ried around his waist--and slowly counted out some gold
coins. With a smile fresh as the skies of Italy, full of all
sweetness, gentleness and suavity:

"Cover zees, den, py Gar!"

Billy gasped and grasped Jud around the neck where he clung, with his
Dutch smile frozen on his lips. Jud, with collapsed under jaw, looked
sheepishly around. Bonaparte tried to stand, but he, too, sat down in
a heap.

The crowd cheered the Italian.

"We will do it, suh," said Jud, who was the first to recover, and who
knew he would get his part of it from Billy.

"Ve vill cover eet," said Billy, with ashen face.

"We will!" barked Bonaparte, recovering his equilibrium and snarling
at the monkey.

There was a sob and a wail on the outskirts of the crowd.

"Oh, don't let him kill the monkey--oh, don't!"

It was Ozzie B.

Archie B. ran hastily around to him, made a cross mark in the road
with his toe and spat in it.

"You're a fool as usual, Ozzie B.," he said, shaking his brother.
"Can't you see that Italian knows what he's about? If he'd risk that
twenty, much as he loves money, he'd risk his soul. _Venture pee-wee
under the bridge--bam--bam--bam!_"

Ozzie B. grew quieter. Somehow, what Archie B. said always made
things look differently. Then Archie B. came up and whispered in his
ear: "I'm fur the monkey--the Lord is on his side."

Ozzie B. thought this was grand.

Then Archie B. hunted for his Barlow pocket knife. Around his neck,
tied with a string, was a small greasy, dirty bag, containing a piece
of gum asafoetida and a ten-dollar gold piece. The asafoetida was worn
to keep off contagious diseases, and the gold piece, which
represented all his earthly possessions, had been given him by his
grandmother the year she died.

Archie B. was always ready to "swap sight under seen." He played
marbles for keeps, checkers for apples, ran foot-races for stakes,
and even learned his Sunday School lessons for prizes.

The Italian still stood, smiling, when a small red-headed boy came up
and touched him on the arm. He put a ten-dollar gold piece into the
Italian's hand.

"Put this in for me, mister--an' make 'em put up a hundred mo'. I
want some of that lucre."

The Italian was touched. He patted Archie B.'s head:

"Breens," he said, "breens uppa da."

Again he shook the gold in the face of Jud and Bill.

"Now bring on ze ten to one, py Gar!"

The cheers of the crowd nettled Billy and Jud.

"Jes' wait till we come back,