Christopher greeted the whimsey with a laugh.
"Now I," began he, "would sell or swap the water routes from most of our inland cities. We had to learn them when I studied geography and as I have never wanted to ship goods from St. Paul to Philadelphia, for example, I have found no use for them."
"You may some day."
"I'll risk it. If I did want them I could, perhaps, buy them back," flashed Christopher.
"What price would you set upon such possessions?"
"You mean the water routes? Well, it cost me a good deal of trouble to memorize them; still, I'd be glad to let them go cheap and be rid of them. I'd trade them for—let me see—an equal number of facts about wireless. With them I'd throw in all my—" he stopped suddenly.
"All your what?"
"I was going to say all my Latin but changed my mind," the boy replied. "I guess, everything considered, I'd better keep that. It might come in handy sometime. It did the other day."
"Oh, I'd keep your Latin, by all means," the Scotchman agreed.
A pause, weighted with humorous imaginings, fell between them until Christopher broke out: