"There's no use in knowing that."
"Yes, there is. When I'm grown up I may do something like it."
Ruth laughed. "You silly boy! Nobody ever did such a thing."
"But I may. Lots of things have been done that were never done before. And mighty surprisin' things, too!"
"I WANT TO KNOW HOW THE EARTH LOOKS WHEN YOU ARE STANDING ON THE MOON"—Page 119
There was no denying this. So Ruth, for want of words, merely gazed upon him in sorrow and disapproval, as any Conservative might gaze upon any Radical. Before she could frame a speech to fit the look the orator again rushed on. He spoke rapidly and with feeling. The drowsy eyes became wider open. His hands with the gray mittens moved freely in the snowy air. To Ruth it was a sudden transformation of a prospective ignoramus into an inspired orator. In a higher, thinner voice he demanded: "What makes one kind of electricity do what another kind can't? And if men are so smart, why didn't they use electricity thousands of years ago instead of just now? The air has always been full of it."
This was an interesting question. But the Guardian Angel had no answer ready.
"And what makes light travel so fast? Why, just think of it, a hundred and fifty thousand miles in one second! And heat. There's lots to learn about heat. Why do folks burn wood and coal in winter instead of storing up heat in summer when there's too much of it. They keep ice all summer. And why not keep heat all winter? And just look at sunshine! Why not keep some overnight to read by? I could do it if I was a man."