a half fur his
acquaintans nigh upon three years agone, sur. Yer frind!" And still she
went up and down, enlarging, diminishing, heaving her breath and waving
her chin around, and saying, in broken utterances,--while a hackman on
her right held his whip in her auditor's face, crying, "Carriage, sir?
Carriage, sir?"--

"Why didn'--he rin agin--a man, sur! I--I--oh! I wish Mr. Ristofalah war
heer!--to teach um how--to walk!--Yer frind, sur--ixposing me!" She
pointed to Narcisse and the policeman gathering up the scattered lot of
tiny things. Her eyes filled with tears, but still shot lightning. "If
he's hurrted me, he's got 'o suffer fur ud, Mr. Richlin'!" And she
expanded again.

"Carriage, sir, carriage?" continued the man with the whip.

"Yes!" said Richling and Mrs. Ristofalo in a breath. She took his arm,
the hackman seized the bundles from the policeman, threw open his hack
door, laid the bundles on the front seat, and let down the folding
steps. The crowd dwindled away to a few urchins.

"Officerr," said Mrs. Ristofalo, her foot on the step and composure once
more in her voice, "ye needn't arrist um. I could of done ud, sur," she
added to Narcisse himself, "but I'm too much of a laydy, sur!" And she
sank together and stretched herself up once more, entered the vehicle,
and sat with a perpendicular back, her arms folded on her still heaving
bosom, and her head high.

As to her ability to have that arrest made, Kate Ristofalo was in error.
Narcisse smiled to himself; for he was conscious of one advantage that
overtopped all the sacredness of female helplessness, public right, or
any other thing whatsoever. It lay in the simple fact that he was
acquainted with the policeman. He bowed blandly to the officer, stepped
backward, touching his hat, and walked away, the policeman imitating
each movement with the promptness and faithfulness of a mirror.

"Aren't ye goin' to get in, Mr. Richlin'?" asked Mrs. Ristofalo. She
smiled first and then looked alarmed.

"I--I can't very well--if you'll excuse me, ma'am."

"Ah, Mr. Richlin'!"--she pouted girlishly. "Gettin' proud!" She gave her
head a series of movements, as to say she might be angry if she would,
but she wouldn't. "Ye won't know uz when Mrs. Richlin' comes."

Richling laughed, but she gave a smiling toss to indicate that it was a
serious matter.

"Come," she insisted, patting the seat beside her with honeyed
persuasiveness, "come and tell me all about ud. M