FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136  
137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   >>   >|  
u," we all shouted; but I swear I was first. "Yes." "I don't think that's a very subtle definition," said Dennis. "You promised to be as subtle as possible." "Go on, dear," said Gerald to his wife. "Well, this is rather awkward. Mine is----" "Emu," I suggested. "You must wait till she has defined it," said Norah sternly. "Mine is a sort of feathered animal." "Emu," I said again. In fact, we all said it. Gerald coughed. "Mine," he said, "isn't exactly a--fish, because it----" "Emu," said everybody. "That was subtler," said Dennis, "but it didn't deceive us." "Your turn," said Norah to me. And they all leant forward ready to say "Emu." "Mine," I said, "is--all right, Dennis, you needn't look so excited--is a word I once heard a man say at the Zoo." There was a shriek of "Emu!" "Wrong," I said. Everybody was silent. "Where did he say it?" asked Norah at last. "What was he doing?" "He was standing outside the Emu's cage." "It must have been Emu." "It wasn't." "Perhaps there's another animal beginning with 'e' and ending with 'u,'" suggested Dennis. "He might have said,'Look here, I'm tired of this old Emu, let's go and see the E-doesn't-mu,' or whatever it's called." "We shall have to give it up," said Norah at last. "What is it?" "Ebu," I announced. "My man had a bad cold, and he said, 'Look, Baria, there's ad Ebu.' Er--what do I get for that?" "Nothing," said Norah coldly. "It isn't fair. Now, Mr. Dennis." "Mine is _not_ Emu, and it couldn't be mistaken for Emu; not even if you had a sore throat and a sprained ankle. And it has nothing to do with the Zoo, and----" "Well, what is it?" "It's what you say at golf when you miss a short putt." "I doubt it," I said. "Not what Gerald says," said his wife. "Well, it's what you might say. What Horace would have said." "'Eheu'--good," said Gerald, while his wife was asking "Horace who?" We moved on to the next word, P--D. "Mine," said Norah, "is what you might do to a man whom you didn't like, but it's a delightful thing to have and at the same time you would hate to be in it." "Are you sure you know what you are talking about, dear?" said Mrs. Gerald gently. "Quite," said Norah with the confidence of extreme youth. "Could you say it again very slowly," asked Dennis, "indicating by changes in the voice which character is speaking?" She said it again. "'Pound,'" said Gerald. "Good--one to me."
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136  
137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Gerald
 

Dennis

 

subtle

 

Horace

 

suggested

 
animal
 
couldn
 

Nothing


coldly
 

mistaken

 

throat

 

sprained

 
extreme
 

slowly

 
confidence
 

gently


indicating
 
speaking
 

character

 

talking

 

delightful

 

subtler

 

deceive

 

forward


excited

 

defined

 

awkward

 

coughed

 

sternly

 

feathered

 

ending

 
definition

called

 

promised

 

beginning

 
silent
 

Everybody

 
shouted
 

shriek

 
standing

Perhaps
 

announced