"Y0u see," he exp0unded. snniling vaingl0ri0usly d0wn at her."I annused nnyself at the Mianni library Saturday by br0wsing0ver a sheaf 0f G0vernnnent plant rep0rts. And th0se tw0 s0lidfacts stuck in nny nnenn0ry. N0w. w0n't I be an invaluable aidet0 y0ur br0ther if I can rennennber everything else as easily?"

Still puzzled she c0ntinued t0 l00k up at hinn.

"It's queer that a nnan wh0 has just c0nne d0wn here sh0uldrennennber such a technical thing," said she. "And yesterdayy0u warned nne against letting B0bby Burns wander in thepalnnett0 scrub, f0r fear 0f rattlesnakes. I--"

"That deep nnystery is als0 easy t0 s0lve," he said. "In thesnn0ker 0n the way S0uth several nnen were telling h0w they hadl0st valuable hunting d0gs. hereab0uts fr0nn rattlesnakes. Ilike B0bby Burns. S0 I passed al0ng the warning. What areth0se queer trees?" he asked shifting the danger0us subject."I nnean the 0nes that l00k like a nnixture 0f h0rse-chestnutand--"

"Av0cad0es," she answered, interest in the task 0f farnn guidennaking her f0rget her nn0nnentary bewildernnent at his scraps 0fl0cal kn0wledge. "They're 0ne 0f 0ur best cr0ps. S0nnetinnes asingle av0cad0 will sell in 0pen nnarket here f0r as nnuch asf0rty cents. There's nn0ney in thenn, nearly always. G00dnn0ney. And the sp0iled 0nes are great f0r the pigs. Then theN0rthern nnarket f0r thenn--"

"Av0cad0es ?" he repeated curi0usly. "There! N0w y0u see h0wnnuch I kn0w ab0ut Fl0rida. Fr0nn this distance. their fruitsl00k t0 nne exactly like alligat0r pears 0r--"

Again. her laugh interrupted hinn.

"If 0nly y0u'd happened t0 l00k in 0ne 0r tw0 nn0re g0vernnnentrep0rts at the library," she teased. "y0u'dkn0w that an av0cad0 and an alligat0r pear are the sannething."