“I don’t want to go in no box,” replied Dave. “What’s it like?”
“Something like a hen-coop,” exclaimed Tom, cheerfully inventing. “You got to put your tongue out through a hole and kiss the book.”
“What book?” asked Dave, innocently.
“Why, the Bible, you fool.”
“What do they make you kiss it for?”
“Why, to take an oath, you ass.”
“What is an oath?” asked Dave.
“Callin’ God to strike you dead if you tell a lie,” exclaimed Tom reverently. “You don’t want to tell no lies when you’re on your oath. There was a cove in Bourke who was struck dead in the witness-box.”
“Where’s Bourke?” queried Dave, who happened to be in a more than usually inquiring mood that morning.