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Blackwood, Algernon, 1869-1951

"The Extra Day"

All of them can't be right.
The result is that none of them are right, and the world is in
confusion. Some calendars mark off too many days, others mark off too
few. Half the world is ahead of Time, and the other half behind it.
The Governments know this quite well, but they dare not say anything,
because their officials are muddled enough as it is. There is
everywhere this fearful rush and hurry to keep up with Time. All are
terrified of being late--too late or too early."
"Naturally."
"And the extraordinary result of all these mistakes," he went on
marvellously, "is simply this: that a considerable amount of Time has
never been recorded at all by any of them. There are a lot of extra
days, unused, unrecorded days, still at large--if only we could find
them."
"Extra Days!" they gasped. Tim and Judy's mouths were open now, and
slowly opening wider every minute. Only Maria's mouth kept closed. Her
great blue eyes were closed as well. She looked as if she could have
told them all this in a couple of words!
"Knocking about on the loose," he explained further, then paused and
stared into the upturned faces; "sort of escaped days that have never
been torn off calendars or ticked away by clocks--unused, unfilled,
unlived--slipped out of Time, that is--"
"Then when Daddy said, 'A day is coming,' and all that--?" Tim managed
to squeeze out as though the pain of the excitement hurt his lips.


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