. "That's all squared, and we can cross
it off. But what I'm trying after is, how did this here ...
bad-languagee"--he halted a minute to make this word--"come to know
anything about Goody Prichard upstairs?"

"Did he?" said Mr. Jerry, who of course had only heard Dave on the
subject.

"This young party said so," said Uncle Mo, crumpling Dolly to identify
her, "at the very first go off. Didn't you, little ginger-pop, hay?"
This new epithet was a passing recognition of the suddenness with which
Dolly had broken out as an informant. It gratified her vanity, and made
her chuckle.

Dave meanwhile had been gathering for an oratorical effort, and now
culminated. "I never told Dolly nuffint _about_ Mrs. Picture upstairs.
What _I_ said was 'old widder lady.'"

"Dolly translated it, Mo, don't you see?" said Mr. Jerry. Then, to
illuminate possible obscurity, he added:--"Off o' one slate onto the
other! Twig?"

"I twig you, Jerry." Uncle Mo winked at his friend to show that he was
alive to surroundings and tickled Dave suddenly from a motive of policy.
"How come this cove to know anything about any widder lady--hay? That's
a sort of p'int we've got to consider of." Dave was impressed by his
uncle's appearance of profound thought, and was anxious not to lag
behind in the solution of stiff problems. He threw his whole soul into
his answer. "Because he was _The Man_." Nathan the prophet can scarcely
have been more impressive. Perhaps, on the occasion Dave's answer
recalls, someone said:--"Hullo!" in Hebrew, and gave a short whistle.
That was what Mr. Jerry did, this time.

Uncle Mo enjoined self-restraint, telegraphically; and said,
verbally:--"What man, young Legs? Steady a minute, and tell us who he
was." Which will be quite intelligible to anyone whose experience has
included a small boy in thick boots sitting on his knee, and becoming
excited by a current topic.

Dave restrained his boots, and concentrated his mind on a statement. It
came with pauses and repetitions, which may be omitted. "He worze the
same Man as when you and me and Micky, only not Dolly, see him come
along down the Court Sunday morning. _Munce_ ago!" This was emphatic, to
express the date's remoteness. "He wanted for to be told about old Widow
Darrable who lived down this Court, and Micky he said no such name, nor
yet anywhere's about this neighbourhood, he said. And the Man he said
Micky was a young liar. And Micky he said who are you a-callin'
liar?