"Yes, but where does he get the baby first, before he puts it in the bag to bring? He must get it somewhere."
"From the gooseberry bush, of course," said Trixie King, in a bold effort to recover her position. "I expect there is a special garden behind doctors' houses where they grow."
"But if there isn't?" objected Marcus pitilessly. "Doctor Le Mesurier has no garden at all, neither has Doctor Hale."
"No," said Laurie Prideaux. "And I don't believe the Black Bag story one bit. Because if it were that, the doctor could take the bag anywhere, and give whoever he liked a baby, just whenever he liked. And he can't, I know. Anybody can't have a baby just when they like. Mother says Mrs. Pile at Number Three has wanted one for years. Besides, any one can't have one. Only mothers have babies."
"And fathers," said some one.
"Fathers and mothers together; there must be both. At least there always is both."
"Except—" We all looked awkwardly at Johnny Blackmore, the posthumous one. He flushed slightly under his olive skin.
"No, I had a father too; he was my father, though he died before I was born."
"Well, if your father can die before you are born, what makes him your father? What does 'being your father' mean?" We were getting to fundamentals.