ebody like that."

"My stars!" said Rebecca. "What ever shall we do ef this old machine
goes on back of the Revolution! I should hate to go back an' worry
through all them terrible times."

"We'll be lucky if we stop there," said Phoebe. "I only hope to
gracious we won't go back to Columbus or King Alfred."

"Oh, I hope not!" said Rebecca, with a shudder. "Folks ud think we was
crazy to be talkin' 'bout America then."

Phoebe tried to toss her head.

"If 'twas in Alfred's time," she said, "they couldn't understand _what_
we was talkin' about."

"Phoebe Wise! What do you mean?"

"I mean just that. There wasn't any English language then.
Besides--who's to say the old thing won't whirl us back to the days of
the Greeks an' Romans? We could see Socrates and Pericles and Croesus
and----"

"Oh, I'd love to see Croesus!" Rebecca broke in. "He's the richest man
that ever lived!"

"Yes--and perhaps we'll go back of then and see Abraham and Noah."

"Ef we could see Noah, 'twould be worth while," said Rebecca. "Joe
Forrest said he didn't believe about the flood. He said Noah couldn't
hev packed all them animals in tight enough to hev got 'em all in the
Ark. I'd like mighty well if I could ask Noah himself 'bout it."

"He couldn't understand ye," said Phoebe. "All he spoke was Hebrew, ye
know."

"Oh!" exclaimed Rebecca. Then, after a pause: "S'pose we went back to
the tower of Babel. Couldn't we find the folks that was struck with the
English language an' get one of 'em to go back an' speak to Noah?"

"What good would that do? If he was struck with English he wouldn't know
Hebrew any more. That's what made-- But there!" she exclaimed, "what
ninnies we are!"

There was a long pause. After many minutes, Rebecca asked one more
question.

"Do you s'pose the flood would come up as fur's this, Phoebe?"

"I don't know, Rebecca. The Bible says the whole earth, you know."

And so passed the slow hours. When they were not dozing they were either
nibbling frugally the scant fare in reach or conversing by short
snatches at long intervals.

For thirty hours had they thus whirled ceaselessly around that circle,
when Phoebe, glancing through the window at the ring to which their
rope was attached, noticed that its constant rubbing against the ball at
the top of the pole had worn it nearly through.

"My goodness, Rebecca!" she cried. "I believe we're goin' off at a
tangent in a minute."

"What? How?"

"The ring on the