"You are certainly having fun with us, Cyrus," said William.
"No, not at all. But, you see, a compass would be useless where there is no such thing as North and South."
"No such thing as North and South!"
"No. Nor East and West. The needle would lose its bearings. It wouldn't know where to point."
"Oh, come now! Is that a joke? Are we to laugh at it?"
Cyrus smiled. "I should not blame you for laughing—but it is not a joke. I am telling the truth."
"You mean to say, I suppose, that you had such bad weather—electrical storms, perhaps,—that the needle couldn't work."
"No, there was no weather at all."
"You mean no bad weather?"