Page:Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.djvu/296

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists Well, what about when a lark goes up in the sky and stays there about a quarter of an hour? Why, if it was true that the earth was turnin' round at that rate all the time, when the bird came down it would find itself 'undreds of miles away from the place where it went up from! But that doesn't 'appen at all; the bird always comes down in the same spot.'

'Yes, and the same thing applies to balloons and flyin' machines,' said Grinder. 'If it was true that the world is spinnin' round on its axle so quick as that, if a man started out from Calais to fly to Dover, by the time he got to England he'd find 'imself in North America, or p'raps further off still.'

'Talking about science,' said Grinder, breaking the puzzled silence which followed; 'talking about science reminds me of a conversation I 'ad with Dr Weakling the other day. You know, he believes we're hall descended from monkeys.'

Everyone laughed, the thing was so absurd. The idea of placing intellectual beings on a level with animals!

'But just wait and 'ear 'ow nicely I flattened 'im out,' continued Grinder. 'After we'd been arguin' a long time about Everlution or some sich name, and a lot more tommy rot I couldn't make no 'ead or tail of—and to tell you the truth I don't believe 'e understood 'arf of it 'imself—I ses to 'im: "Well," I ses, "if it's true that we're hall descended from monkeys," I ses, "I think your family must 'ave left orf where mine begun.

In the midst of the laughter that greeted the conclusion of Grinder's story, the other members of the committee arrived, and put an end to the interesting discussion, and the business for which the meeting had been called, the arrangements for the forthcoming Rummage Sale, was proceeded with. 284