human
Sally, he said, after he had been working for some minutes and Sally had been watching him in silence,
gpt
I don't know, father, she answered.
human
Is it a--an alligator?
gpt
No, he said, stopping and looking thoughtfully at the skeleton.
human
No, it is not an alligator, although you came nearer than I should have thought you would. You were just barely warm, Sally. It is a distant relative of the alligator; perhaps I should call it a connection. The thirteenth cousin of his hundred thousandth great-grandfather, or something like that. It is a sort of a lizard, Sally. It is a very small one.
gpt
Oh! cried Sally.
human
A _small_ one! A small _lizard_! Why, father!
gpt
It lived a great many thousands of years ago. Nobody knows how many thousands of years, although they will tell you very glibly. They don't know anything about it except that it was a long time. I know that. This little lizard is a kind that nobody has ever discovered; nobody except me. It is _my_ lizard. It must be known by my name. What do you think of that, Sally?
human
It must be very fine, Sally murmured,
gpt
At that far-off time, the professor continued,
human
Father,
gpt
Any question that Miss Ladue has to ask, he observed,
human
Father, she asked, as soon as she had managed to suppress her chuckles,
gpt
Yep, he answered;
human
Right up into the tops of the trees?
gpt
Right up into the topmost branches of the coal trees.
human
The _coal trees_!
gpt
The coal trees. Fed on the fruit. Large lizards customarily ate furnace coal, middle-sized lizards ate stove coal. Little lizards ate chestnut coal.
human
And the littlest lizards?
gpt
Ate pea coal, replied the professor promptly,
human
Seriously, Sally, said the professor, with a change of manner,
gpt
Oh! cried Sally.
human
Let's suppose he did. And what did he see from his topmost branch?
gpt
Very little, replied the professor,
human
Well, said Sally,
gpt
Then, said her father solemnly,
human
But how would you know it was Miss Sally Ladue's skeleton?
gpt
That is a poser, her father answered.
human
I should know it, though. If there were no other means of identifying it, I should know it for Miss Ladue's by the large bump of inquisitiveness on the skull.
gpt
What's my bump of inquisitiveness?
human
Hand me that skull on my desk, and I'll show you. Sally obediently handed him the skull.
gpt
There it is, he continued.
human
You can see it, although it is not as large as your own. Come here and let us see if it is.
gpt
The phrenologists, he began, feeling of her head,
human
Ouch!
gpt
It is a very large bump, said the professor gravely;
human
I--I fell out of a tree yesterday, Sally said.
gpt
I suppose it was that.
human
Ah, yes, the professor returned;
gpt
I wish I could, said Sally;
human
I wish I could fly into the top of any tree I wanted to.
gpt
You find the trees very attractive?
human
Yes, I do, Sally replied, simply.
gpt
You can see a lot from the top of a tall tree. The trouble is that you can't find big enough branches when you get nearly to the top.
human
No, observed the professor,
gpt
I can't. If I could, I suppose I might climb trees oftener. It is very disconcerting to get almost up, just where the leaves are thickest, and find that I can't get any higher and can't see anything to speak of, either. And twigs that you wouldn't hesitate to trust yourself upon, Sally, are not nearly big enough for me. That, he finished, reflectively,
human
Did you climb trees when you were a boy, father?
gpt
Huh! Climb trees! Gracious, yes. Used to run right up one side and down the other. Tallest trees I could find, too. Hundreds of feet high. Did I use to climb trees!
human
Oh!
gpt
Climb trees! murmured the professor.
human
Why, there was one tree that I remember--
gpt
That sounds like your mother's knock, Sally. Will you be kind enough to see?