noon before
You find that the Hindu -- or wrongly called Arabic -- numerals are the only ones wonderful enough for modern uses . '' Thoroughly interested , the boy sat down with this big manuscript book . Weird schemes of numeration rioted over the pages , from the Zuni finger and the Chinese knuckle systems to the latest groups of symbols , used in modern higher mathematics , of which the boy had not even heard . It was noon before he realized with a start that the morning was gone . `` Oh , Dan ! '' he said reproachfully , `` we have n't done anything to-day . '' `` Never mind , '' said the old man , `` we get a start after a while . ''