.."
and then Uncle Felix, breaking out of his queer reverie with an
effort, raised his voice and looked as if the end of the world had
come.
"But do you realise what it means?" he asked them sharply. "D'you
understand what's happened?"
He drew a long, deep breath that quivered with suppressed amazement,
and waited several seconds for their answers--in vain. The children
gazed at him without uttering a word; they made no movement either.
The arresting tone of his voice and a certain huge expression in his
eyes made everything in the world seem different. It was a moment of
real life; he had discovered something stupendous. But, explanation
being beyond them, they attempted no immediate answer to his question.
The pressure of interest blocked every means of ordinary expression
known to them.
Then Uncle Felix spoke again; his big eyes fixed Tim piercingly like a
pin. "When did it stop?" he inquired gravely. He meant to make quite
sure of his discovery before revealing it. There must be no escape, no
slip, no carelessness. "When did it stop, I ask you, Tim?" he
repeated.
Tim was a trifle vague. "I was asleep," he whispered.
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