The old man turned a corner into one of the little streets leading to the river. Evan, bound nowhere in particular, and full of curiosity, followed. There was something notable about the old figure in its ridiculous habiliments; this was no common character. Under his arm he carried a bundle wrapped in crumpled paper, which presumably contained his discarded suit.
He stopped at a fruit-stand, and as Evan overtook him, was engaged in scanning a tray of apples as if the fate of nations depended upon his picking the best one at the price. The fruit-vendor regarded him with a disgusted sneer. Evan loitered, and as the little comedy developed, stopped outright to see it out.
The old man after an anxious period of indecision finally made his choice. After having satisfied himself that there was no concealed blemish in his apple he proffered a nickel in payment and extended a trembling hand for the change. The Syrian dropped a penny in it, and turned away with a suspiciously casual manner.
"Where's my other penny?" demanded the old man in a high-pitched, creaking voice.
"What's the matter with you?" demanded the vendor with a wholly disproportionate display of passion. "That's all you get."
The old man pointed an indignant forefinger to the ticket on the tray. "Two for five!" he shrilled.
"That's right. Or four cents a piece," was the rejoinder.
"No you don't! Half of five is two and a half. You make half a cent on the deal anyhow."
"Well, if y'ain't satisfied, gimme the penny and take another!" With an unerring eye the vendor pounced on the smallest and knobbiest apple in the tray and offered that.
The old man would have none of it. "Give me my other penny!" said he.
"Give me my other penny or I'll call the police!"
"Yah! For a penny would you! You're a big man of business you are! Call a cop, go on, and see what he'll say for a penny!" The vendor passionately searched under a shelf, and producing a ticket marked "4¢" defiantly stuck that alongside the "2 for 5."
"No you don't!" cried the old man. "You can't raise the price on me after I've bought!"
"One for four, two for five! I guess I charge what I like! I don't have to charge half the price for one!"
The vendor appealed to Heaven to witness that he was maligned. He brandished a fist before the old man's nose. "You lie! You lie!" he cried. "Get out of here. I don't want you by my stand!"