"What do you do that for?"
Ephraim didn't know. It was only a guess of his, because he knew that the first figure of the answer was two, and this would result from dividing the first figure by three.
"To bring the answer," he replied.
"And I suppose you divide the next period by five, for the same reason, don't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"You may take your seat, sir. You are an ornament to the class, and you may become a great mathematician, if you live to the age of Methuselah. I rather think it will take about nine hundred years for you to reach that, point."
The boys laughed. They always relish a joke at the expense of a companion, especially when perpetrated by the teacher.
"Your method of extracting the square root is very original. You didn't find it in any arithmetic, did you?"
"No, sir."
"So I thought. You'd better take out a patent for it. The next boy may go to the board."