by the events of the day.
As a rule, they lay for some time carrying on conversation and
discussing the next day's work; but that night very little was said, and
the only thing worth recording was a few sentences that were spoken and
responded to by Singh in the midst of yawns.
"Talking about India and Sanskrit?" said Glyn.
"Oh yes; he asked me all sorts of questions about Dour, and he asked me
if I had ever seen Sanskrit letters."
"Well?"
"And I told him I had, and he shook his head and asked me where I had
seen them."
"Well, what did you say?"
"That I had got some precious stones in my box with some Sanskrit
letters cut in."
"Why, you never were so stupid as to tell him about that belt?"
"I don't know that there's anything stupid in it," replied Singh
sleepily. "I didn't want him to think I was so ignorant as not to know
about a language that your father can read as easily as English, and has
talked to us about scores of times. Why, of course, I did."
"Well, of all the old _Dummkopfs_ I ever knew, you are the stupidest.
Didn't I tell you that--" _Snore_.
"Why, if he isn't asleep!"
Almost the next moment Glyn was in the same state.
CHAPTER TEN.
"ENGLISH GENTLEMEN DON'T FIGHT LIKE THAT."
The next morning the men sent by Ramball, the proprietor of the
world-famed menagerie, were busy at work first thing repairing hedge and
fence; and everything was so well done, and such prompt payment made for
the estimated damages to the neighbouring orchard, that when a
petition-like appeal for patronage was made by Ramball, the owner of the
orchard attended with wife, family, and friends; and the Doctor gave
permission to the whole school to be present, being moved also, as he
told the lads in a brief address, to go himself with the masters and
support a very worthy enterprise for the diffusion of natural history
throughout the country. The visits were paid to the great yellow-walled
prison, and Ramball, in his best blue coat, the one with the basket-work
treble-gilt buttons, attended on the Doctor himself to explain the
peculiarities of the beasts and give their history in his own fashion.
This was peculiar, and did not in any way resemble a zoological lecture.
Still, it was an improvement upon the wild-beast showman of the
old-fashioned fairs, and he did not inform his listeners that the tiger
was eight feet six inches long from the tip of his nose to the end of
his tail, and exactly eig
|