“How great?” repeated Arthur, doubtful what kind of greatness was indicated, moral or material.
“Oui, ’ow great? From one side to the other side?”
“Oh, I see,” replied Arthur, and took thought. “About twenty-five kilometres, I suppose.”
“Twenty-five!” Marko’s eyes rounded with astonishment. “Écoute, Stefan; vingt-cinq kilomètres.”
“But—but,” demanded Stefan, “’ow many people is there?”
“About six millions,” replied Arthur, swelling with pleasure. At last he had found his incredulous audience.
“But that is a nation! I do not know if there are so many in all Bulgarie,” cried Marko. “’Ow do they travel? No droski could go so far—it is a day’s march. But perhaps you ’ave tramway? In Sofia we ’ave tramway,” he added, not without pride.
“There are trams, but most of the people travel in buses——”
“Bussesse?” interjected Stefan. “Qu’ est-ce que c’est, bussesse?”
“Lorries—camions. Big automobiles containing many people. And there are also underground railways, railways under the ground in a tunnel. You know tunnels?”