"What was that?" said Dink hopefully.
"He got up a guessing contest with a blind prize."
"A what?"
"A blind prize all done up in tissue paper and ribbons, and no one was to know what was in it until it was won. It certainly was amazing the number of suckers that paid a quarter to satisfy their curiosity."
"Well, what was inside?" said Dink at once.
"There you are!" said Al. "Why, nothing, of course—a lemon, perhaps—but the point is, every one just had to know."
"Not a word!" said Dink, springing up triumphantly.
"Mum as the grave," said Al, accepting his handshake.
Dink went romping back like a young spring goat, his busy mind seizing all the ramifications possible from the central theory. He found the Tennessee Shad and communicated the great idea.
"I don't like the guessing part," said the Tennessee Shad.