"Nick, my worthy fellow," said Bill, "have bowels; you wouldn't do a shabby thing; you wouldn't disgrace your own character by putting more weight upon a falling man. You know what it is to get a _come down_ yourself, my worthy; so just keep your toe in your pump, and walk off with yourself somewhere else. A _cool_ walk will sarve you better than my company, Nicholas."
"Bill, it's no use in shirking," said his friend; "your swindling tricks may enable you to cheat others, but you won't cheat _me_, I guess. You want nothing to make you perfect in your way but to travel; and travel you shall under my guidance, Billy. No, no--_I'm_ not to be swindled, my good fellow. I have rather a--a--better opinion of myself, Mr. D., than to think that you could outwit one Nicholas Clutie, Esq.--ahem!"
"You may sneer, you sinner," replied Bill; "but I tell you that I have outwitted men who could buy and sell you to your face. Despair, you villain, when I tell you that _no attorney_ could stand before me."
Satan's countenance got blank when he heard this; he wriggled and fidgeted about, and appeared to be not quite comfortable.
"In that case, then," says he, "the sooner I _deceive_ you the better; so turn out for the _Low Countries_."
"Is it come to that in earnest?" said Bill, "and are you going to act the rascal at the long run?"
"Have patience, then, you sinner, till I finish this horse shoe--it's the last of a set I'm finishing for one of your friend the attorney's horses. And here, Nick, I hate idleness, you know it's the mother of mischief; take this sledge-hammer, and give a dozen strokes or so, till I get it out of hands, and then here's with you, since it must be so."
He then gave the bellows a puff that blew half a peck of dust in Club-foot's face, whipped out the red-hot iron, and set Satan sledging away for bare life.
"Faith," says Bill to him, when the shoe was finished, "it's a thousand pities ever the sledge should be out of your hand; the great _Parra Gow_ was a child to you at sledging, you're such an able tyke. Now just exercise yourself till I bid the wife and childhre good-bye, and then I'm off."
Out went Bill, of course, without the slightest notion of coming back; no more than Nick had that he could not give up the sledging, and indeed neither could he, but was forced to work away as if he was sledging for a wager. This was just what Bill wanted. He was now compelled to sledge on until it was Bill's pleasure to release him; and so we leave him very industriously employed, while we look after the worthy who outwitted him.