He had become so used to regarding Doone as entirely infallible that it amazed and disheartened him to find that there was one topic so large about which Ronicky knew nothing.

Perhaps the whole base for the good cheer of Ronicky was his ignorance of everything except the mountain desert.
"A river's a river," went on Ronicky blandly.

"And it's got a town beside it, and in the town there's a house that looks over the water.
Why, Bill, she's as good as found!" "New York runs about a dozen miles along the shore of that river," groaned Bill Gregg.
"A dozen miles!" gasped Ronicky.

He turned in his seat and stared at his companion.

"Bill, you sure are making a man-sized joke.