"Now, is that about a fourth of an acre, or about a third of an acre?"
Felix looked at the figures a moment, and then said, "It's a good deal more than a quarter of an acre, and—it's more than a third of an acre too."
"Yes, it's a little more than a third of an acre: there's more ground in our house-lot than I thought there was. You know now about how large those boys' farm was,—nearly three times as large as our yard. Now let's see exactly how many roods and rods and yards and feet and inches there are."
"How do you do that?" asked Felix, looking very blank.
"Why, reduce your 1,875 square yards in the garden, to higher denominations."
"Oh, yes!" replied Felix, brightening: "I've done those sums lots of times, and those denominate fractions like 1875/4840, but I never could see any sense to it before. Let's see,—what do you divide by first? Oh! I remember, 30¼."
Felix figured away bravely; but when he gave his result, it differed considerably from Johnny's. After some expressions of impatience, he looked it over, and, with some assistance from Johnny, found his mistake; their answers then agreed; and he read the result aloud, with something of an air of pride in his achievement,—
"1 rood, 21 square rods, 29 square yards, 6 square feet, 108 square inches. And that's the first time I ever saw any sense in square measure, and all those things. I thought arithmetic was just to keep boys busy in school, and I could always find enough to do without it. I tell you, I've played more pranks on the teachers! and I didn't get found out very often neither; and when I did, they didn't dare punish me, for fear my folks would make a fuss; and they would too."
"It is eight o'clock now; and I always read to our children for an hour or so before they go to bed," said Mrs. Le Bras, "or have them read aloud to me."
"Let us all take turns to-night," said Johnny. "You or father begin."