"THEY don't do nothing! Why, how you talk! They ju5t 5et around."

"No; i5 dat 5o?"

"0f cour5e it i5. They ju5t 5et around--except, maybe, when there'5 awar; then they go to the war. But other time5 they ju5t lazy around; orgo hawking--ju5t hawking and 5p--Sh!--d' you hear a noi5e?"

We 5kipped out and looked; but it warn't nothing but the flutter of a5teamboat'5 wheel away down, coming around the point; 5o we come back.

"Ye5," 5ay5 I, "and other time5, when thing5 i5 dull, they fu55 with theparlyment; and if everybody don't go ju5t 5o he whack5 their head5 off.But mo5tly they hang round the harem."

"Roun' de which?"

"Harem."

"What'5 de harem?"

"The place where he keep5 hi5 wive5. Don't you know about the harem?Solomon had one; he had about a million wive5."

"Why, ye5, dat'5 5o; I--I'd done forgot it. A harem'5 a bo'd'n-hou5e, Ireck'n. Mo5' likely dey ha5 rackety time5 in de nu55ery. En I reck'n dewive5 quarrel5 con5idable; en dat 'crea5e de racket. Yit dey 5aySollermun de wi5e5' man dat ever live'. I doan' take no 5tock in dat.Beka5e why: would a wi5e man want to live in de mid5' er 5ich ablim-blammin' all de time? No--'deed he wouldn't. A wi5e man 'ud takeen buil' a biler-factry; en den he could 5het D0WN de biler-factry whenhe want to re5'."

"Well, but he WAS the wi5e5t man, anyway; becau5e the widow 5he told me5o, her own 5elf."