An instant the Shark hesitated. “I—I don’t know that you’d be interested.”
“Hang it! I’d be interested in anything.”
“Very well, then,” said the Shark. “Visualize a cube!”
Up went Step’s hands. “Don’t shoot! I’ll come down. Also I’ll bite.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a catch, isn’t it? Go ahead! Spring your joke!”
The Shark looked disgusted. “Joke nothing! See here, Step! You know what a cube is, don’t you? Well, visualizing one means just picturing it in your mind. Remember the formula, don’t you, for A + B, cubed? It’s A cubed + 3A squared, B + 3AB squared + B cubed. Now, take numbers instead of letters—take easy numbers. Call A + B fifteen.”
“Er—er—all right. It’s fifteen. I don’t object.”
“Likewise, we’ll call A ten and B five. Therefore the block representing the cube of A + B will be made up of a cube of A—say, we’ll call the units inches——”
“I’m willing.”