"You
couldn't hear that out here."

"Pardon me, but I can," said Too-Too. "I tell you there is some one on
the other side of that door putting his hand in his pocket. Almost
everything makes SOME noise--if your ears are only sharp enough to
catch it. Bats can hear a mole walking in his tunnel under the
earth--and they think they're good hearers. But we owls can tell you,
using only one ear, the color of a kitten from the way it winks in the
dark."

"Well, well!" said the Doctor. "You surprise me. That's very
interesting.... Listen again and tell me what he's doing now."

"I'm not sure yet," said Too-Too, "if it's a man at all. Maybe it's a
woman. Lift me up and let me listen at the key-hole and I'll soon tell
you."

So the Doctor lifted the owl up and held him close to the lock of the
door.

After a moment Too-Too said,

"Now he's rubbing his face with his left hand. It is a small hand and
a small face. It MIGHT be a woman--No. Now he pushes his hair back off
his forehead--It's a man all right."

"Women sometimes do that," said the Doctor.

"True," said the owl. "But when they do, their long hair makes quite a
different sound.... Sh! Make that fidgety pig keep still. Now all hold
your breath a moment so I can listen well. This is very difficult,
what I'm doing now--and the pesky door is so thick! Sh! Everybody
quite still--shut your eyes and don't breathe."

Too-Too leaned down and listened again very hard and long.

At last he looked up into the Doctor's face and said,

"The man in there is unhappy. He weeps. He has taken care not to
blubber or sniffle, lest we should find out that he is crying. But I
heard--quite distinctly--the sound of a tear falling on his sleeve."

"How do you know it wasn't a drop of water falling off the ceiling on
him?" asked Gub-Gub. "Pshaw!--Such ignorance!" sniffed Too-Too. "A drop
of water falling off the ceiling would have made ten times as much
noise!"

"Well," said the Doctor, "if the poor fellow's unhappy, we've got to
get in and see what's the matter with him. Find me an axe, and I'll
chop the door down."

THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER

THE OCEAN GOSSIPS

RIGHT away an axe was found. And the Doctor soon chopped a hole in the
door big enough to clamber through.

At first he could see nothing at all, it was so dark inside. So he
struck a match.

The room was quite small; no window; the ceiling, low. For furniture
there was only one little s