Long division he did not attempt, but he rapidly learned to cast interest at six per cent.

He had had a way of arriving at that with beans, before he came to school; and no one had ever succeeded in cheating him.

He knew about interest money, he said, by "sense of feeling." Grammar he saw no use for, and did not bother himself with it; but, curiously enough, he was delighted with geography and toward the end of the term bought a copy of Cornell's text-book, which was then used in Maine schools.
What most interested him was to trace rivers on the maps and to learn their names.

Cities he cared nothing for; but he loved to learn about the mountain ranges where pine and spruce grew.
"What places them would be for sawmills!" he exclaimed.
Much as he liked his new geography, however, he had grown violently angry over the first lesson and declared with strong language that it was all a lie! The master had read aloud to him the first lesson, which describes the earth as one of the planets that revolve round the sun, and which says that it is a globe or sphere, turning on its axis once in twenty-four hours and so causing day and night.
Old Zack listened incredulously.

"I don't believe a word of that!" he declared flatly.
The master labored with him for some time, trying to convince him that the earth is round and moves, but it was quite in vain.
"No such thing!" old Zack exclaimed.