The Definite Object: A Romance of New YorkFarnol, Jeffery
General
The Definite Object: A Romance of New York
Farnol, Jeffery
New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
"You won't, my sport, you won't!" said Soapy, and speaking, moved
suddenly; and the boy, uttering a gasp of terror, shrank cowering with
the muzzle of Soapy's deadly weapon against the pit of his stomach. "You
ain't goin' t' say a word t' Bud nor nobody else, are ye, Larry boy, are
ye?"
"No--no--"
"Because if ye ever did, old sport, I should give it ye there--right
there in the tum-tum, see? Now chase off, an' see ye get them addresses
right. S'long, Larry boy, be good now!" When the boy had scudded away,
Soapy opened the paper and scanned the words of M'Ginnis's telegram and,
being alone, smiled as he glanced through it.
"You got th' Kid, Bud," he murmured, "you got th' Kid--but if th' Kid
gets the guy Geoff, why--I've sure got you, Bud--got ye sure as hell,
Bud!"
CHAPTER XXXII
OF HARMONY AND DISCORD
Mr. Brimberly, comfortably ensconced in Young R.'s favourite armchair,
nodded ponderously and beat time to the twang of Mr. Jenkins's banjo,
whereto Mr. Stevens sang in a high-pitched and rather shaky tenor the
latest musical success yclept "Sammy." Thus, Mr. Jenkins strummed, Mr.
Stevens trilled, and Mr. Brimberly alternately beat the tempo with a
plump white finger and sipped his master's champagne until, having
emptied his glass, he turned to the bottle on the table beside him,
found that empty also, crossed to the two bottles on the mantel, found
them likewise void and had tried the two upon the piano with no better
success, when, the song being ended, Mr. Jenkins struck in with:
"All dead men, Brim! Six of 'em between us--not bad going, what?"
"And very good fizz too, on the whole!" added Mr. Stevens. "I always
sing better on champagne. But come, Brim my boy, I've obliged with
everything I know, and Jenk, 'e 's played everything 'e knows, and
I must say with great delicacy an' feelin'--now it's your
turn--somethin'."
"Well," answered Mr. Brimberly, squinting at an empty bottle, "I used to
know a very good song once, called 'Let's drownd all our sorrers and
cares.' But good 'eavens! we can't drownd 'em in empty bottles, can we?"
"Oh, very good!" chuckled Mr. Jenkins, "oh, very prime! If I might
suggest, there's nothin' like port--port's excellent tipple for
drowndin' sorrer and downing care--what?"
"Port, sir?" repeated Mr. Brimberly, "we 'ave enough port in our
cellars to drownd every sorrer an' care in Noo York City. I'm proud of
our port, sir, and I'm reckoned a bit of a connysoor--"
"Ah, it takes a eddicated palate to appreciate good port!" nodded Mr.
Jenkins loftily, "a eddicated palate--what?"
"Cert'nly!" added Mr. Stevens, "an' here's two palates waitin', waitin'
an' ready to appreciate till daylight doth appear."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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