“He’s goin' to get a pension, though,” said another.
“There’s a law now or something,” volunteered a fourth. “They have to give him money.”
“Oh, I see,” I said. “That’s fine. Can any of you tell me how wide those arches are—those big arches?”
“One hundred and eighty feet wide and two hundred feet high,” volunteered one boy.
“And the little arches are sixteen feet and three inches wide and forty feet high,” put in another.
“And how long is it?”
“Two thousand, three hundred and ninetyfive feet from ridge to ridge,” came with schoolboy promptness[promptness] from three at once.
I was flabbergasted.
“How do you know all this?” I inquired.
“We learned it at school,” said two. “Our teacher knows.”