"Oh, I mean just a nice little pony that you could hug if you wanted to. And I guess I could teach you to ride. Then we could have nice long journeys about. There are so many beautiful places and such fields and fields of wild flowers. You cannot walk everywhere. And I have not money enough to buy a boat of my own," with a humorous smile.
"I suppose a boat does cost a good deal," she returned thoughtfully. "I love to be on the water. Though at first I was afraid, and when that dreadful storm came. A ship is a queer thing, isn't it? One would think with all the people and all the cargo it must sink. I don't see how it keeps up," and her face settled into lines of perplexity, even her sweet mouth betraying it.
"That is in the building. You couldn't understand now."
"Do you know who made the first ship?"
He laughed then. He had such a hearty, jolly laugh, though he had been tossed about the world so much.
She had a mind to be a little offended. "It isn't in the geography," she said, with dignity. "And Columbus knew all about ships.
"Yes, we can go back of Columbus. The first one I ever really heard about was Noah's Ark."
"Oh, Noah's Ark! I never thought of that!" She laughed then, and the lines went out of her face. "I'm glad we didn't have a deluge on our long journey. And think of all the animals on board! Was the whole world drowned out?"
"I believe that has never been satisfactorily settled. And long before the time of Christ there were maritime nations——"
"Maritime?" she interrupted.