But Murphy was used to his peculiarities and guessed what he meant.
"An' there's where he showed respick fer the auld lady," he commended drily, and winked at his cup of coffee.
"An' he tol' _me_, mind yuh, all about a mrrer" (which was as close as he could come to murder) "an' he _knew_, mind ye, who it was, an' he tol' _me_--an' why, _I_ wouldn't ever say nothin' an' he knew it--I doctrrrred his eyes, mind ye, mind ye, an' the doctrrrs they couldn't do nothin'-- an' we was with this outfit that was puttin' in a bridge" (only he couldn't say bridge to save his life) "this was 'way back in Minnesota--" "A-ah, now ye come back to Minnesota, ye better quit yer travelin' an' eat yer dinner," quelled Murphy impatiently.

"An' le's hear no more 'bout it." Mike laid a strip of scorched bacon upon a chunk of scorched bannock and bit down through the mass, chewed meditatively and stared into the coals of his camp fire.

"If they ain't diggin' fer gold, then what are they _diggin'_ fer ?" he demanded aggressively, and so suddenly that Murphy started.
"A-ah, now, I'll tell ye what they're diggin' fer, but it's a secret, mind ye, and ye must nivver spheak a word av it.

They're diggin' fer anguintum, me boy.

An' thot's wort' more than gold, an' the likes av me 'n you wadden't know if we was to wade through it, but it's used in the war, I dunno, t' make gas-bags t' kill the inimy, and ye're t' say nawthin' t' nobody er they'll likely take an' hang ye fer a spy on the government, but ye're sa-afe, Mike, s' long as ye sthick t' me an' yer job an' say nawthin' t' nobody, d' ye see." "They'd nivver hang _me_ fer a spy," Mike gobbled excitedly.