"Oh, yes!" said Johnny; "and then I said that was what they were trying to do; because there was a lot of oxygen in the saltpetre that was in the powder, which furnished a plenty to unite with the sulphur and charcoal, and then, when they began to unite, all in an instant, because every thing was all mixed just right, there'd got to be ever so much more room for the expansion of the gas, and that forced the rock apart."
"Yes," added Felix; "and then I said, 'Oh! that's it. I'm glad you can tell a fellow every thing he wants to know, except how to find his way home on a dark night.' And that's the last we said."
"So Johnny says his prayers to be kept safe when he's all nice at home, and when he's lost way off somewhere, he forgets all about them," remarked Sue, as she buttered her roll.
"But we got along all right, just the same," said Felix.
"Probably that's because some of the prayers you said before had enough about being kept safe to last over one night," explained Sue.
"I protest against this digression!" exclaimed Pierre. "Here's Johnny come to the most interesting part of his story, and then he leaves off just at the critical part, just like the sensational papers."
"That was what I was going to say. I will talk with Johnny about forgetting his prayer, to-night," said Mrs. Le Bras. "And now go on, my son."
"I am very curious to know what barn they slept in," remarked Mr. Le Bras.
"So am I," said Kate, who having come in with some hot rolls, when Felix began the story, had been standing spell-bound ever since, with her salver in her hand.
"I believe Felix said he awoke once in the night," continued Johnny, "and saw someone with a light, putting up a horse; but I didn't wake up until morning."