"Well, it seems to me," persisted the grocer, "as he's gone a long way round to answer a simple question what any fifth-standard child could do in his head. I'll give him another." "Cast it in another form," put in the chairman. "Give it as a multiplication sum." Purvis tucked his fingers carefully into his waistcoat pockets. "I put the question, Mr. Chairman," he said, "as it'll be put to the youngster when he has to tot up a bill. That seems to be a sound and practical form for such questions to be put in." Challis sighed impatiently. "I thought Mr. Steven had been delegated to conduct the first part of the examination," he said. "It seems to me that we are wasting a lot of time." Elmer nodded. "Will you go on, Mr. Steven?" he said. Challis was ashamed for his compeers. "What children we are," he thought. Steven got to work again with various arithmetical questions, which were answered instantly, and then he made a sudden leap and asked: "What is the binomial theorem?" "A formula for writing down the coefficient of any stated term in the expansion of any stated power of a given binomial," replied the Wonder. Elmer blew out his cheeks and looked at Challis, but met the gaze of Mr. Steven, who adjusted his glasses and said, "I am satisfied under this head." "It's all beyond me," remarked Squire Standing frankly. "I think, Mr. Chairman, that we've had enough theoretical arithmetic," said Purvis. "There's a few practical questions I'd like to put." "No more arithmetic, then," assented Elmer, and Crashaw exchanged a glance of understanding with the grocer. "Now, how old was our Lord when He began His ministry?" asked the grocer. "Uncertain," replied the Wonder. Mr. Purvis smiled. "Any Sunday-school child knows that!" he said. "Of course, of course," murmured Crashaw. But Steven looked uncomfortable. "Are you sure you understand the purport of the answer, Mr. Purvis?" he asked. "Can there be any doubt about it?" replied the grocer. "I asked how old our Lord was when He began His ministry, and he"--he made an indicative gesture with one momentarily released hand towards the Wonder--"and he says he's 'uncertain.'" "No, no," interposed Challis impatiently, "he meant that the answer to your question was uncertain." "How's that?" returned the grocer. "I've always understood----" "Quite, quite," interrupted Challis. "But what we have always understood does not always correspond to the actual fact." "What did you intend by your answer?" put in Elmer quickly, addressing the Wonder. "The evidence rests mainly on Luke's Gospel," answered the Wonder, "but the phrase 'archomenos hôsei etôn triakonta' is vague--it allows latitude in either direction. According to the chronology of John's Gospel the age might have been about thirty-two." "It says 'thirty' in the Bible, and that's good enough for me," said the grocer, and Crashaw muttered "Heresy, heresy," in an audible under tone.