'Now I'll copy it.' said Taffy. 'Will you understand _this_ when you see it?' And she drew this. (3.) [Illustration: 3] 'Perfectly,' said her Daddy. 'And I'll be quite as s'prised when I see it anywhere, as if you had jumped out from behind a tree and said "Ah!"' 'Now, make another noise,' said Taffy, very proud. 'Yah!' said her Daddy, very loud. 'H'm,' said Taffy. 'That's a mixy noise. The end part is _ah_-carp-fish-mouth; but what can we do about the front part? _Yer-yer-yer_ and _ah! Ya!'_ 'It's very like the carp-fish-mouth noise. Let's draw another bit of the carp-fish and join 'em,' said her Daddy. _He_ was quite incited too. 'No. If they're joined, I'll forget. Draw it separate. Draw his tail. If he's standing on his head the tail will come first. 'Sides, I think I can draw tails easiest,' said Taffy. 'A good notion,' said Tegumai. 'Here's a carp-fish tail for the _yer_-noise.' And he drew this. (4.) [Illustration: 4] 'I'll try now,' said Taffy. ''Member I can't draw like you, Daddy. Will it do if I just draw the split part of the tail, and the sticky-down line for where it joins?' And she drew this. (5.) [Illustration: 5] Her Daddy nodded, and his eyes were shiny bright with 'citement. 'That's beautiful,' she said. 'Now make another noise, Daddy.' 'Oh!' said her Daddy, very loud. 'That's quite easy,' said Taffy. 'You make your mouth all around like an egg or a stone. So an egg or a stone will do for that.' 'You can't always find eggs or stones. We'll have to scratch a round something like one.' And he drew this. (6.) [Illustration: 6] 'My gracious!' said Taffy, 'what a lot of noise-pictures we've made,--carp-mouth, carp-tail, and egg! Now, make another noise, Daddy.' 'Ssh!' said her Daddy, and frowned to himself, but Taffy was too incited to notice. 'That's quite easy,' she said, scratching on the bark. 'Eh, what?' said her Daddy. 'I meant I was thinking, and didn't want to be disturbed.' 'It's a noise just the same. It's the noise a snake makes, Daddy, when it is thinking and doesn't want to be disturbed. Let's make the _ssh_-noise a snake. Will this do?' And she drew this. (7.) [Illustration: 7] 'There,' she said. 'That's another s'prise-secret. When you draw a hissy-snake by the door of your little back-cave where you mend the spears, I'll know you're thinking hard; and I'll come in most mousy-quiet. And if you draw it on a tree by the river when you're fishing, I'll know you want me to walk most _most_ mousy-quiet, so as not to shake the banks.' 'Perfectly true,' said Tegumai. 'And there's more in this game than you think. Taffy, dear, I've a notion that your Daddy's daughter has hit upon the finest thing that there ever was since the Tribe of Tegumai took to using shark's teeth instead of flints for their spear-heads. I believe we've found out _the_ big secret of the world.' 'Why?' said Taffy, and her eyes shone too with incitement. 'I'll show,' said her Daddy. 'What's water in the Tegumai language?'