If at exactly

midnight,

— the witching hour! —

I told two friends

that to-day

was my birthday,

& they, in turn,

each

told two people,

& they told two

people,

& so on and so on

***

By the following day

EVERY-ONE

in the world

would know it was

my birthday

and I would still be spending

it alone with

my slide-ruler

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