"How
do you know we'll ever get out?"
This was an unpleasant idea, which we unanimously considered,
returning with earnestness to our studies.
"If we are good boys and learn our lessons well," I suggested.
"If we are quiet and respectful and polite and they are not afraid
of us--then perhaps they will let us out. And anyway--when we
do escape, it is of immense importance that we know the language."
Personally, I was tremendously interested in that language,
and seeing they had books, was eager to get at them, to dig into
their history, if they had one.
It was not hard to speak, smooth and pleasant to the ear, and
so easy to read and write that I marveled at it. They had an
absolutely phonetic system, the whole thing was as scientific as
Esparanto yet bore all the marks of an old and rich civilization.
We were free to study as much as we wished, and were not
left merely to wander in the garden for recreation but introduced
to a great gymnasium, partly on the roof and partly in the story
below.
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