"Never heard of the beast," John said.
"I say, V," Bertram exclaimed, incredulously. "He's never heard of the zebu."
Viola was too much shocked by her uncle's ignorance to do more than smile sadly.
"We'll show it you to-morrow," Bertram promised.
"Thanks very much. I shall enjoy meeting the zebu," John admitted, humbly. "And any other friends of yours in the animal world whose names begin with Z."
"And we also missed the ichneumon," Viola reminded her brother.
"Your last visit seems to have been full of broken appointments. It's just as well you're going again to-morrow. You'll be able to explain that it wasn't your fault."
"No, it wasn't," said Bertram, bitterly. "It was Miss Coldwell's."
"Yes," said Viola. "She simply tore past everything. And when Bertram gave the chimpanzee a brown marble instead of a nut and he nearly broke one of his teeth, she said it was cruel."
"Yes, fancy thinking that was cruel," Bertram scoffed. "He was in an awful wax, though; he bunged it back at me like anything. But I swopped the marble on Monday with Higginbotham Minor for two green commonys: at least I said it was the marble; only really I dropped it while we were waiting for the bus."