"I will, with thy permission, approach the grating and speak a word of counsel." And going to the door, he said in a loud voice: "Peace, friend. Remember what the good Benjamin Franklin has said: 'He that speaks much is much mistaken.'" The reply elicited by these remarks was of such a nature that Miss Arminster was obliged to put her hands over her ears, and the police drove off with loud guffaws, enjoying immensely the good Quaker's confusion. "That bloke," remarked the tramp, as the Black Maria disappeared in a cloud of dust,[Pg 71] "give me three months once, an' I feels better." [Pg 71] And without another word he led the party across the road and into the woods in the direction of the river.[Pg 72] [Pg 72] CHAPTER V. IN WHICH THE PARTY RECEIVES A NEW IMPETUS. An hour later, when the little party of four, weary and dusty, walked up to the hotel at Yonkers, they perceived Tybalt Smith in his shirt-sleeves, with his hat tipped over his eyes as a protection from the rays of the declining sun, lying fast asleep in a large garden chair which was tilted back on its hind legs against the side of the house. Spotts lost no time in poking him in the ribs with his cane, whereupon the tragedian, rousing himself from slumber, hastily assumed a more upright position, bringing the chair down on its front legs with a bang. Having thus been fully awakened, he became at once the master of the situation.[Pg 73] [Pg 73] "We are here," he said. "So I see," replied Spotts, "and a pretty show you've made of yourself. There's nothing private or retiring about your methods. Now where are the rest of the party?" Mr. Smith at once assumed an air of mysterious solemnity.
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