“Ah，thesoloistwasthebest——theladywhosangthosesadsongs。“
“Wasn’t——wasn’tthatmagiclanternwonderful，wherethefiguresmoved？Wonderful——ah，wonderful！Andwasn’tthatfirstactfunny，wherethefellowfelldownallthetime？
Andthatmusicalact，andthefellowwiththeburnt-corkfacewhoplayed’Nearer，MyGod，toThee’onthebeerbottles。“
TheygotoffatPolkStreetandwalkedupablocktotheflat。Thestreetwasdarkandempty；oppositetheflat，inthebackofthedesertedmarket，theducksandgeesewerecallingpersistently。
Astheywerebuyingtheirtamalesfromthehalf-breedMexicanatthestreetcorner，McTeagueobserved：