IV
It was no use Jack's trying to thread it all together. It was a bewilderment, so he let it remain so. It seemed to him, that right at the very core of all of them was the same bewildered vagueness: Mr. Ellis, Mrs. Ellis, Tom, the men—they all had that empty bewildered vagueness at the middle of them. Perhaps Lennie was most on the spot. The others just could attend to their jobs, no more.
Jack still had no acquaintance with anyone but Tom and Len. He never got an answer from Og and Magog. They just grinned and wriggled. Then there was Katie. Then Harry, a fat, blue-eyed small boy. And then that floss-haired Ellie who had come from Perth. And smaller than her, the baby. All very confusing.
The second morning, when they were at the proper breakfast, Dad suddenly said:
"Ma! D'ye know where the new narcissus bulbs are gone? I was waiting to plant 'em till I got back."
"I've not seen them since ye put them in the shed at the end of the verandah, dear."
"Well, they're gone."
Dead silence.
"Is 'em like onions?" asked Og, pricking up intelligently.
"Yes. They are! Have you seen them?" asked Dad sternly.