Having thus disposed of Jonah to her own evident satisfaction, and having as she considered, given much valuable instruction, Mrs. Wopp proceeded to question the children.
“Peter Stolway, what is a whale?”
“A whale is a fish bigger nor a house,” answered Pete, with ready assurance.
“Mannel Rodd, did you ever ketch a fish?”
“Mannel promptly hung his head and made no reply, being much too shy to attempt an answer in English, whatever his thoughts in Russian might have been.
“Well, time is near up younguns; has any one a question to arsk?”
“Mith Wopp, had Jonah any little girlth or boyth at home?”
This was a poser for Mrs. Wopp, who was obliged to admit that her knowledge of biblical genealogy did not embrace the immediate relatives of Jonah.
“Was it dark for Joner inside the whale?” asked Pete Stolway, who noted his father viewing him through the gaping curtain and wished to appear in earnest conversation with his instructor.
“I reckon Joner hadn’t any too much light,” opined Mrs. Wopp.