“Why?”
“Don’t ask me. That’s the way it’s built.”
William Bannister obligingly disentangled himself from the beard.
“Where you been?” he inquired.
“Miles and miles away. You know the Battery?”
William Bannister nodded.
“Well, a long way past that. First I took a ship and went ever so many miles. Then I landed and went ever so many more miles, with all sorts of beasts trying to bite pieces out of me.”
This interested William Bannister.
“Tigers?” he inquired.
“I didn’t actually see any tigers, but I expect they were sneaking round. There were mosquitoes, though. You know what a mosquito is?”