“‘Having some!’ repeated my companion, as if unable to believe his ears, large as they were. ‘Having some!’ he fairly shouted again in horrified tones. And then, looking at me in the most pitying manner he added, ‘Why, Friend Clown, do you not suppose there are elephants who look upon the peanut as something more than a thing to be eaten? That there are those of us who study them?—for what happier hobby could a circus elephant have than that which calls for the collecting of this most excellent nut!
“‘Consider this one, for instance,’ continued Gray Ears, as he held one of the peanuts up to the light. ‘That is the true goober. See with what a delicate sweep it curves in at the waist line. Here, on the other hand, is a quite different nut—the pindar that comes from the islands. A sailor brought it to the circus one day. To you, and to him, it is merely a peanut. But to the trained eye there is a warm, yellow tint in its wrinkled face and a certain sweep to its curves that place it far from its various cousins. So, during my travels, thousands upon thousands of nuts have passed under my eyes and, from them, I have made this collection of exactly seventeen different ones.’
“And so he passed from one peanut to another, pointing out the beauties of each,” went on Diggeldy Dan, “and was just explaining that the word peanut was unknown to the children of some lands, while ‘monkey-nut’ served for a name instead, when, suddenly stopping short and gathering his brows into three immensely deep puckers, he fixed his attention upon something away toward the west.
“Following his gaze, I saw a bloodred blotch that fairly flamed far off through the trees.
“‘Fire!’ we both cried, as if in one breath; and then Gray Ears began to laugh at the thought.
“‘Fire nothing!’ said he. ‘It’s the sun making ready for bed.’
“‘Goodness me, so it is!’ I exclaimed. ‘I had no idea it was so late. I hope you will not think me rude, but, really I must go at once.’
“‘Of course you must,’ the big fellow agreed, as he led the way from the room. ‘I fear I have delayed you too long as it is. But never doubt, I’ll have you back at the edge of the littlest town in but a little while more than no time at all. Come—on to my third toe! Hold fast—there! We’re off!’
“And with his trunk rolled into position while I clung with both arms to his leg, Gray Ears started forward with such amazing strides that, had I not been standing on one of his feet, I would surely have thought that he had suddenly been shod with seven-league boots. Away we crashed, making straight for the heart of the sunset. Onward we—”
“Hey, Dan! Dan! The Petal Watch! The Petal Watch!” cried Monkey.