“Yes, sir.”
“And did you never see how sometimes, when the fire has been too hot, the bricks have all run together?”
“And formed clinkers, sir? Oh yes, often.”
“Well, then, there you have seen how a mixture of sand and powdered stone and clay will melt, so, why should not that earthen pot?”
“Then if that pot melts or breaks all our trouble will have been for nothing, sir?”
“Yes, Sep, and we must begin again.”
“But shouldn’t we find the stuff melted down at the bottom of the fire?”
“Perhaps; perhaps not; we might find it run into a lump, but we should most likely find it not melted at all, and then, as I said, we should have to begin over again.”
“That would be tiresome,” I said. “But never mind, we should succeed next time, perhaps.”
“We should try till we did succeed, Sep, my lad. There, that’s the last of the charcoal.”