“Perhaps you aren’t in just the same place,” suggested one sage logician.
“That’s so,” admitted he. “I think I’ve stepped forward some.”
“No, I think you jumped back,” objected a third.
There was much learned discussion of this point. Finally they tried both. There wasn’t a sound.
Of course they were puzzled. Who wouldn’t have been? They wandered all about the clearing, roaring at the top of their lungs: “Hello! hello! hello! hello!” But Mark only kept still and chuckled, until he saw that they were about to give it up.
“Why don’t you answer?” shouted one.
“—— you answer!” replied Mark, in just as loud a voice.
The yearlings sprang as one man to the spot where this lucky individual had been.
“We’ve got it!” they cried, and a moment later a perfect chorus of “Helloes!” and “How do ye does?” and “Whoops!” and so on, came to Mark Mallory’s ears.
They were so many of them that Mark couldn’t attend to them all at once, and had to call in the rest of the Seven to his aid. You may readily believe that the yearlings were paid back with interest. Texas even tacked on a few whoops for good measure.