But his reply took a different direction than she had expected.

Any reply would take at least another five seconds coming the other way.

A reply from my parents would probably take at least three weeks by the slow Chinese post.

She made no reply, only took the bowl when Roland handed it back.

The reply from Venus, when it came at last, took nearly an hour to run through the recorder.

The reply took a few seconds, and when it came, the voice was slurred.

The reply took a couple of seconds, as if the computer was taken by surprise and had to adjust.

And suddenly, Niall understood what form his reply should take.

The reply took longer than it would have expected.

And, of course, any reply will take equally long to get back to us.