemen will let you off, will you stop troubling him in the future?'

"'Yes, sir,' said both of the boys, meekly.

"'Then cut stick, both of you,' said he.

"Just then an individual with a remarkable loaferish air, dressed in a
blue single-breasted frock coat, with a row of military buttons, a blue
cap with silver mountings, and a brass star on his breast--an