The older one grinned disagreeably.
"Sure," he answered with laconic indifference.

"We sent 'em to the far country, all right." "But--how did you know they WANTED to go ?" "Wanted--Eh ?" exploded the big boy.

Then he grinned again, still more disagreeably.

"Well, you see, my dear, we didn't ask 'em," he gibed.
Real distress came into David's face.
"Then you don't know at all.

And maybe they DIDn't want to go.