It was not hard digging, and Ted soon had a hole deep enough for him to stand in, being down in it as far as his knees. As he was shoveling out the dirt, which Janet pushed to one side, the iceman came along.
“Hello, Curlytop!” he called to Ted. “What are you doing?”
“Digging a hole.”
“So I see,” and the iceman jingled his tongs. “Are you going clear through to China?”
“Where’s China?” asked Jan.
“It’s where the laundryman does daddy’s shirts,” explained Ted.
“No, I mean the country where the Chinese laundrymen come from,” went on the iceman with a laugh. “It’s supposed to be straight down through this earth on the other side, you know. So, if you dig deep enough, you may come to China,” and he passed on.
“I’m going to do it,” said Ted after a bit, during which time he had dug so deep that only his shoulders were out of the ground.
“Do what?” asked his sister.
“Dig to China. And when I get the hole all the way through I’ll take you with me.”