The way Tobin put it， it did seem to corroborate the artof prediction， though it looked to me that these accidentscould happen to any one at Coney without the implicationof palmistry.
Tobin got up and walked around on deck， looking closeat the passengers out of his little red eyes. I asked himthe interpretation of his movements. Ye never know whatTobin has in his mind until he begins to carry it out.
“Ye should know，” says he， “I’m working out thesalvation promised by the lines in me palm. I’m lookingfor the crooked-nose man that’s to bring the good luck.
’Tis all that will save us. Jawn， did ye ever see a straighternosedgang of hellions in the days of your life？”
’Twas the nine-thirty boat， and we landed and walkedup-town through Twenty-second Street， Tobin beingwithout his hat.
On a street corner， standing under a gas-light and lookingover the elevated road at the moon， was a man. A long manhe was， dressed decent， with a segar between his teeth， andI saw that his nose made two twists from bridge to end，like the wriggle of a snake. Tobin saw it at the same time，and I heard him breathe hard like a horse when you takethe saddle off. He went straight up to the man， and I wentwith him.
“Good-night to ye，” Tobin says to the man. The mantakes out his segar and passes the compliments， sociable.
“Would ye hand us your name，” asks Tobin， “and let us lookat the size of it？ It may be our duty to become acquaintedwith ye.”
“My name” says the man， polite， “is Friedenhausman—Maximus G. Friedenhausman.”
“’Tis the right length，” says Tobin. “Do you spell it withan ‘o’ anywhere down the stretch of it？”
“I do not，” says the man.
“Can ye spell it with an ‘o’？” inquires Tobin， turninganxious.
“If your conscience，” says the man with the nose， “isindisposed toward foreign idioms ye might， to pleaseyourself， smuggle the letter into the penultimate syllable.”
“’Tis well，” says Tobin. “Ye’re in the presence of JawnMalone and Daniel Tobin.”
“Tis highly appreciated，” says the man， with a bow. “Andnow since I cannot conceive that ye would hold a spellingbee upon the street corner， will ye name some reasonableexcuse for being at large？”
“By the two signs，” answers Tobin， trying to explain，“which ye display according to the reading of the Egyptianpalmist from the sole of me hand， ye’ve been nominatedto offset with good luck the lines of trouble leading to thenigger man and the blonde lady with her feet crossed inthe boat， besides the financial loss of a dollar sixty-five， allso far fulfilled according to Hoyle.”
The man stopped smoking and looked at me.
“Have ye any amendments，” he asks， “to offer to thatstatement， or are ye one too？ I thought by the looks of yeye might have him in charge.”
“None，” says I to him， “except that as one horseshoeresembles another so are ye the picture of good luck aspredicted by the hand of me friend. If not， then the linesof Danny’s hand may have been crossed， I don’t know.”
“There’s two of ye，” says the man with the nose， lookingup and down for the sight of a policeman. “I’ve enjoyedyour company immense. Good-night.”
With that he shoves his segar in his mouth and movesacross the street， stepping fast. But Tobin sticks close toone side of him and me at the other.
“What！” says he， stopping on the opposite sidewalk andpushing back his hat； “do ye follow me？ I tell ye，” he says，very loud， “I’m proud to have met ye. But it is my desireto be rid of ye. I am off to me home.”
“Do，” says Tobin， leaning against his sleeve. “Do be offto your home. And I will sit at the door of it till ye comeout in the morning. For the dependence is upon ye toobviate the curse of the nigger man and the blonde ladyand the financial loss of the one-sixty-five.”
“’Tis a strange hallucination，” says the man， turning tome as a more reasonable lunatic. “Hadn’t ye better get himhome？”
“Listen， man，” says I to him. “Daniel Tobin is as sensibleas he ever was. Maybe he is a bit deranged on accountof having drink enough to disturb but not enough tosettle his wits， but he is no more than following out thelegitimate path of his superstitions and predicaments，which I will explain to you.” With that I relates the factsabout the palmist lady and how the finger of suspicionpoints to him as an instrument of good fortune. “Now，understand，” I concludes， “my position in this riot.