Rebecca, who found this technical and figurative expression beyond her, paused in her knitting and looked anxiously at Phoebe, to see how she would take it. After a moment of thought, the young woman admitted her visitor's premises. "Very good! An' you know's well's I do, Miss Phoebe, that ef a man travels round the world the same way's the sun, he ketches up on time a whole day when he gets all the way round. In other words, the folks that stays at home lives jest one day more than the feller that goes round the world that way. Am I right?" "Of course." Droop glanced triumphantly at Rebecca. This tremendous admission on her learned young sister's part stripped her of all pretended coldness. Her deep interest was evident now in her whole pose and expression. "Now, then, jest follow me close," Droop continued, sitting far forward in his chair and pointing his speech with a thin forefinger on his open palm. "Ef a feller was to whirl clear round the world an' cut all the meridians in the same direction as the sun, an' he made the whole trip around jest as quick as the sun did--time wouldn't change a mite fer him, would it?" Phoebe gasped at the suggestion. "Why, I should think--of course----" She stopped and put her hand to her head in bewilderment. "Et's a sure thing!" Droop exclaimed, earnestly. "You've said yerself that the folks who stayed to home would live one day longer than the fellow that went round. Now, ef that feller travelled round as fast as the sun, the stay-at-homes would only be one day older by the time he got back--ain't that a fact?" Both sisters nodded. "Well, an' the traveller would be one day younger than they'd be. An' ain't that jest no older at all than when he started?" "My goodness! Mr. Droop!" Phoebe replied, feebly. "I never thought of that." "Well, ain't it so?" "Of course--leastways--why, it must be!" "All right, then!" Droop rose triumphantly to his feet, overcome by his feelings. "Follow out that same reasonin' to the bitter end!" he cried, "an' what will happen ef that traveller whirls round, cuttin' meridians jest twice as fast as the sun--goin' the same way?" He paused, but there was no reply. "Why, as sure as shootin', I tell ye, that feller will get jest one day younger fer every two whirls round!" There was a long and momentous silence. The tremendous suggestion had for the moment bereft both women of all reasoning faculty. At length the younger sister ventured upon a practical objection. "But how's he goin' to whirl round as fast as that, Mr. Droop?" she said. Droop smiled indulgently. "Et does sound outlandish, when ye think how big the world is. But what if ye go to the North Pole? Ain't all the twenty-four meridians jammed up close together round that part of the globe?" "Thet's so," murmured Rebecca, "I've seen it many's the time on the map in Phoebe's geography book."