“No, Smith, I think we shall have the place all to ourselves.”
“And no t’other sort o’ things, sir?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, sir, I don’t quite azakly know, but it comes natral like to be feared o’ being in the dark, and one has heard o’ bogies and ghosties and that sort o’ thing.”
“Did you ever see anything of the kind?”
“Well, no, sir, I never did, but I’ve heerd chaps say as they’ve seen some rum things in their time from sea sarpents downwards.”
“As to sea-serpents or some kind of monstrous creature similar to the old saurians—”
“Sawrians, sir,—do you mean sea sawrians?”
“Sea and river; the crocodiles whose remains we find as fossils. There is plenty of room in the sea, Smith, and, as a naturalist, I am quite ready to believe in something fresh being discovered. We have seen small sea-serpents, and there is no reason why there might not be big ones, but as to what you call bogies and ghosts, for goodness sake throw over all those silly superstitious notions.”
“What, don’t you believe people ever comes back arter they’re dead?”