"One would think it was _I_ that had booted a blooming nigger to death.
Where do you think you'd be if I were to split, eh?"
Here he attempted a somewhat conventional representation of the legal
tragedy which follows the donning of the black cap by a certain high
judicial functionary. In it his tongue, the whites of his eyes, his
left hand, and the butt of his ear played conspicuous parts. Koos
gasped and murmured unintelligibly. Nathan resumed--
"Now, look here, I'm not going to split--this is, if you are a good boy
and do as you're told, and keep your paws to yourself. See?" Koos made
a dismal attempt to smile, as though he regarded this as a pleasantry.
He was now completely cowed, and would have set his neck under the foot
of the man before him had he been told to do so.