He swept the glasses back and forth in a regular curve, not looking here and now there, but taking his time and missing nothing.

It occurred to Dick that he was a type of his region, slow but thorough, and sure to win after defeat.
"What's the result of your examination ?" asked Dick as Warner passed the glasses in turn to Pennington.
"Let x equal what I saw, which is nothing.

Let y equal the result I draw, which is nothing.

Hence we have x + y which still equals nothing." Pennington was swifter in his examination.

The blood in his veins flowed a little faster than Warner's.
"I find nothing but land and water," he said without waiting to be asked, "and I'm disappointed.