zenith.

"Well, you do get plenty of ventilation," said David oracularly.
"Nothing like plenty of air for plants, and it's good for humans too.
Make you grow strong and stocky, Master Tom. But the top used to turn
all round in the old days."

"So it does now, so that uncle can direct his telescope any way. Look
here!"

The boy moved to the side, and took hold of an endless rope, run round a
wheel fixed to the side, pulled at the rope, and the wheel began to
revolve, turning with it a small cogged barrel, which acted in turn upon
the row of cogs belonging to the bottom of the woodwork dome, which
began to move steadily round.

"Well, that caps me," said David. "I thought it was a fixter now."

"And you thought wrong, Davy," said Tom, going up two or three steps,
and passing out through the open shutter, and lowering himself into the
little gallery that had once communicated with the fan, and here he
stood looking out.

"All right there, Master Tom?"

"Yes."

"May I move the thing?"

"If you like."

David, as eagerly as a child with a new toy, began to pull at the rope,
when the top began to revolve, taking the little gallery with it, and
giving Tom a ride pretty well round the place before the gardener
stopped, and turned his face through the opening left by the shutter.

"Goes splendid!" he said, as Tom came in and closed the shutter. "I
wouldn't ha' believed it. And so the master's going to build a big
tallow scoop up there, is he?"

"Yes; and we've got a good deal of it done. There, let's get down.
Uncle may want me."

"Ay, and I must get back to my garden, sir. There's a deal to do there,
and I could manage with a lot of help."

"Uncle was talking of making this place quite a study, and putting a lot
of books here, the other day," said Tom, as they descended to the
laboratory.

"Was he now? Rare windy place, though, sir, isn't it? Windy milly
place, eh?"

"Well, you said air was good," said Tom, laughing; and they went down
into the workshop. "Mustn't have that window left open though," said
Tom; and, going to the side, he reached over the bench with the blanket
spread over it, drew in the iron-framed lattice window, and fastened it,
and was drawing back, when the blanket, which had been hanging draped
over a good deal at one end, yielded to that end's weight, and glided
off, to fall in a heap upon the stones.

Tom stooped quickly to pick it up, but as his head was descending below