"
"Didn't say nothin' about havin' a ravin' may-ni-ac aboard, did theh?"
"No."
"Ban, was you ever in the State of Ohio?"
"A long time ago."
"Are Ohio folks liable to be loony?"
"Not more than others, I reckon, Jimmy."
"Pretty enthoosiastic about themselves, though, ain't theh?"
"Why, I don't know. It's a nice country there, Jimmy."
"There was one on Number Three sure thought so. Hadn't scarcely come to
a stop when off he jumps and waves his fins and gives three cheers for
it."
"For what?"
"Ohio. I'm tellin' you. He ramps across the track yippin' 'Ohio! Ohio!
Ohio!' whoopity-yoop. He come right at me and I says, 'Watch yehself,
Buddy. You'll git left.'"
"What did he say to that?" asked Banneker indulgently.
"Never looked at me no more than a doodle-bug. Just yelled 'Ohio!'
again. So I come back at him with 'Missourah.' He grabs me by the
shoulder and points to your shack. 'Who owns that little shed?' says he,
very excited. 'My friend, Mr. Banneker,' says I, polite as always to
strangers. 'But I own that shoulder you're leanin' on, and I'm about to
take it away with me when I go,' I says. He leaned off and says, 'Where
did that young lady come from that was standin' in the doorway a minute
ago?' 'Young lady,' Ban.
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