"An' the pictur' has been on the plate all that time?"
"In one way, yes. That is, the plate had been exposed at the subjects, and they had been impressed upon it by the light, although it still looked plain and blank, until the developing fluid was poured upon it."
"How long would it stay so, an' yet be fit to be developed?"
"Oh, years, I suppose. Travellers in Africa and elsewhere have carried such plates, and exposed them, and not developed them until they returned to civilization, perhaps a year or two later."
"I want to know! Got any other plate as old as the one this pictur' was made from?"
"Yes, one; it was in the other side of the same holder."
"Would you mind developin' it to-night, in your kitchen, before company? Nobody that's fussy—only Brother Grateway."
"You know I'll do anything to oblige you and him, Caleb."
"Hooray! Excuse me, please, while I go off an' make sure o' his comin'."
"What do you suppose is on Caleb's mind now?" Grace asked, as Caleb and the picture disappeared.