“She knows what the dog says too,” said Nancy. “What does Dempster say, bogh?”
“Bow-wow,” said the child.
“Bless me soul!” said Pete, turning to Philip with amazement at the child's supernatural wisdom. “And there's Tom Hommy's boy—and a fine lil fellow enough for all—but six weeks older than this one, and not a word out of him yet.”
Hearing himself talked of, the dog had come from under the table. The child gurgled down at it, then made purring noises at its own feet, and wriggled in Nancy's lap.
“Dear heart alive, if it's not like nursing an eel,” said Nancy. “Be quiet, will you?” and the little one was shaken back to her seat.
“Aisy all, woman,” said Pete. “She's just wanting her lil shoes and stockings off, that's it.” Then talking to the child. “Um—am-im—lum—la—loo? Just so! I don't know what that means myself, but she does, you see. Aw, the child is taiching me heaps, sir. Listening to the lil one I'm remembering things. Well, we're only big children, the best of us. That's the way the world's keeping young, and God help it when we're getting so clever there's no child left in us at all.”
“Time for young women to be in bed, though,” said Nancy, getting up to give the baby her bath.
“Let me have a hould of the rogue first,” said Pete, and as Nancy took the child out of the room, he dragged at it and smothered its open mouth with kisses.
“Poor sport for you, sir, watching a foolish ould father playing games with his lil one,” said Pete.
Philip's answer was broken and confused. His eyes had begun to fill, and to hide them he turned his head aside. Thinking he was looking at the empty places about the walls, Pete began to enlarge on his prosperity, and to talk as if he were driving all the trade of the island before him.