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 "Not the boys who are studying it and understand it."

"Some of them are studying it, and say it can't be understood. They say they didn't believe there was anything in it to start on, and they haven't wasted much time on it."

"Well, why don't you ask some of the boys who have put time on it?"

"Oh, they wouldn't want to back down and admit that there was nothing in it, after they had put in a lot of work on it."

I looked at Bob to find whether he was in earnest. I didn't see how any one could argue in that sort of a way. "But you haven't studied it, Bob," I said. "You're not in a position to know anything about it."

"Well, I've read enough of it," said Bob; "all I want to. Here," and he reached for my book, and opened it just anywhere; "here it says 'a=10, b=5'; now how can a letter equal a figure, tell me that? It's all tommyrot."

"But it's because you don't understand."

"And listen to this," he went on, "here on page twenty-seven it says 'a=240,' and here on page thirty-two it says 'a=17,' and back there it said