‘That must be very inconvenient. Why don’t you teach it to him?’
‘Si, signorina.’ He was plainly nonplussed.
‘Yes, he says that you are his father, and I should think——’
‘His father?’ Tony appeared momentarily startled; then he laughed. ‘He did not mean his real father; he mean—how you say—his godfather. I give to him his name when he get christened.’
‘Oh, I see!’
Her next question was also a surprise.
‘Tony,’ she inquired with startling suddenness, ‘why do you wear earrings?’
He reddened slightly.
‘Because—because—der’s a girl I like ver’ much, signorina; she sink earrings look nice. I wear zem for her.’
‘Oh!—But why do you fasten them on with thread?’