Methuen gulped a little."Well, uh, to tell the truth, Johnny, I was beginning to miss you pretty badly myself. How'd you like to drive up to New Haven with me tonight?"
"Fine. But before I go, wirr you prease take me around behind ze monkey house?"
"Why?"
"Ah, zere is a sound I have been practicing. It is a very difficurt sound for a bear. But I sink I have it down pat."
"All right."
So Methuen led Johnny, on an ornamental but entirely useless chain, around to the back of the monkey house.
Johnny stood up on his hind legs and called: "McGinty!"
McGinty's face appeared at the window, scowling through the bars."What do you want, you traitor, you liar, you fiend, you villainous flea-bitten scoundrel?"
For answer, Johnny protruded his lips, protruded his tongue between them, and blew. The unseemly sound that issued would be described by a phonetician as a voiceless labio-lingual roll.
Then Johnny followed his god, Methuen, to the latter's car. He was content.