"A gnome?"
"Sure thing. Those were gnomes—the real spooky, spinky kind that give you the shivers up and down your back when they're out gnoming. Chops knows what a gnome is, don't you, Chops?"
"N-n-n-nassir, yassir," chattered the guide.
"Don't, for goodness' sake, Chunky. He'll run in a minute," begged Butler.
"And—and that wasn't all," continued Stacy. "I heard the cat utter a name, and the rat had a face just like—"
"What did the cat say, and—"
"The cat said, 'Meow!'" jeered Ned.
"No it didn't. The cat said 'Veal, Veal,' just as plainly as you could imagine," nodded the speaker.
Chops fairly gasped.
"Yes, but what did the rat look like?" urged Tad.