“So do I,” cried Verbrugge; “evasions are not accepted. We are entitled to a complete dinner, and therefore I ask for the history of the turkey.”
“I have told you that already,” said Havelaar: “I stole the turkey from General van Damme, and ate it with somebody.”
“Before something went to heaven,” said Tine playfully.
“No, that’s an evasion,” cried Duclari, “we want to know why you stole that turkey.”
“Well, because I was hungry, and that was the fault of General van Damme, who had suspended me.”
“If you don’t tell me more than that, I will bring an omelet next time myself,” complained Verbrugge.
“Believe me, it was nothing more than that. He had many turkeys, and I had none. These birds were driven before my door; I took one, and said to the man who imagined that he watched them, ‘Tell the General that I, Max Havelaar, take this turkey, because I want to eat it.’ ”
“And what about that epigram?”
“Did Verbrugge speak to you about it?”
“Yes.”
“That has nothing to do with the turkey. That was because he had suspended so many functionaries: there were at Padang seven or eight of them whom he had suspended, with more or less justice, from their functions. Many amongst them deserved it less than I. The Assistant Resident of Padang himself had been suspended, and
