eighteen minutes
after twelve
Then , of course , in one hour , it passes through fifteen degrees , and through one degree in four minutes ; so that for every four minutes ' difference of time , there will be a difference of longitude of one degree -- that is , near the equator , about seventy miles . '' `` It must be very near noon now , '' said Johnny , running out into a patch of sunshine , where a small opening in the grove let in the light , `` see ! I have hardly any shadow at all . '' Arthur planted a stick in the ground , and as soon as the shadow marked the hour of noon , looked at his watch , by which it was eighteen minutes after twelve . `` It would seem from this , '' said he , `` that we are four degrees and a half , or over three hundred miles , west of the Kingsmills : it also appears that we are very near the line , but a little south of it , for the shadow inclines a little southward . '' `` It is all nonsense , '' cried Max , sitting up in the grass , `` to pretend to ascertain where we are , in any such way as this . If your watch , -LRB- which you know is a miserable time-keeper -RRB- , has lost or gained but twenty minutes since we left the Kingsmills , which is now nearly two months , then what becomes of your learned calculations about the difference of time , and of the longitude , and all that ? ''