Bill, Bingo and Bram 9(2)

　　"I was round Bill's after school, before Mum got in. It was raining, and Bill didn't mind me waiting there," Ross told me.

　　"When I went into his yard, I saw this ... sort of shape on the ground, about two feet from Bill's back door. "

　　"Shape? What sort? Flying saucer shape? Ghost shape?"

　　Once again, I was pushing it, and I knew it, but Ross was particularly gullible(易受骗的) when it came to this sort of thing. He had a huge collection of Ghost Story books, and for a few years read little else.

　　Ross pressed on, he was in his stride now, and wasn't going to be distracted by my poor attempts at humour.

　　"His yard was all wet, all the slabs(平板) , I know how wet, 'cos I nearly slipped as I walked down his path. Then, just a couple of feet from his back door, there's this patch which is completely dry. I stood there and looked at it. The rain was running down my nose, and down the back of my coat and soaking(浸湿) the backs of my legs, but ... this patch, about a foot and a half long, by about a foot wide - it was dry!"

　　I thought his story preposterous(荒谬的) . I couldn't see his face, but I could imagine it, his eyes staring widely at the ceiling, his mouth slightly agape. I kept my own counsel, I could at this point tell him what I thought, but I had jibed at him enough for one night. I decided to say nothing. A silence passed, and thickened as it did. I decided that if he pursued the matter, I would let him have a ribbing of epic proportions.