An Oregon Girl: A Tale of American Life in the New WestRice, Alfred Ernest
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An Oregon Girl: A Tale of American Life in the New West
Rice, Alfred Ernest
Oregon -- Fiction; Western stories; Women pioneers -- Fiction
"How nice and clean those are in that wagon over there. I think I'll
buy some of them. You needn't mind putting those up for me."
"Sacre, Tar-rah-rah! Eesa beg-a da pardon, good-a da lady. Take eem
all for a ten-a da cent-a," and he thrust the bag of fruit into her
hands. "Eesa 'chink' wagon. Show all-a da good-a side, hide-a da
rotten side. Da morrow, Eesa sell-a da turnoppsis, carrottsis,
cababages, every kind-a da veg-a-ta-bles. Some-a time Eesa black-a da
boots. Saw da ood. Do anyting gett-a da mon. Go back-a da sunny
Italy."
He was so insistent, with fear of being made a subject for coarse
remonstrance, she paid him his price and departed. Whereupon he again
began to bawl out in his peculiar Dago dialect: "Or-ran-ges! Ba-nans!
Nice-a da ripe-a banans. Ten-a cents-a doz-z. Me-lo-nas!
War-ter-me-lo-nas! Nice-a da ripe-a Musha Me-lonas!" and he suddenly
lowered his voice on observing Sam halt in front of him.
"Eesa tenna cent-a da one. Nice-a da ripe-a, my friend. Take-a eem a
da home, two for-a da fifteen-a da centa." And he handled a couple of
small melons.
"Sacre, da damn," and his voice again rose to a high pitch, as he
shouted: "Me-lo-nas! Ba-nans! Nice-a da ripe-a da Ba-nans. Tenn-a
cents-a doz!"
The peculiar idioms of the fellow, and his manner of delivery seemed
strangely familiar, and as Sam moved along slowly, a pace or two,
rumaging his brain for identification, he suddenly remembered the old
cripple at his uncle's reception, and also, only last night, the
mysterious stranger in the park.
It may be pertinent to remark that Jack Shore had obtained most of his
dago dialect from a close study of this very man. The similarity of
speech and voice, therefore, was accountable for Sam's mistake of
identification.
A moment later, among a passing throng, Sam stopped and pretended to
pick up a small copper-colored medal appended to a bit of soiled
ribbon. He halted and ostentatiously displayed it, turning it over and
over in his hands while examining it. It attracted the attention of an
Italian nearby, who at once claimed the medal.
"If it is yours, no doubt you can describe certain marks which appear
on its surface?"
"I don-a have to. Eets a Garibaldi! Giv-a da me!"
"What else?" Sam pressed for more definite information, for he
immediately became convinced that this claimant was not the real
owner.
The word Garibaldi attracted a second Italian, a short, fat man, with
huge, flat face, who was at once apprised of the find. He asked Sam to
let him have it for examination.
Sam refused to let it pass from his hands, explaining that this man
had claimed it, but seemingly was unable to identify it. "I will
deliver it to the officer," and he beckoned a policeman to approach.
There followed instantly a lively colloquy between the two Italians,
the second one declaring it belonged to Giuseppe--for he had seen him
with it, and he turned to Sam.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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