"Aunt Malvina said 'as black as Toby,'" said Letitia with a look half of inquiry, half of anxious abstraction. What Letitia could find out herself she never asked other people.
"Yes; I know she did," replied uncle Jack.
"Then she said, 'Dark as Pokonoket.'"
"Yes; she said that too."
"And then she said, 'Crazy as a loon.'"
"Yes; she did."
"Uncle Jack, what is Toby, and what is Pokonoket, and what is a loon?"
"Toby," said uncle Jack slowly and impressively, "lives in Pokonoket, and keeps a loon."
"Oh!" said Letitia, in a tone which implied that she was both relieved and amazed at her own stupidity.
"Yes; perhaps you would like to hear something more particular about Toby—how he got married, for instance?"