“By the way, what is your name?” said the old lady.
A somewhat lengthy pause was necessary to enable Miss Perry to do justice to such a leading question.
“My name is Araminta,” said she, and her drawl was carried to such a ludicrous length that even Ponto smiled at it, although he had very little sense of humor, “but they call me Goose because I am rather a Sil-lay.”
The beak of the old lady seemed to take an additional curve. The hanging-judge look had never seemed so awe-inspiring.
“Your name is Araminta,” she repeated with a deliberation that was positively sinister, “but they call you Goose because you are rather a silly. Do they indeed!”
Miss Perry beamed upon the old lady with a comprehensiveness that was perfectly distracting.
“I don’t think I am really a silly,” said she, as if she were quite convinced she were not, “but Muffin says I am. It’s because I can never remember whether Tuesday comes after Monday or whether Monday comes after Tuesday.”
“Who, pray, is Muffin?”
“Muffin is my sister, don’t you know,” said Miss Perry. “Her name is Elizabeth really, but we call her Muffin because she is rather a ragamuffin.”
“Humph!” said the old lady.