And darkly at the foe.
“ ‘Their van will be upon us
Before the bridge goes down;
And if they once may win the bridge
What hope to save the town?’ ”
He said it in a queer, lifeless, sing-song voice, with not the smallest shade of expression. The end of each line was a recognized stopping-place, where he halted heavily. It was evident that the brave old lines conveyed nothing to him. Jo shuddered.
“Hold on!” she said. “Why did you begin there, Rex?”
“That’s where it began in my book.”
“And don’t you know anything of the part that goes before?”
“No. Is there any?”