He half blacked
the little boy on the swan too--"
"And broke the swan's bill off, worse luck," added Johnny.
"Yes," said Allen, "that was altogether low and unlucky! I meant the
old fellow simply to have thought that his statue had grown a pair of
ears in the night."
"And what would have been the use of that?" said Robin.
"What was the use of all your scrawling," said Allen, "except just to
show it was not the natural development of statues."
"Yes," added Bobus, "it all came of you that poor Dickey Bird is
suspected and it is all blown up."
"As if he would have thought it was done by nobody," said Rob.
"Why not?" said Jock. "I'm sure I'd never wonder to see ass's ears
growing on you. I think they are coming."
There was a shout of laughter as Rob hastily put up his hands to feel
for them, adding in his slow, gruff voice—-"A statue ain't alive."
"It made a fool of the whole matter," proceeded Bobus. "I wish we'd
kept a lout like you out of it."
"Hush, hush, Bobus," put in his mother, "no matter about that. The
question is what is to be done about poor Mr. Richards and Alfred."
"Write a poetical letter," said Allen, beginning to extemporise in
Hiawatha measure.
"O thou mighty man of money,
Barnes, of Belforest, Esquire,
Innocent is Alfred Richards;
Innocent his honest father;
Innocent as unborn baby
Of development of Midas,
Of the smearing of the Cupid,
Of the fracture of the goose-bill,
Of the writing of the mottoes.
Pages:
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233