"'How-dee-do!' he says, when he gets her stopped. 'Er,--it occurs to me that I may be a little late. . . . Will any of you gentlemen indulge in a Cuban Beauty?' He fishes some long black stogies out of his pocket, but they don't nobody go against 'em, except him--he lights one.
"Then the crowd shows him the locked stalls 'n' everybody takes a shot at tellin' him what ought to be did.
"'Er,--it occurs to me,' says this Harry Evans, 'that there is a simple way out of the--er--difficulty.'
"'How's that?' says some one in the crowd.
"'If Colonel Hunter here will tender me--er--eighty-six dollars in behalf of my client,' says Harry Evans, 'I'll instruct my client to unlock the stalls.'
"'Not by a damn sight!' says he. 'We leased these grounds with the full use an' privilege of all buildin's an' other fixtures an' appurtenances fur the purpose of holdin' a fair. We weren't aimin' to get skinned out of eighty-six dollars by no lumber concern, 'n' we ain't a-goin' to neither!'
"'Let's see your lease?' says Harry Evans.
"'It's back in town at my office,' says the old Jasper.
"'Judge Tate signed it,' says the old Jasper.
"'Er,--if that's the case,' says Harry Evans, 'get him out here. He's receiver for the Park Company and you can make him pay this claim.'
"The whole bunch says that's a good idea. So they tell Orphy to go in 'n' get this Judge Tate.
"'I got to go 'n' tell Butsy there's a judge comin'!' says Peewee.
"'Butsy's sore about somethin',' he says when he gets back.
"This Judge Tate unloads hisself from the car when Orphy brings him, like he's the most important piece of work fur miles around. He has little side-whiskers 'n' a bay-window with a big gold chain stretched across it. He holds a umbrella over hisself with one hand 'n' wiggles the watch-chain with the other.
"'Ahem--gentlemen, what can I do for you?' he says.
"'Something doing now!' says Peewee to me. 'This is God-a'mighty's right-hand man!'
"'Er--Judge,' says Harry Evans, 'we are having a dispute concerning certain buildings on these premises, and--er--it occurred to me you could settle the matter.'
"'Settle is the word,' says Peewee to me.
"'As receiver for the Park Company, Judge,' says Harry Evans, 'can you tell us--er--who the buildings on these premises belong to?'