"How did Rogers get down?" the Very Young Man wanted to know.
"He took the twelve pills here," the Doctor answered.
"But as I understand it, he fell most of the way down while he was still big, and then got small afterwards at the bottom." This from the Big Business Man.
"I don't know how about you," said the Very Young Man drily, "but I'd much rather take three days to walk down than fall down in one day."
The Doctor smiled. "I still think," he said, "that we had better stick to the directions Rogers left us. Then at least there is no danger of our getting lost in size. But I agree with you, Jack. I'd rather not fall down, even if it takes longer to walk."
"I wonder——" began the Big Business Man. "You know I've been thinking—it does seem an awful waste of energy for us to let ourselves get smaller than absolutely necessary in climbing down these places. Maybe you don't realize it."
"I do," said the Very Young Man, looking sorrowfully at the ragged shoes on his feet and the cuts and bruises on his legs.
"What I mean is——" persisted the Big Business Man.
"How far do you suppose we have actually traveled since we started last night?"
"That's pretty hard to estimate," said the doctor. "We have walked perhaps fifteen miles altogether, besides the climb down. I suppose we actually came down five or six thousand feet."