"Yes, suh," and the window was meanderingly approached, but not reached, for he staggered slightly and caught on a chair. "Cap'n, I ain' had a drink for a year--I'll swear to dthat. I'll prove it to you. I ain' had a cent to buy one wid in a month--I was jus' comin' roun' to ast you to gi' me one--jus' to git de dust out o' my throat." "Dust! Clean those things up there and get some dust in your throat." "Yes, suh--yes, suh--Cap'n"--insinuatingly, as his eye fell on Dix, who was standing looking attentively first at me and then at Jeams, completely mystified by my tone, but ready to take a hand if there was any need for him. "Cap'n----" "Well, what is it? What do you want now?" "Will you lend me a hundred?" "A hundred dollars?" "Yes, suh--you see----" "No. I'll give you a hundred licks if you don't get to work and clean up that floor." "Cap'n--yes, suh--I'm gwine to clean 't up--but, Cap'n----" "Well?" "I'll let you in--jes' len' me ten--or five--or jes' one dollar--hit's a cinch--Lord! I can meck ten for one jist as easy--Dee don' know him--Dee think he ain' nuthing but a cur dawg--dats what I told 'em. And I'll meck you all de money in the worl'--I will dat." "What are you talking about?" "Well, you see, hits dthis away--I wouldn't bother you if dat yaller bar-keeper nigger hadn' clean me up wid them d----d loaded bones of hisn--jis' stole it from me--yes, suh--jis'----" "Cleaned you up? When?" "Dthis very evenin'--I had seventeen dollars right in my pocket, heah. You ax Mr. Wills if I didn't. He seen me have it--I had jes' got it, too----" "You liar--you just now told me you hadn't had a cent in a month, and now you say you had seventeen dollars this evening." Jeams reared himself up. "I toll you dthat?" He was now steadying himself with great gravity and trying to keep his eyes fixed on me. "Yes." "No, sir. I never toll you dthat in this worl'! 'Cause 'twould a been a lie--and I wouldn' tell you a lie for nuthin' on earth--I never had no seventeen dollars." "I know you didn't--I know that's true, unless you stole it; but you said----" "No, sir--what I said was--dthat if you'd len' me seventeen dollars I'd take Dix there and kill any dawg dthat yaller nigger up yonder in the Raleigh Hotel could trot out--I didn' keer what he was--and I said I'd--give you a hundred dollars out of the skads I picked up--dthat's what I said, and you got it wrong." "You'll do what?" "You see, hit's this away--dthat big-moufed, corn-fed yaller nigger--he was allowin' dthat Mr. Mulligan had a dawg could chaw up any dawg dis side o' torment, and I 'lowed him a ten dthat I had one 's could lick H--l out o' any Mulligan or Mulligan's dawg top o' groun'--'n' dthat you'd len' me th' ten to put up." "Well, you've lost one ten anyway--I won't lend you a cent, and if I catch you fighting Dix, I'll give you the worst lambing you ever had since Justice John had you skinned for stealing those chickens." Jeams threw up his eyes in reprobation.