(“Tchik! tchik!”) a snicker from Jimmie in the rear.
“—his Suliote band, True as the steel of—”
(“im-im,”) Betsy Dan struggles with her giggles.
“Elizabeth!” The master's voice is stern and sharp.
Betsy Dan bridles up, while Jimmie is momentarily sobered by the master's tone.
“True as the steel of their tried blades,
Heroes in heart and hand.
There had the Persians thousands stood—”
(“Tchik! tchik! tchik,”) a long snicker from Jimmie, whose nose cannot be kept quite in control. It is becoming too much for poor Betsy Dan, whose lips begin to twitch.
“There—”
(“im-im, thit-tit-tit,”) Betsy Dan is making mighty efforts to hold in her giggles.
“—had the glad earth (tchik!) drunk their blood, On old Pl-a-a-t-t-e-a-'s day.”