Page 151 - The snake's pass

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VANISHED. 139
" Fie ! Andy, for shame ; you talk as if they were
! fie
cattle or pigs."
'* Begor, there's only wan kind iv fat an' lane that I
knows of ; but av ye like I'll call it thick or thin ; which
is it?"
" Not too fat, but certainly not skinny." Andy held
uj) his hands in mock horror :
" Yer 'an'r shpakes as if ye was talkin' iv powlthry."
" I mean Andy," said I with a certain sense of
shame, " she is not to be either too fat or too lean,
as you put it."
" Ye mane "
' shtreaky '
!
" Streaky ! " said I, " what do you mean ? " He
answered promptly :
" Shtreaky,—thick an' thin—like belly bacon." I said
nothing. I felt certain it would be useless and out of
place. He went on:
"
" Nixt, fair or dark ?
"Dark, by all means."
"Dark be it, surr. What kind iv eyes might she
"
have ?
" Ah ! eyes like darkness on the bosom of the azure
deep!"
" Musha
! but that's a quare kind iv eye fur a girrul
to have intirely! Is she to be all dark, surr, or only
the hair of her?"
" I don't mean a nigger, Andy ! " I thought I
would be even with him for once in a way. He laughed
heartily.