“Sir?”
“I hate to feel that I have to explain myself more fully. Why did you take the chopped meat?”
“The chopped meat?”
“The chopped meat.” He waited patiently.
Red said, “Well, I was sort of—”
“Hungry?” prompted his father. “For raw meat?”
“No, sir. I just sort of needed it.”
“For what exactly?”
Red looked miserable and remained silent.
The Astronomer broke in again. “If you don’t mind my putting in a few words—You’ll remember that just after breakfast my son came in to ask what animals ate.”