"You could not very well play any games without It," insisted the Gopher.
"It," declared the ex-Pirate very slowly and impressively, "is the one that runs after you when you are playing tag, and the one that hides his face and shuts his eyes when you play hide-and-go-seek."
"Oh, I've played those games lots of times," said Tommy.
"Then you must have seen It," put in the Sheep.
"Never," said Tommy.
"How did you play, then?" asked the ex-Pirate.
"One of us was it, of course," explained Tommy; "and when he caught another, the other was it."
"How funny," said the Gopher. "Why, with us It is always It. That's the fun of the game."
"Of course it is," added the ex-Pirate. "I don't see how you could play without It. We had an It on board the Black Avenger, and we used to play tag for exercise when we were becalmed. But one day, in a storm, it was washed overboard, and we had to go without playing games all the rest of the voyage."
"How stupid of you!" remarked Tommy. "Why did not you take turns being it?"