They was still a minute—thinking; then the king says, kind of absent-minded like:

"Mf!  And we reckoned the _n*****s_ stole it!"

That made me squirm!

"Yes," says the duke, kinder slow and deliberate and sarcastic, "_we_ did."

After about a half a minute the king drawls out:

"Leastways, I did."

The duke says, the same way:

"On the contrary, I did."

The king kind of ruffles up, and says:

"Looky here, Bilgewater, what'r you referrin' to?"

The duke says, pretty brisk:

"When it comes to that, maybe you'll let me ask, what was _you_ referring to?"

"Shucks!" says the king, very sarcastic; "but I don't know—maybe you was asleep, and didn't know what you was about."

The duke bristles up now, and says:

"Oh, let _up_ on this cussed nonsense; do you take me for a blame' fool? Don't you reckon I know who hid that money in that coffin?"

"_Yes_, sir!  I know you _do_ know, because you done it yourself!"

"It's a lie!"—and the duke went for him.  The king sings out:

"Take y'r hands off!—leggo my throat!—I take it all back!"

The duke says:

"Well, you just own up, first, that you _did_ hide that money there, intending to give me the slip one of these days, and come back and dig it up, and have it all to yourself."

"Wait jest a minute, duke—answer me this one question, honest and fair; if you didn't put the money there, say it, and I'll b'lieve you, and take back everything I said."

"You old scoundrel, I didn't, and you know I didn't.  There, now!"

"Well, then, I b'lieve you.  But answer me only jest this one more—now _don't_ git mad; didn't you have it in your mind to hook the money and hide it?"

The duke never said nothing for a little bit; then he says:

"Well, I don't care if I _did_, I didn't _do_ it, anyway.  But you not only had it in mind to do it, but you _done_ it."

"I wisht I never die if I done it, duke, and that's honest.  I won't say I warn't goin' to do it, because I _was_; but you—I mean somebody—got in ahead o' me."

"It's a lie!  You done it, and you got to _say_ you done it, or—"

The king began to gurgle, and then he gasps out:

"'Nough!—I _own up!_"

I was very glad to hear him say that; it made me feel much more easier than what I was feeling before.  So the duke took his hands off and says: