,,radio ,,boys ,,cronies or ,bill ,brown's ,radio by ,wayne ,whipple ,author of ,radio ,boys ,loyalty and ,s4 ,f4 ,aaron ,co-author of ,radio ,boys ,loyalty ,illustration3 ,,made ,,in ,u4,s4,a4 ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,cronies ,come along1 ,bill2 we'll have to get there1 or we won't hear the first of it4 ,mr4 ,gray said it would begin promptly at three4 ,i'm doing my best1 ,gus4 ,this crutch---- ,i know4 ,climb aboard1 old scout1 and we'll go along faster4 ,the first speaker1 a lad of fifteen1 large for his age1 fair-haired1 though as brown as a berry and athletic in all his easy1 deliberate yet energetic movements1 turned to the one he had called ,bill1 a boy of about his own age1 or a little older1 but altogether opposite in appearance1 for he was undersized1 dark-haired1 black-eyed1 and though a life-long cripple with a twisted knee1 as quick and nervous in action as the limitations of his physical strength and his ever-present crutch permitted4 ,in another moment1 despite the protests of generous consideration for his chum's strenuous offer1 ,william ,brown was heaved up on the broad back of ,augustus ,grier and the two cronies thus progressed quite rapidly for a full quarter of a mile through the residential section of ,fairview4 ,not until the pair arrived at the entrance of one of the outlying cottages did husky ,gus cease to be the beast of burden1 though he was greatly tempted to turn into a charging war horse when one of a group of urchins on a street corner shouted3 ,look at the monkey on a mule6 ,gus cared nothing for taunts and slurs against himself1 but he deeply resented any suggestion of insult aimed at his crippled friend4 ,however1 although ,bill could not defend his reputation with his fists1 a method which most appealed to ,gus1 the lame boy had often proved that he had a native wit and a tongue that could give as good as was ever given him4 ,here we are1 ,gus1 and how can ,i ever get square with you8 ,bill said1 his crutch and loot thumping the steps as the boys gained the doorway4 ,in answer to the bell1 a sweet-faced lady opened the door1 greeted the boys by name and ushered them into a book-lined study where already several other boys and girls of about the same age were gathered about their school teacher4 ,professor ,james ,b4 ,gray1 although this was vacation time1 was the sort of man who got real and continued pleasure out of instruction1 especially concerning his hobbies4 ,thus his advanced classes1 here represented1 had come into much additional knowledge regarding the microscope and the stereopticon and had also greatly enjoyed the ,professor's moving-picture apparatus devoted to serious subjects4 ,the latest wonder1 and one worthy of intense interest1 was a newly installed radio receiver4 ,come in1 come in1 ,david and ,jonathan1--,i mean ,william and ,augustus6 greeted ,professor ,gray4 ,find chairs1 boys4 ,i'm glad you've come4 ,now1 then1 exactly in nine minutes the lecture starts and it will interest you4 ,the announcement1 as sent out yesterday1 makes the subject the life and labors of the great scientist and inventor1 ,thomas ,alva ,edison1 and it begins with his boyhood4 ,don't you think that a fitting subject upon an occasion where electricity is the chief factor8 ,but before the time is up1 let me say a few words concerning our little boxed instrument here1 out of which will come the words we hope to hear4 ,some of you1 ,i think1 have become pretty familiar with this subject1 but for those who have not given much attention to radio1 ,i will briefly outline the principles upon which these sounds we shall hear are made possible4 ,it would seem that our earth and atmosphere1 continued the ,professor1 and all of the universe1 probably1 is surcharged with electrical energy that may be readily set in motion through the mechanical vibrations of a sensitive diaphragm much as when one speaks into a telephone4 ,this motion is transmitted in waves of varying intensity and frequency which are sent into space by the mechanism of the broadcasting station1 which consists of a sound conducting apparatus induced by strong electrical currents from generators or batteries and extensive arial or antennas wires high in the air4 ,thus sound is converted into waves1 and the receiving station1 as you see here1 with its arial on the roof1 its detector1 its 'phone and its tuner1 gets these waves and turns them again into sound4 ,that is the outline of the thing1 which you will understand better 'after' than 'before using4' ,the technical construction of the radio receiving set is neither difficult nor expensive2 it is described fully in several books on the subject and ,i shall be glad to give any of you hints on the making and the operation of a receiving set4 ,the 'phone receivers and the crystal detector will have to be purchased as well as some of the accessories1 such as the copper wire1 pulleys1 battery1 switches1 binding posts1 the buzzer tester and so forth4 ,with proper tools and much ingenuity some of these appliances may be home-made4 ,the making of the tuner1 the wiring1 the arial and the assembling are all technicalities that may be mastered by a careful study of the subject and the result will be a simple and inexpensive set having a limited range4 ,with more highly perfected appliances1 as a vacuum1 or audion tube1 and an arial elevated from sixty to over a hundred feet1 you may receive radio energy thousands of miles away4 ,now1 this talk we are about to hear comes to us from the broadcasting station ,,wuk at ,wilmerding1 a distance of three hundred miles1 and this outfit of mine is such as to get the words loudly and clearly enough to be audible through a horn4 ,the talks are in series2 there have been three on modern poets1 two on the history of great railroad systems and now this will be the first of several on great inventors1 beginning with ,edison1 in four parts4 ,the next will be on ,friday and ,i want you all to be here4 ,time is up2 there will be a preliminary-ah1 there it is3 a cornet solo by ,drake4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,an ,,unusual ,,lad ,professor ,gray turned to the box and began moving the metal switch arms back and forth1 thus tuning in more perfectly as indicated by the increased and clearer sound and the absence of interference from other broadcasting stations1 noticed at first by a low buzzing4 ,in a moment the music came clear and sweet1 the stirring tune of ,america4 ,when the sound of the cornet ceased1 there followed this announcement3 ,my subject is the early life of ,thomas ,alva ,edison4 ,everyone settled down most contentedly and ,gus saw ,bill hug himself in anticipatory pleasure2 the lame boy had always been a staunch admirer of the great inventor4 ,there was no need of calling anyone's attention to the necessity for keeping quiet4 ,out of the big horn1 as out of a phonograph1 came the deliberate and carefully enunciated words3 ,it has been said that 'the boy is father to the man4' ,that may be worthy of general belief2 at least evidences of it are to be found in the boyhood of him we delight to speak of as one of the first citizens of our country and probably the greatest scientific discoverer of all time4 ,the boyhood of this remarkable man was almost as remarkable as his manhood2 it was full of incidents showing the tendencies that afterward contributed to true greatness in the chosen field of endeavor of a mind bent upon experiment1 discovery and invention4 ,thomas ,alva ,edison was born in ,milan1 ,ohio1 in the year #ahdg4 ,the precise date1 even to ,mr4 ,edison1 seems somewhat doubtful4 ,he was a frail little chap1 with an older brother and sister4 ,but he was active enough to have several narrow escapes from death4 ,he wouldn't have been a real boy if he hadn't fallen into the canal and barely escaped drowning at least once4 ,then while he was a little bit of a fellow1 climbing and prowling around a grain elevator beside the canal1 he fell into the wheat bin and was nearly smothered to death4 ,once he held a skate strap for another boy to cut off with a big ax and the lad sliced off the end of the fingers holding it6 ,another time the small ,edison boy was investigating a bumblebee's nest in a field close to the fence4 ,he was so interested in watching the bees that he didn't notice a cross old ram till it had butted in and sent him sprawling4 ,although he was then 'between two fires1' the little lad was quick-witted enough to jump up and climb the fence just in time to escape a second attack from the ugly old beast4 ,from a safe place he watched the bees and the ram with keen concern4 ,but ,edison says his mother used up a lot of arnica on his small frame after this double encounter4 ,the little lad early learned to observe that ',it's a great life if you don't weaken6' ,mr4 ,edison tells this story about himself3 ',even as a small boy1 before we moved away from ,milan1 ,i used to try to make experiments4 ,once ,i built a fire in a barn4 ,i remember how startled ,i was to see how fast a fire spreads in such a place4 ,almost before ,i knew it the barn was in flames and ,i barely escaped with my life4 ,the neighbors thought ,i ought to be disciplined and made an example of4 ,my mortified parents consented and ,i was publicly whipped in the village square4 ,i suppose it was a good lesson to me and made the neighbors feel easier4 ,but ,i think seeing that barn burning down made me feel worse than the whipping1--though ,i felt ,i deserved that1 too4' ,the ,edisons moved to ,port ,huron1 ,michigan1 and lived a little way out of the town on the ,st4 ,clair river1 where it flows out of ,lake ,huron4 ,the house was in an orchard1 but within easy walking distance of the town4 ,there was no compulsory school law in those days and young ,edison did not attend school1 but his mother taught him all she could4 ,she was a good teacher--she had taught school before she was married--but even she could not be answering questions all the time4 ,there was a public library in town1 so the boy spent a good deal of his time there4 ,he would have liked to read all the books in the library--but he started in on a cyclopedia4 ,he thought because there was 'something about everything' in that1 he'd know all there was to know if he read it through4 ,but he soon found question after question to ask that the cyclopedia did not answer4 ,some of the books he took home to read4 ,mr4 ,edison1 the boy's father1 had built a wooden tower that permitted a beautiful view of the town1 ,river ,st4 ,clair and ,lake ,huron2 one could see miles around in ,michigan and over into ,canada4 ,mr4 ,edison charged ten cents a head to go up and get the view on top of this tower4 ,very few people came1 so the tower was not a great success4 ,but the boy went up there to read1 not caring so much for the view as to be alone4 ,young ,edison read all he could find about electricity4 ,that always fascinated him4 ,but the father seemed to have a hard time making a living and ,al1 as they called the boy1 went to work4 ,he began selling newspapers in ,port ,huron1 but there was not much in that1 so he got a chance to sell on the seven o'clock train for ,detroit4 ,he applied at the ,grand ,trunk offices for the job and made his arrangements before he told any one4 ,he had to be at the station at #f3cj ,a4,m4 and have his stock all ready before the train started1 which compelled him to leave home at six4 ,the train was a local with only three cars--baggage1 smoking and passenger4 ,the baggage car was partitioned off into three compartments4 ,one of these was never used1 so ,al was allowed to take that for his papers to which he added fruits1 candies and other wares4 ,the run down to ,detroit took over three hours4 ,his train did not start back till #d3cj in the afternoon1 so the lad had about six hours in the big city4 ,he took all the time he needed to buy stock to sell on the train and to eat his lunch4 ,this left him several hours for reading in the ,detroit public library1 where he found more books on the subjects he liked1 more answers to appease his never abating curiosity4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,getting ,,the ,,money-,,making ,,habit ,those were the anxious days of the ,civil ,war1 the lecturer continued1 and every-one was worked up to a high pitch of excitement most of the time4 ,when it was rumored that a battle had been fought the newspapers sold 'like hot cakes4' ,any other boy would have been satisfied if he could supply as many papers as people wanted and let it go at that4 ,but that was not the way with young ,edison4 ,he was not content with hoping for an opportunity4 ,he made his opportunity4 ,in spite of his getting into trouble so often1 ,al was a most likable lad1 and a real boy1--earnest1 honest and industrious4 ,he had a big stock of horse sense and a great fund of humor4 ,though his life seemed to be 'all work and no play1' he took great pleasure in his work4 ,in the course of his daily routine at ,detroit1 he could hardly help making friends on the ,free ,press1 the greatest newspaper there4 ,in this he resembled that other great inventor1 also a great worker as a boy--,benjamin ,franklin4 ,young ,edison had a friend up in the printing office who let him see proofs from the edition being set up1 so that he kept posted as to what was to be in the paper before it came off the press4 ,after the ,free ,press came out1 he had to get an armful and hustle for his train4 ,in this shrewd way the train-boy was better off than 'he who runs may read1' for he had read1 and could shout while running3 ',all about the big battle6' ,so he sold his papers in short order4 ,he had learned to estimate ahead how many papers the news of a battle ought to sell1 and so he stocked up well beforehand4 ,one day he saw in the advance proofs a harrowing account of the great two-days' battle of ,shiloh4 ,he grasped not only the news value but also the strategic importance of that victory4 ,running down to the telegraph office at the ,grand ,trunk ,station in ,detroit1 he told the operator all about it4 ,edison has told us himself about the offer he made that telegrapher3 ',if you will wire to every station on my run and get the station master to chalk up on the blackboard out on the station platform that there has been a big battle1 with thousands killed and wounded1 ,i'll give you ,harper's ,weekly free for six months6' ,the operator agreed and that ,edison boy tore back to the ,free ,press office4 ',i want a thousand papers6' he gasped4 ',pay you to-morrow6' ,this was more than three times as many as he had taken out before1 so the clerk refused to trust him4 ',where's ,mr4 ,storey8' demanded the lad4 ,the clerk snickered as he jerked his head toward where the managing editor was talking with a 'big' man from out of town4 ,young ,edison was forced to break in1 but the editor noticed how anxious and business-like he was4 ,when the boy had told him what he wanted1 the great newspaper man scribbled a few words on a scrap of paper and handed it down to him1 saying3 ',here1 take this4 ,wish you good luck6' ,al handed the clerk the order and got his thousand papers at once4 ,he hired another 'newsie' to help him down to the station with them4 ,long after this1 he told the rest of the story3 ',at ,utica1 the first station1 twelve miles out of ,detroit1 ,i usually sold two papers at five cents each4 ,as we came up ,i put my head out and thought ,i saw an excursion party4 ,the people caught sight of me and commenced to shout4 ,then it began to occur to me that they wanted papers4 ,i rushed back into the car1 grabbed an armful1 and sold forty there4 ',mt4 ,clemens was the next stop4 ,when that station came in sight1 ,i thought there was a riot4 ,the platform was crowded with a howling mob1 and ,i realized that they were after news of ,shiloh1 so ,i raised the price to ten cents1 and sold a hundred and fifty where ,i never had got rid of more than a dozen4 ',at other stations these scenes were repeated1 but the climax came when we got to ,port ,huron4 ,i had to jump off the train about a quarter of a mile from the station which was situated out of town4 ,i had paid a big ,dutch boy to haul several loads of sand to that point1 and the engineers knew ,i was going to jump so they slowed down a bit4 ,still1 ,i was quite an expert on the jump4 ,i heaved off my bundle of papers and landed all right4 ,as usual1 the ,dutch boy met me and we carried the rest of the papers toward the town4 ',we had hardly got half way when we met a crowd hurrying toward the station4 ,i thought ,i knew what they were after1 so ,i stopped in front of a church where a prayer-meeting was just closing4 ,i raised the price to twenty-five cents and began taking in a young fortune4 ',almost at the same moment the meeting closed and the people came rushing out4 ,the way the coin materialized made me think the deacons had forgotten to pass the plate in that meeting6' ,in those days they commonly called trainboys ',candy ,butchers'2 the terms ',newsies' and ',peanuts' may have been used then also but were not so common4 ,they are not so common on trains nowadays1 except in the ,west and ,south1 but formerly they were even more of an institution than the water cooler or the old-fashioned winter stove4 ,the station-shouting brakemen were no more familiar or comforting to weary passengers than the 'candy butchers' and their welcome stock4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,paul ,pry ,,on ,,wheels ,with all he had to do1 young ,edison found that he had time on his hands which he might yet put to good use4 ,one would think being 'candy butcher' and newsboy from #f ,a4,m4 to #i ,p4,m41 and making from #aj4jj to #ab4jj a day might satisfy the boy's cravings4 ,but contentment wasn't one of ,al ,edison's numerous virtues4 ,he did not know it1 but he was following the footsteps of that other great ,american inventor1 ,benjamin ,franklin1 as a printer1 editor1 proprietor and publisher4 ,in one of the stores where he stocked up with books1 magazines and stationery for his train1 there was an old printing press which the dealer1 ,mr4 ,roys1 had taken for a debt4 ,mr4 ,roys once told the little story of that press3 ',young ,edison1 who was a good boy and a favorite of mine1 bought goods of me and had the run of the store4 ,he saw the press1 and ,i suppose he thought at once that he would publish a paper himself1 for he could catch onto a new idea like lightning4 ,he got me to show him how it worked1 and finally bought it for a small sum4' ,from his printer friends on the ,free ,press he bought some old type4 ,watching the compositors at work1 he learned to set type and make up the forms1 so within two weeks after purchasing the press he brought out the first number of ,the ,weekly ,herald--the first paper ever written1 set up1 proof-read1 printed1 published and sold 7besides all his other work7 on a local train--and this by a boy of fourteen6 ,of course1 it had to be a sort of local paper1 giving train and station gossip with sage remarks and 'preachments' from the boy's standpoint4 ,it sold for three cents a copy1 or eight cents a month to regular customers4 ,its biggest 'sworn circulation' was #gjj copies1 of which about #ejj were bona fide subscriptions1 and the rest 'news-stand sales4' ,the great ,english engineer1 ,robert ,stephenson1 grandson of the inventor and improver of the locomotive1 is said to have ordered a thousand copies to be distributed on railways all over the world to show what an ,american newsboy could do4 ,even the ,london ,times1 known for generations as ',the ,thunderer1' and long considered the greatest newspaper in both hemispheres1 quoted from ,the ,weekly ,herald1 as the only paper of its kind in the world4 ,young ,edison's news venture was a financial success1 for it added #de4jj a month to his already large income4 ,but ,paul ,pry came to grief because he tried to be funny in disclosing the secret motives of certain persons4 ,people differ widely in their notions about fun4 ,in a local paper1 too1 some one's feelin's are likely to get 'lacerated6' ,this was the case with a six-foot subscriber to the paper which was published then under ,al ,edison's pen name of ',paul ,pry4' ,one day the juvenile editor happened to meet his huge and wrathy reader too near the ,st4 ,clair river4 ,whereupon the subscriber took the editor by his collar and waistband and heaved him1 neck and crop1 into the river4 ,edison swam to shore1 wet1 but otherwise undisturbed1 discontinued the publication of ,paul ,pry1 and bade good-by to journalism forever6 ,while young ,edison was wading through such mammoth works as ,sears's ,history of the ,world1 ,burton's ,anatomy of ,melancholy1 and the ,dictionary of ,sciences 7and had begun to wrestle desperately with ,newton's ,principia67 he was showing a rare passion for chemistry4 ,he 'annexed' the cellar for a laboratory4 ,his mother said she counted1 at one time1 no less than two hundred bottles of chemicals1 all shrewdly marked ,,poison1 so that no one but himself would dare to touch them4 ,before long the lad took up so much room in his mother's cellar with his 'mess1' as she called it1 that she told him to take it out1 'bag and baggage4' ,he once stated that his great desire to make money was largely because he needed the cash to buy materials for experiments4 ,therefore1 in this emergency1 he took keen pleasure in buying all the chemicals1 appliances and apparatus he wished1 and installing them in his real 'bag and baggage' car4 ,as the railroad authorities had allowed him to set up a printing press1 in addition to his miscellaneous stock in trade1 why should he not have his laboratory there also8 ,so his stock of batteries1 chemicals and other 'calamity' grew apace4 ,one day1 after several weeks of happiness in his moving laboratory1 he was 'dead to the world' in an experiment4 ,suddenly the car gave a lurch and jolted the bottle of phosphorus off its shelf4 ,it broke1 flamed up1 set fire to the floor and endangered the whole train4 ,while the boy was frantically fighting the fire1 the ,scotch conductor1 red-headed and wrathy1 rushed in and helped him to put it out4 ,by this time they were stopping at ,mt4 ,clemens1 where the indignant ,scotchman boxed the boy's ears and put him out also4 ,then the man threw the lad's bottles1 apparatus and batteries after him1 as if they were unloading a carload of freight there4 ,these blows on his ears were the cause of the inventor's life-long deafness4 ,but there never was a gamer sport than ,thomas ,a4 ,edison4 ,once1 long after this1 he saw the labor of years and the outlay of at least two million dollars at the seashore washed away in a single night by a sudden storm4 ,he only laughed and said that was 'spilt milk1 not worth crying over4' ,disappointments of that sort were 'the fortunes of war' or 'all for the best' to him4 ,the injury so unjustly inflicted on him by that irate conductor was not a defect to him4 ,many years afterwards he said3 ',this deafness has been of great advantage to me in various ways4 ,when in a telegraph office ,i could hear only the instrument directly on the table at which ,i sat1 and1 unlike the other operators1 ,i was not bothered by the other instruments4 ',again1 in experimenting on the telephone1 ,i had to improve the transmitter so that ,i could hear it4 ,this made the telephone commercial1 as the magneto telephone receiver of ,bell was too weak to be used as a transmitter commercially4' ,it was the same with the phonograph4 ,the great defect of that instrument was the rendering of the overtones in music and the hissing consonants in speech4 ,edison worked over one year1 twenty hours a day1 ,sundays and all1 to get the word 'specie' perfectly recorded and reproduced on the phonograph4 ,when this was done1 he knew that everything else could be done1--which was a fact4 ',again1' ,edison resumed1 'my nerves have been preserved intact4 ,broadway is as quiet to me as a country village is to a person with normal hearing4' ,the talk suddenly ceased4 ,then another voice announced from out of the horn3 ,the second installment of the lectures on ,edison will be given at #c ,p4,m4 next ,friday4 ,we will now hear a concert by ,wayple's band4 ,,chapter ,v ,,opinions ,the boys and girls filed out1 after most of them had expressed appreciation of ,professor ,gray's interest in their enjoyment1 and on the street a lively discussion started4 ,terry ,watkins was laughing derisively at some remark of ,cora ,siebold1 who1 arm in arm with her chum ,dot ,myers1 had paused long enough to fire a broadside at him4 ,why don't some of you smarties who talk so much about the wonderful things you can do make yourselves receiving sets6 ,too lazy8 ,baseball and swimming and loafing around are all you think about4 ,but leave it to the girls2 ,dot and ,i are going to tackle one4 ,what8 ,you two8 ,won't it be a mess8 ,bet you can't hear yourselves think on it4 ,girls building a radio6 ,ho1 ho1 ho6 ,bet there'll be a looking-glass in it somewhere1 laughed ,ted ,bissell4 ,well1 we aren't planning to ask advice from either of you1 ,cora said4 ,no1 and it would be worth very little if you got any1 ,bill ,brown offered1 as he and ,gus1 who had been detained a moment by ,professor ,gray1 joined the loitering group4 ,thanks1 ,mr4 ,brown1 said ,dot1 half shyly4 ,who asked you for your two cents' worth8 ,terry demanded4 ,i'm donating it1 to your service4 ,go and do something yourself before you make fun of others1 ,bill said4 ,that's right1 too1 ,billy4 ,terry can't drive a carpet tack1 nor draw a straight line with a ruler4 ,ted was always in a bantering mood and eager for a laugh at anybody4 ,i'll bet ,cora's radio will radiate royally and right4 ,you going to make one--you and ,gus8 ,i guess we can't afford it1 ,bill replied quickly4 ,we're both going to work in the mill next ,monday4 ,long hours and steady1 and not too much pay1 either4 ,but we need the money2 eh1 ,gus8 ,we do1 agreed ,gus1 smiling4 ,bill's countenance was altogether rueful4 ,life had not been very kind to him and he very naturally longed for some opportunity to dodge continued hardship4 ,he wished that he might1 like the boy ,edison1 make opportunity1 but that sounded more plausible in lectures than in real life4 ,he was moodily silent now1 while the others engaged in a spirited discussion started by ,dot's saying kindly3 ,well1 lots of boys and girls have to work and they often are the better for it4 ,edison did--and was4 ,oh1 ,i guess he could have been just as great1 or greater if he hadn't worked1 remarked ,terry sententiously4 ,it isn't only poor boys that amount to---- ,mostly1 said ,bill4 ,oh1 of course1 you'd say that4 ,we'll charge your attitude up to envy4 ,when ,i size up some of the rich men's sons ,i know1 ,i'm rather glad ,i'm poor1 said ,bill1 and ,i would rather make a thousand dollars all by my own efforts than inherit ten thousand4 ,i guess you'd take what you could get1 ,terry offered1 and ,bill was quick to reply3 ,we know there'll be a lot coming to you and it will be interesting to know what you'll do with it and how long you'll have it4 ,he will never add anything to it1 said ,ted1 who also was the son of wealth1 but not in the least snobbish4 ,the others all laughed at this and ,terry turned away angrily4 ,bill1 further inspired by what he deemed an unfair reference to ,edison1 began to wax eloquent to the others concerning his hero4 ,i don't believe ,edison would have amounted to half as much as he has if he hadn't had the hard knocks that a poor fellow always gets4 ,terry makes me tired with his high and mighty---- ,oh1 don't you mind him6 said ,cora4 ,you've read a lot about ,edison1 haven't you1 ,bill8 asked ,dot1 knowing that the lame boy possessed a hero worshiper's admiration for the wizard of electricity and an overmastering desire to emulate the great inventor4 ,the girl sat down on the grassy bank1 pulled ,cora down beside her and in her gentle1 kindly way1 continued to draw ,bill out4 ,when only quite a little fellow he had become a great reader1 the lecturer said4 ,i should say he was a reader6 ,bill declared4 ,why1 when he was eleven years old he had read ,hume's ,history of ,england all through and-- ,understood about a quarter of it1 ,i reckon1 laughed ,ted4 ,understood more than you think1 ,bill retorted4 ,he did more in that library than just read an old encyclopedia2 he got every book off the shelves1 one after the other1 and dipped into them all1 but of course1 some didn't interest him4 ,he read a lot on 'most every subject2 mostly about science and chemistry and engineering and mechanics1 but a lot also on law and even moral philosophy and what you call it8 oh--ethics--and all that sort of thing4 ,he had to read to find out things2 there seemed to be no one who could tell him the half that he wanted to know1 and ,i guess a lot of people got pretty tired of having him ask so many questions they couldn't answer4 ,and when they would say1 ',i don't know1' he'd get mad and yell3 ',why don't you know8' ,hume's history1--why1 we have that at home1 in ten volumes4 ,if he got outside of all of that he was going some6 declared ,ted4 ,well1 he did1 and all of ,gibbon's ,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire1 too4 ,holy cats6 ,what stopped him8 ,ted queried4 ,he didn't stop--never stopped4 ,but he had to earn his living--didn't he8 ,he couldn't read all the books and find out about everything right off4 ,but you bet he found out a lot1 and he believes that after a fellow gets some rudiments of education he can learn more by studying in his own way and experimenting than by just learning by rote and rule4 ,maybe he's not altogether right about that1 for education is mighty fine and ,i'd like to go to a technical school2 ,gus and ,i both are aiming for that1 but we're going to read and study a lot our own way1 too1 and experiment2 aren't we1 ,gus8 ,nobody can throw ,edison's ideas down when they stop to think how much he knows and what he's done4 ,he certainly has accomplished a great deal1 the usually reticent ,gus offered4 ,and yet he seems to be very modest about it1 was ,cora's contribution4 ,of course1 he is2 every man who does really big things is never conceited1 declared ,bill4 ,oh1 ,i don't know4 ,how about ,napoleon8 queried ,dot4 ,napoleon8 ,all he ever did was to get up a big army and kill people and grab a government4 ,he had brains1 of course1 but he didn't put them to much real use1 except for his own glory4 ,you can't put ,napoleon in the same class with ,edison4 ,oh1 ,billy1 you can't say that1 can you8 ,i have said it and ,i'll back it up4 ,look how ,edison has given billions of people pleasure and comfort and helped trade and commerce4 ,nobody could do more than that4 ,war and fighting and being a king1--that's nothing but selfishness6 ,some day people will build the largest monuments to folks who have done big things for humanity1--not to generals and kings4 ,just knowing how to scrap isn't much good4 ,i've got more respect for ,professor ,gray than ,i have for the champion prize fighter4 ,you can't----- ,maybe if you knew how to use your fists1 you wouldn't talk that way2 eh1 ,gus8 queried ,ted4 ,well1 ,i don't know but ,i think ,bill is right4 ,it's nice to know how to scrap if scrapping has to be done1 but it shouldn't ever have to be done1--between nations1 anyway4 ,this was a long speech for ,gus1 but evidently he meant it4 ,bill continued3 ,talking about ,edison when he was a boy3 he wasn't afraid of work1 either4 ,he got up at about five1 got back to supper at nine1 or later1 and maybe that wasn't some day6 ,but he made from #ab to #bj a day profits1 for it was ,civil ,war times and everything was high4 ,i think ,i'd work pretty hard for that much1 said ,gus4 ,i reckon1 remarked ,ted1 that he had a pretty good reason to say that successful genius is one per cent4 inspiration and ninety-nine per cent4 perspiration4 ,but ,i guess that's only partly right and partly modesty1 declared ,bill4 ,there must have been a whole lot more than fifty per cent1 inspiration at work to do what he has done4 ,but he is too busy to go around blowing his own horn1 even from a talking-machine record4 ,he doesn't need to do any blowing when you're around1 ,ted offered4 ,bill laughed outright at that and there seemed nothing further to be said4 ,the girls decided to go on1 ,ted walked up the street with them1 and ,gus and his lame companion turned in the opposite direction toward the less opulent section of the town4 ,there were chores to do at home and ,gus often lent a hand to help his father who was the town carpenter4 ,bill1 the only son of a widow whose small means were hardly adequate for the needs of herself and boy1 did all he could to lessen the daily pinch4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,boyhood ,,of ,a ,,genius ,the class had assembled again in ,professor ,gray's study and all were eager to hear the second talk on ,edison4 ,there was a delay of many minutes past the hour stated1 but the anticipation was such that the time was hardly noticed4 ,during the interim1 ,professor ,gray came to where ,bill and ,gus sat4 ,i hear that you boys intend to go to work in the mills next week1 he said4 ,well1 now1 ,i have some news and a proposition1 so do not be disappointed if the beginning sounds discouraging4 ,in the first place ,i saw ,mr4 ,deering1 superintendent of the mills1 again and he told me that while he would make good his promise to take you on1 there would hardly be more than a few weeks' work4 ,orders are scarce and they expect to lay off men in ,august1 though there is likely to be a resumption of business in the early fall when you are getting back into school work4 ,so wouldn't it be better to forego the mill work1--there goes the announcement6 ,i'll talk with you before you leave4 ,but we need the money2 don't we1 ,gus8 ,we do1 said ,gus4 ,i wonder if the ,professor thinks we're millionaires4 ,bill was plainly disappointed4 ,oh1 well1 he didn't finish what he was saying to us4 ,let's listen to the weather report1 demanded ,gus1 ever optimistic and joyful4 ,the words came clearer than ever out of that wonderful horn4 ,there was to be rain that afternoon--local thunderstorms1 followed by clearing and cooler4 ,on the morrow it would be cloudy and unsettled4 ,bill felt as though that prediction suited his mental state6 ,gus was never the kind to worry2 he sat smiling at the horn and he received with added pleasure the music of a band which followed4 ,and then came the second talk on the boyhood of the master of invention4 ,it has been said1 spouted the horn1 that high mental characteristics are accompanied by heroic traits4 ,whether true or not generally1 it was demonstrated in young ,edison and it governed his learning telegraphy and the manner thereof4 ,the story is told by the telegraph operator at ,mt4 ,clemens1 where the red-headed conductor threw the train boy and his laboratory off the train4 ',young ,edison1' says the station agent1 'had endeared himself to the station agents1 operators and their families all along the line4 ,as the mixed train did the way-freight work and the switching at ,mt4 ,clemens1 it usually consumed not less than thirty minutes1 during which time ,al would play with my little two-and-a-half-year old son1 ,jimmy4 ',it was at #i3cj on a lovely summer morning4 ,the train had arrived1 leaving its passenger coach and baggage car standing on the main track at the north end of the station platform1 the pin between the baggage and the first box car having been pulled out4 ,there were about a dozen freight cars1 which had pulled ahead and backed in upon the freight-house siding4 ,the train men had taken out a box car and pushed it with force enough to reach the baggage car without a brakeman controlling it4 ',at this moment ,al turned and saw little ,jimmy on the main track1 throwing pebbles over his head in the sunshine1 all unconscious of danger4 ,dashing his papers and cap on the platform he plunged to the rescue4 ',the train baggage man was the only eyewitness4 ,he told me that when he saw ,al jump toward ,jimmy he thought sure both boys would be crushed4 ,seizing ,jimmy in his arms just as the box car was about to strike them1 young ,edison threw himself off the track4 ,there wasn't a tenth of a second to lose4 ,by this instinctive act he saved his own life1 for if he had thrown the little chap first and then himself1 he would have been crushed under the wheels4 ',as it was1 the front wheel struck the heel of the newsboy's boot and he and ,jimmy fell1 face downward on the sharp1 fresh-gravel ballast so hard that they were both bleeding and the baggage man thought sure the wheel had gone over them4 ,to his surprise their injuries proved to be only skin deep4 ',i was in the ticket office when ,i heard the shriek and ran out in time to see the train hands carrying the two boys to the platform4 ,my first thought was3 ',how can ,i1 a poor man1 reward the dear lad for risking his life to save my child's8' ,then it came to me1 ',i can teach him telegraphy4' ,when ,i offered to do this1 he smiled and said1 ',i'd like to learn1' and learn he did4 ,i never saw any one pick it up so fast4 ,it was a sort of second nature with him4 ,after the conductor treated him so badly1 throwing off his apparatus1 boxing his ears and making him hard of hearing1 ,al seemed to lose his interest in his business as train boy4 ',some days ,al would stop at my station at half past nine in the morning and stay all day while the train went on to ,detroit and returned to ,mt4 ,clemens in the evening4 ,the train baggage man who saw ,al rescue ,jimmy would get the papers in ,detroit and bring them up to ,mt4 ,clemens for him4 ,during these long hours the ,edison boy made rapid progress in learning4 ,and every day he made the most of the half hour or more of practice he had while the train stopped at ,mt4 ,clemens each way4 ',at the end of a couple of weeks ,i missed him for several days4 ,next time he dropped off he showed me a set of telegraph instruments he had made in a gunshop in ,detroit1 where the stationer who had sold him goods had told the owner of the machine shop the story of the printing press4' ,the first place young ,edison worked after he was graduated from the ,mt4 ,clemens private school of telegraphy was in ,port ,huron1 his home town4 ,here he had too many boy friends to let him keep on the job as a youthful telegrapher should4 ,besides1 he had a laboratory in his home and found it too fascinating to take enough sleep4 ,between too much side work and mischief1 young ,edison sometimes found himself in trouble4 ,some of his escapades he has described to his friend and assistant1 ,william ,h4 ,meadowcroft4 ',about every night we could hear the soldiers stationed at ,fort ,gratiot4 ,one would call out3 ,corporal of ,guard ,number ,one6 ,this was repeated from one sentry to another till it reached the barracks and ,no4 #a came out to see what was wanted4 ,the ,dutch boy 7who used to help me with the papers7 and ,i thought we would try our hand in military matters4 ',so one dark night ,i called1 ,corporal of the ,guard ,number ,one6 ,the second sentry1 thinking it had come from the man stationed at the end1 repeated this1 and the words went down the line as usual4 ,this reached ,corporal ,number ,one1 and brought him back to our end only to find out that he had been tricked by someone4 ',we did this three times1 but on the third night they were watching4 ,they caught the ,dutch boy and locked him up in the fort4 ,several soldiers chased me home4 ,i ran down cellar where there were two barrels of potatoes and a third which was almost empty4 ,i dumped the contents of three barrels into two1 sat down1 pulled the empty barrel over my head1 bottom upwards4 ,the soldiers woke my father1 and they all came hunting for me with lanterns and candles4 ',the corporal was perfectly sure ,i had come down cellar4 ,he couldn't see how ,i had got away1 and asked father if there wasn't a secret place for me to hide in the cellar4 ,when father said ,no1 he exclaimed1 ,well1 that's very strange6 ',you can understand how glad ,i was when they left1 for ,i was in a cramped position1 and as there had been rotten potatoes in that barrel1 ,i was beginning to feel sick4 ',the next morning father found me in bed and gave me a good switching on my legs--the only whipping ,i ever received from him1 though mother kept behind the old clock a switch which had the bark well worn off6 ,my mother's ideas differed somewhat from mine1 most of all when ,i mussed up the house with my experiments4 ',the ,dutch boy was released the next morning4' ,another escapade described by ,edison was pulled off on the ,canada side of the ,st4 ,clair1 in ,port ,sarnia1 opposite ,port ,huron4 ',in #ahfj the ,prince of ,wales 7afterward ,king ,edward7 visited ,canada4 ,nearly every lad in ,port ,huron1 including myself1 went over to ,sarnia to see the celebration4 ,the town was profusely draped in flags--there were arches over some streets--and carpets were laid on the crossings for the prince to walk on4 ',a stand was built where the prince was to be received by the mayor4 ,seeing all these arrangements raised my idea of the prince very high4 ,but when he finally came ,i mistook the ,duke of ,newcastle for ,albert ,edward4 ,the duke was a very fine-looking man4 ,when ,i discovered my mistake--the ,prince of ,wales being a mere stripling--,i was so disappointed that ,i couldn't help mentioning the fact4 ,then several of us ,american boys expressed our belief that a prince wasn't much after all6 ,one boy got well whipped for this and there was a free-for-all fight4 ,the ,canucks attacked the ,yankee boys and1 as they greatly outnumbered us1 we were all badly licked and ,i got a black eye4 ,this always prejudiced me against that kind of ceremonial and folly4' ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,making ,,of ,,an ,,inventor ,it was during the time young ,edison was employed at ,port ,huron1 the radio continued1 that the cable under ,river ,st4 ,clair between that city and ,port ,sarnia was severed by an ice jam4 ,the river at that point is three quarters of a mile wide4 ,navigation was suspended and the ice had broken up so that the stream could not be crossed on foot nor could the broken cable lying in the bed of the river be mended4 ,the ingenious young telegrapher suggested signaling ,sarnia by giving1 with the whistle of a locomotive1 the dot-and-dash letters of the ,morse telegraph code4 ,or course1 this strange whistling caused considerable wonderment on the ,canada side until a shrewd operator recognized the long-and-short telegraph letters1 and communication was at once established--important messages being transmitted by steam whistles--a gigantic system of broadcasting4 ,this was a simple way out of a sublime difficulty involving the affairs of two great peoples4 ,but the too-enterprising operator had started so much trouble for himself that he decided to find employment where his mind would not be distracted from his job or tempted away from working out his chemical and electrical experiments4 ,because of these he preferred the position of night operator4 ,his telegraph work was really a side line4 ,on these accounts he found a job as night operator at ,stratford ,junction1 ,canada ,west1 as ,ontario was then called4 ,he was only sixteen but his salary of twenty-five dollars a month seemed very small after making ten or twelve dollars a day as 'candy butcher4' ,but on account of the chances it gave him for experimenting1 he resigned himself to the smallness of his pay4 ,the treatment he had received at the hands of that train conductor had convinced him that he could not follow his bent while working all day on the railroad4 ,mr4 ,edison likes to tell of the prevailing ignorance of the science of telegraphy4 ,he once told a friend3 ',the telegraph men themselves seemed unable to explain how the thing worked1 though ,i was always trying to find out4 ,the best explanation ,i got was from an old ,scotch line repairer employed by the ,montreal ,telegraph ,company1 then operating the railway wires4 ,here is the way he described it3 ,if you had a dachshund long enough to reach from ,edinburgh to ,london1 and pulled his tail in ,edinburgh he would bark in ,london6 ',i could understand that1 but ,i never could get it through me what went through the dog or over the wire4' ,it was at ,stratford ,junction that the ,edison boy began his career of invention4 ,from the first his chief aim was the saving of labor4 ,in order to be sure that the operators all along the line were not asleep at their posts1 they were required to send to the train dispatcher's office a certain dot-and-dash signal every hour in the night4 ,young ,edison was like young ,napoleon in grudging himself the necessary hours of sleep4 ,while the ingenious lad was fond of machinery--to make a machine of himself was utterly distasteful to him4 ,it was against his principles and instincts to do anything a mere machine could do instead4 ,so he made a little wheel with a few notches in the rim1 with which he connected the clock and the transmitter1 so that at the required instant every hour in the night the wheel revolved and sent the proper signal to headquarters4 ,meanwhile that wily young operator slept the sleep of the genius1 if not of the just4 ,of one experience at this little place ,edison relates3 ',this night job just suited me1 as ,i could have the whole day to myself4 ,i had the faculty of sleeping in a chair any time for a few minutes at a time4 ,i taught the night yardman my call1 so ,i could get half an hour's sleep now and then between trains1 and in case the station was called the watchman was to wake me4 ,one night ,i got an order to hold a freight train1 and ,i replied that ,i would do so4 ,i ran out to find the signal man1 but before ,i could locate him and get the signal set--the train ran past6 ,i rushed back to the telegraph office and reported that ,i could not hold it4 ',but on receiving my first message that ,i would hold the freight1 the dispatcher let another train leave the next station going the opposite way4 ,there was a station near the ,junction where the day operator slept4 ,i started to run in that direction1 but it was pitch dark4 ,i fell down a culvert and was knocked senseless4' ,the two engineers1 with a feeling that all was not as it should be1 kept a sharp lookout and saw each other just in time to avert a fatal accident4 ,but young ,edison was cited to trial1 for gross neglect of duty1 by the general manager4 ,during an informal hearing two ,englishmen called on the manager4 ,while he was talking with them the young night operator disappeared4 ,boarding a freight train bound for ,port ,sarnia1 he made his escape from the five-years' term in prison threatened by the irate manager4 ,edison afterward confessed that his heart did not leave his throat until he had crossed the ferry to ,port ,huron and 'one wide river' lay between him and the ,canadian authorities4 ,following his escape from ,canada young ,edison knocked about the home country1 ,north and ,south4 ,as it was during the ,civil ,war he had some peculiar adventures4 ,after making a long circuit1 broken in many places by 'short circuits1' the journeyman telegrapher landed in ,port ,huron1 and wrote his friend ,adams1 then in ,boston to find him a job4 ,his friend relates that he asked the ,boston manager of the ,western ,union ,telegraph office if he wanted a first-class operator from the ,west4 ',what kind of copy does he make8' was the manager's first query4 ,adams continues3 ',i passed ,edison's letter through the window for his inspection4 ,he was surprised1 for it was almost as plain as print1 and asked3 ',can he take it off the wire like that8' ',i said he certainly could1 and that there was nobody who could stick him4 ,he told me to send for my man and ,i did4 ,when ,edison came he landed the job without delay4' ,the inventor himself has told the story of his reporting for duty in ,boston3 ',the manager asked me when ,i was ready to go to work4 ',now6' said ,i1 and was instructed to return at #e3cj ,p4,m41 which ,i did1 to the minute4 ,i came into the operators' room and was ushered into the night manager's presence4 ',the weather was cold and ,i was poorly dressed2 so my appearance1 as ,i was told afterward1 occasioned considerable merriment1 and the night operators conspired to put up a job on the jay from the wild and woolly ,west4 ,i was given a pen and told to take the ,new ,york ,no4 #a wire4 ,after an hour's wait ,i was asked to take my place at a certain table and receive a special report for the ,boston ,herald1 the conspirators having arranged to have one of the fastest operators in ,new ,york send the despatch and salt the new man4 ',without suspecting what was up ,i sat down1 and the ,new ,york man started in very slowly4 ,soon he increased his speed and ,i easily adapted my pace to his4 ,this put the man on his mettle and he laid in his best licks1 but soon reached his limit4 ',at this point ,i happened to look up and saw the operators all looking over my shoulder with faces that seemed to expect something funny4 ,then ,i knew they were playing a trick on me1 but ,i didn't let on4 ',before long the ,new ,york man began slurring his words1 running them together and sticking the signals2 but ,i had been used to all that sort of thing in taking reports1 so ,i wasn't put out in the least4 ,at last1 when ,i thought the joke had gone far enough1 and as the special was nearly finished1 ,i calmly opened the key and remarked over the wire to my ,new ,york rival3 ',say1 young man1 change off and send with the other foot6' ',this broke the fellow up so that he turned the job over to another operator to finish1 to the real discomfiture of the fellows around me4' ,friend ,adams goes on to tell of other happennings at the ,hub3 ',one day ,edison was more than delighted to pick up a complete set of ,faraday's works1 bringing them home at #d ,a4,m4 and reading steadily until breakfast time1 when he said1 with great enthusiasm3 ',adams1 ,i have got so much to do and life is so short1 ,i am going to hustle6' ',then he started off to breakfast on a dead run4' ,he soon opened a workshop in ,boston and began making experiments4 ,it was here that he made a working model of his vote recorder1 the first invention he ever patented4 ,edison has told us of this trip to ,washington and how he showed that his invention could register the ,house vote1 pro and con1 almost instantaneously4 ,the chairman of the committee saw how quickly and perfectly it worked and said to him3 ',young man1 if there is any invention on earth that we don't want down here1 it is this4 ,filibustering on votes is one of the greatest weapons in the hands of a minority to prevent bad legislation1 and this instrument would stop that4' ,the youth felt the force of this so much that he decided from that time forth not to try to invent anything unless it would meet a genuine demand1--not from a few1 but many people4 ,it was while in ,boston that ,edison grew weary of the monotonous life of a telegraph operator and began to work up an independent business along inventive lines1 so that he really began his career as an inventor at the ,hub4 ,after the vote recorder1 he invented a stock ticker1 and started a ticker service in ,boston which had thirty or forty subscribers1 and operated from a room over the ,gold ,exchange4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the third talk on ,mr4 ,edison and his inventions will be given from this broadcasting station ,,wuk next ,monday at the same hour4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,opportunity ,,knocks ,as the young people rose to depart1 ,professor ,gray beckoned ,bill and ,gus to remain4 ,he turned to a large table desk1 took from it a roll of papers1 untied and laid before the boys a number of neatly executed plans and sections--all drawn to scale4 ,in an upper corner was pen-printed the words3 ,water ,power ,electric ,plant to be erected for and on the estate of ,mr4 ,james ,hooper1 ,fairview4 ,engineer and ,contractor1 ,j4 ,r4 ,gray4 ,boys1 you see here1 began the ,professor1 the layout of a job to be done on the ,hooper property4 ,you know ,i do this sort of thing in a small way between school terms and ,i am told to go ahead with this at once4 ,the amount ,i am to receive1 on my own estimate1 is ample1 but naturally not very great2 it covers all material1 labor and a fair profit4 ,but now1 he went on1 comes the hitch4 ,i am compelled1 by another matter which is far more important1--having been appointed one of the consulting engineers on the ,great ,laurel ,valley ,power ,plant1--to desert this job almost entirely1 and yet1 ,i am bound1 on the strength of my word1 to see that it is completed4 ,if ,i hand it over to another engineer1 or a construction firm1 it will cost me more than ,i get out of it4 ,and naturally1 while ,i don't expect to gain a thing1 ,i would prefer also not to lose anything4 ,now1 what would you fellows advise in this matter8 ,bill looked at ,gus and ,gus looked at ,bill2 there was a world of meaning1 of hope and hesitation1 in both glances4 ,the ,professor saw this1 and he spoke again3 ,out with it1 boys6 ,i asked you to stay1 in order to hear what you might say about it4 ,there seems to be only one logical solution4 ,i cannot afford to spend a lot of my own money and yet ,i will gladly give all of my own profits1 for ,i must complete ,mr4 ,hooper's job and look after my bigger task at once4 ,i don't suppose1 said ,gus1 with the natural diffidence he often experienced in expressing his mind1 that we could help you4 ,why1 of course we can1 and we will1 too1 said ,bill1 the idea breaking on him suddenly4 ,we can carry on the work perfectly under your occasional direction4 ,is that what you wanted us to say1 ,professor8 ,i did4 ,i hoped you would see it that way and ,i wanted you to acknowledge the incentive to yourselves4 ,i am sure you can carry on the work1 as you say4 ,we have had enough of practical experimentation together1 and then1 what made me think of you1 was that fish dam you put in for old ,mr4 ,mc,ilvain last summer4 ,the boys glanced at each other again1 but this time with mutual feelings of pride4 ,bill had interested a well-to-do farmer in making a pool below a fine spring and with his consent and some materials he had furnished4 ,the boys had stonewalled a regular gulch1 afterwards stocking the crystal clear pool they had made with landlocked salmon obtained from the state hatchery4 ,the fish were now averaging a foot in length and many a fine meal the boys and the farmer had out of that pond4 ,now1 fellows1 ,i'll divide between you the entire profits1 ,professor ,gray began1 but ,bill and ,gus both stopped him4 ,no1 sir6 ,you pay us no more than we could have got in the mill1 and the rest is yours4 ,look at the fun we'll have1 that's worth a lot4 ,bill always tried to be logical and he never failed to have a reason for his conclusions4 ,and then1 he added1 this will be for you and we couldn't do enough-- ,i'll see that you are paid and thank you1 also1 laughed the ,professor4 ,and tomorrow morning1 if it suits you1 we shall start with the work1 which means making a survey of the ground and listing materials4 ,there will be a segment dam1 with flood gates2 about an eighth of a mile of piping2 a ,pelton wheel1 boxed in2 a generator speeded down2 a two-horse-power storage battery2 wiring and connections made with present lighting system in house2 lodge2 stables and garage2--and the thing is done if it works smoothly4 ,the closest attention to every detail1 taking the utmost pains1 will be necessary and ,i know you will-- ,just like ,edison6 ,bill fairly shouted1 making ,professor ,gray and ,gus laugh heartily4 ,the ,professor said3 ,eight6 ,and we shall hope to follow his illustrious example4 ,tomorrow it is1 then4 ,when the two chums1 elated over their sudden advancement to be professional engineers1 came out on the street1 they were not a little surprised to see all the girls and boys of the class waiting1 and evidently for them1 as they could but judge on hearing the words3 ,here they come6 ,we'll get him started4 ,bill knows4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,gus ,,holds ,,forth ,,again ,say1 old scout1 cautioned ,gus1 in a low voice1 better not tell about our job4 ,let it dawn on them later4 ,righto1 ,gus4 ,it's nobody's business but ours4 ,but what do the bunch want8 ,bill soon found out1 however1 when ,cora and ,ted came to meet him4 ,we've had an argument1 ,terry and ,i1 about ,edison1 said the girl1 and ,i know you can settle it4 ,i said that-- ,hold on6 ,don't tell me who said anything2 then it'll be fair1 ,bill demanded4 ',o wise1 wise judge6' gibed ,ted4 ,ought to have a suit of ermine4 ,proper stunt1 too4 ,let me put it1 ,cora2 ,i'll be the court crier4 ,come on and let's squat on the bank like the rest4 ,judge1 you ought to be the most elevated4 ,now1 then1 here's the dope3 ,did ,edison really ever do anything much to help with the war8 ,he did more than any other man1 ,bill declared promptly4 ,positively6 ,everybody ought to know that4 ,he invented a device so that they could smell a ,german submarine half a mile away1 and they could tell when a torpedo was fired4 ,another invention turned a ship about with her prow facing the torpedo1 so that it would be most likely to go plowing and not hit her1 as it would with broadside on4 ,i guess that saved many a ship and it helped to destroy lots of submarines with depth bombs4 ,it got the ,germans leery when their old submersibles failed to get in any licks and went out never to come back2 it was as big a reason as any why they were so ready to quit4 ,well1 who was right8 ,i was6 announced ,cora1 gleefully4 ,terry just can't see any good in ,edison at all4 ,he says he hires people who really make his inventions and he gets the credit for them4 ,he says-- ,i don't suppose it makes much difference what he says2 he simply doesn't know what he's talk-- ,you think you know1 but do you8 ,you've read a lot of gush that-- ,terry began1 but ,gus interrupted him1 almost a new thing for the quiet chap4 ,listen1 ,terry3 get right on this4 ,don't let a lot of foolish people influence you2 people who can't ever see any real good in success and who blame everything on luck and crookedness4 ,and ,bill does know4 ,anybody who tries to make ,edison out a small potato1 declared ,bill1 addressing the others1 rather than the supercilious youth who had maligned his hero1 is simply ignorant of the facts4 ,my father knew a man well who worked for ,edison in his laboratory for years4 ,he said that the stories about ,edison making use of the inventions of others is all nonsense2 it is ,edison who has the ideas and who starts his assistants to experimenting1 some at one thing1 some at another1 so as to find out whether the ideas are good4 ,he said that the yarns they tell about ,edison's working straight ahead for hours and hours without food and sleep1 then throwing himself on a couch for a short nap and getting up to go at it again are all exactly true1 over and over again4 ,he said that one of the boys in the shop tried to play a trick on the old man1 as they call him1 while he was napping on the couch4 ,they rigged up a talking-machine on a stand and dressed it in some of ,edison's old clothes1 put a lullaby record on it1 lugged it in1 set it up in front of the couch and set it going1 to express the idea that he was singing himself to sleep4 ,but while they were at this ,mr4 ,edison1 getting on to the joke1 for he generally naps with one eye open1 got up and put a lot of stuffing under the couch spread1 stuck his old hat on it so as to make it look as though his face was covered2 then peered through the crack of a door4 ,when the music commenced he opened the door and said3 ',boys1 it won't work2 music can't affect dead matter4' ,then they pulled off the couch cover and all had a good laugh4 ,now4 you can see1 ,bill went on1 with ever increasing enthusiasm1 just how that shows where ,mr4 ,edison stands4 ,nobody can get ahead of him1 and there isn't anyone with brains who knows him who doesn't admit he has more brains and is wider awake than anybody else4 ,there's nothing that he does that doesn't show it4 ,you have all seen his questionnaires for the men who are employed in his laboratories and you can bet they're no joke4 ,and his inventions--they're not just the trifling things like egg-beaters1 rat-traps1 coat-hangers1 bread-mixers1 fly-swatters and lipsticks4 ,but some of these things are mighty cute and they coin the dough1 said ,ted4 ,oh1 they're ingenious and money-makers some of them1 ,i'll admit1 but we could get along very well without them and most of us do4 ,but think of the real things ,edison has done4 ,the first phonograph2 improving the telegraph so that six messages can be sent over the same wire at the same time2 improving the telephone so that everybody can use it2 collecting fine iron ore from sand and dirt by magnets2 increasing the power and the lightness of the storage battery4 ,and there are the trolleys and electric railways that have been made possible4 ,and the incandescent electric lamp--how about that8 ,edison has turned his wonderful genius only to those things that benefit millions of-- ,and he deserved to make millions out of it1 said ,ted4 ,i guess he has1 too1 offered one of the girls4 ,you bet1 and that's what he works for3 not just to benefit people1 asserted ,terry4 ,i suppose your dad and most other guys got their dough all by accident while they were trying to help other folks2 eh8 ,bill fired at ,terry4 ,but the rich boy walked away1 his usual method to keep from getting the worst of an argument4 ,oh1 ,i wish ,grace ,hooper were here1 ,cora said4 ,she's no snob like ,terry and wouldn't she enjoy this8 ,and her dad1 too4 ,isn't he a nice old fellow1 even though he's awfully rich8 laughed ,dot4 ,he'd have his say about this argument1 grammar or no grammar4 ,he thinks a lot of this chap he calls ,eddy's son1 ,mary ,dean declared4 ,great snakes6 ,does he really think the wizard is the child of some guy named ,eddy8 ,ted queried4 ,sounds so1 ,cora said4 ,but you can't laugh at him1 he's so kind and good and it would hurt ,grace4 ,he would be interested in radio1 too4 ,wonder he hasn't got a peach of a receiver set up in his house1 ,lucy ,shore ventured4 ,is he keen for all new-fangled things8 asked ,ted4 ,you bet he is1 though somebody would have to tell him and show him first4 ,well1 people1 ,i'm going home2 who's along8 ,with one accord the others got to their feet and started up or down the street4 ,gus and ,bill went together1 as always2 they had much to talk about4 ,,chapter ,x ,,brass ,,tacks ,on the day following the radio lecture1 true to his promise1 ,professor ,gray led ,bill and ,gus to the broad acres of the ,hooper estate and there1 with the plans before them1 they went over the ground chosen for the water-power site1 comprehending every detail of the engineering task4 ,professor ,gray was more pleased than surprised by the ready manner in which both lads took hold of the problem and even suggested certain really desirable changes4 ,bill indicated a better position fifty yards upstream for the dam and he sketched his idea of making a water-tight flood gate which was so ingenious that the ,professor became enthusiastic and adopted it at once4 ,after nearly a whole day spent thus along the rocky defiles of the little stream1 eating their lunch beside a cold spring at the head of a miniature gulch1 the trio of engineers were about to leave the spot when a gruff voice hailed them from the hilltop4 ,looking up they saw another group of three3 an oldish man1 a slim young fellow who was almost a grown man and a girl in her middle teens4 ,the young people seemed to be quarreling1 to judge from the black looks they gave each other1 but the man paid them no attention4 ,he beckoned ,professor ,gray to approach and came slowly down the hill to meet him1 walking rather stiffly with a cane4 ,well1 ,professor1 you're beginnin' to git at it1 eh8 ,struck any snags yit8 ,some job6 ,i reckon you're not a goin' to make a heap outside the price you give me4 ,when you goin' to git at it reg'lar8 ,right away1 ,mr4 ,hooper4 ,to-morrow4 ,we have been making our plans to-day and these young assistants of mine1 who will principally conduct the work1 are ready to start in at once4 ,they-- ,them boys8 ,no1 sir6 ,i want this here work done an' done right2 no bunglin'4 ,what's kids know about puttin' in water wheels an' 'letric lights8 ,you said you was-- ,these boys are no longer just kids1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 and they know more than you think2 all that is needed to make this job complete4 ,moreover1 ,i am going to consult with them frequently by letter and ,i shall be entirely responsible4 ,it is up to me1 you know4 ,mr4 ,hooper evidently saw the sense in this last remark2 he stood blinking his eyes at ,bill and ,gus and pondering4 ,the slim youth plucked at his sleeve and said something in a low voice4 ,gus suddenly remembered the fellow4 ,the youth had come into the town a week or two before4 ,he had1 without cause1 deliberately kicked old ,mrs4 ,sowerby's maltese cat1 asleep on the pavement1 out of his way1 and ,gus1 a witness from across the street1 had departed from his usually reticent mood to call the human beast down for it4 ,but though ,gus hoped the fellow would show resentment he did not1 but walked on quickly instead4 ,mr4 ,hooper listened2 then voiced a further and evidently suggested opposition3 ,them lads is from the town here2 ain't they8 ,nothin' but a lot o' hoodlums down yan4 ,you can't expec'-- ,you couldn't be more mistaken1 ,mr4 ,hooper4 ,i'll admit there are a lot of young scamps in ,fairview1 but these boys1 ,william ,brown and ,augustus ,grier1 belong to a more self-respecting bunch4 ,i'll answer for them in every way4 ,of course1 ,dad1 ,professor ,gray knows about them4 ,billy and ,gus are in our class at school4 ,this from the girl who had joyfully greeted the ,professor and the boys1 yodeling a school yell from the hillside4 ,then she shot an aside at the slim youth3 ,you're a regular1 downright simpleton1 ,thad1 and forever looking for trouble4 ,don't listen to him1 ,dad4 ,this appeared to settle the matter4 ,mr4 ,hooper squared his shoulders and grinned broadly1 adding3 ,well1 ,i ain't just satisfied 'bout them knowin' how1 but go to it your own way1 ,professor4 ,i'm a goin' to watch it1 you know2 not to interfere with your plans an' ways1 but it's got to be done right4 ,if it goes along free an' fine1 ,i ain't goin' to kick4 ,the ,professor explained that they had further work to do on the plans and must be going back4 ,he took leave of ,mr4 ,hooper and the daughter1 and retreated with the boys as hurriedly as ,bill could manage his handy crutch4 ,they all proceeded silently in crossing the broad field1 but when in the road ,bill had to voice his thoughts3 ,i expect that old fellow'll make it too hot for us4 ,not for a minute2 you need not consider that at all4 ,of course it would be more satisfactory if ,mr4 ,hooper could be assured at once of your real ability1 but it will have to grow on him4 ,just let him see what you can do2 that's all4 ,i rather expect we can frame up something that will satisfy him and ,bill can spring it1 said ,gus4 ,in just what way1 can you imagine8 queried the ,professor4 ,some geometrical stunt1 maybe2 triangulation1 or-- ,why1 sure6 ,that's just it6 exploded ,bill4 ,i know how we can get him3 ,parallax6 ,shucks1 it'll be easy6 ,just leave it to me4 ,looks as though some kind of ,napoleonic strategy were going to be pulled off1 asserted ,professor ,gray1 laughing4 ,but1 boys1 keep in mind that ,mr4 ,hooper1 while a rough-and-ready old chap1 with a big fortune made in cattle dealing1 is really an uncut diamond2 a fine old fellow at heart1 as you will see4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,engineering ,two busy days followed during which ,bill and ,gus went to the city with ,professor ,gray to purchase materials in full for the power plant4 ,they also had cement1 reinforcing iron1 lumber for forms and a small tool house hauled out to the power site and they drove the first stakes to show the position of wheel and pipe line4 ,mr4 ,hooper did not put in an appearance4 ,on the third morning the ,professor bade the boys good-by1 exacting the promise that they would write frequently of their progress4 ,they had privately formed an engineering company with ,professor ,gray as president1 ,gus as vice-president1 which was largely honorary1 and ,bill as general manager and secretary4 ,advance payments necessary for extra labor and their own liberal wages were deposited at the ,fairview ,bank by ,professor ,gray and the boys were given a drawing account thereon1 with a simple expense book to keep4 ,that afternoon1 dressed in new overalls and blouses1 with a big1 good-natured colored man to help with the laboring work1 the boys were early on the job1 at first making a cement mixing box2 then ,bill drove the center stake thirty feet below where the dam was to be placed and from which1 using a long cord1 the curve of the structure twenty-nine feet wide1 was laid out upstream4 ,at the spot chosen the rock-bound hillsides rose almost perpendicularly from the narrow level ground that was little above the bed of the stream2 it was the narrowest spot between the banks4 ,george1 the colored fellow1 was set to work digging into one bank for an end foundation2 the other bank held a giant boulder4 ,the boys were giving such close attention to their labors that they did not see observers on the hilltop4 ,presently the gruff voice that they had heard before hailed them from close by and they looked up to see ,mr4 ,hooper and the slim youth approaching4 ,the boys had heard that this ,thaddeus was the old man's nephew and that he called the ,hooper mansion his home4 ,what you drivin' that there stake down there for8 ,up here's where the ,perfesser said the dam was to set1 ,mr4 ,hooper demanded4 ,yes1 right here1 ,bill replied4 ,but it is to be curved upstream and that stake is our center4 ,what's the idea of curvin' it8 ,so that it will be stronger and withstand the pressure4 ,you can't break an arch1 you know1 and to push this out the hills would have to spread apart4 ,i kind o' see4 ,the old man was thoughtful and looked on silently while the dam breast stakes were being driven every three feet at the end of a stretched cord1 the other end pivoting on the center stake below1 this giving the required curve4 ,how deep you goin' into that hill8 ,seems like the water can't git round it now4 ,mr4 ,hooper1 at a word from ,thad1 seemed inclined to criticize4 ,we must get a firm end1 preferably against rock1 ,bill explained4 ,shucks6 ,reckon the clay ain't goin' to give none4 ,how much fall you goin' to git on that ,pullet wheel8 ,pelton wheel4 ,about eighty feet1 ,professor ,gray figured it roughly4 ,we'll take it later exactly4 ,kin you improve on the ,perfesser8 ,no1 but he made only a rough calculation4 ,we'll take it both by levels and by triangulation1 using an old sextant of the ,professor's4 ,it isn't a diff---- ,what's try-angleation8 ,mr4 ,hooper was becoming interested4 ,the method of reading angles of different degrees and in that way getting heights and distances4 ,that's the way they measure mountains that can't be climbed and tell the distance of stars4 ,shucks1 young feller6 ,i don't reckon anybody kin tell the distance o' the stars2 they only put up a bluff on that4 ,they ain't no ackshall way o' gittin' distance onless you lay a tape measure1 er somethin' like it on the ground4 ,these here surveyors all does it2 ,i had 'em go round my place4 ,bill smiled and shook his head4 ,i guess you just haven't given it any consideration4 ,there are lots of easier and better ways4 ,triangulation4 ,now1 for instance1 suppose an army comes to a wide river and wants to get across4 ,they can't send anybody over to stretch a line2 there may be enemy sharp-shooters that would get them and it is too wide1 anyway4 ,but they must know how many pontoon boats and how much flooring plank they must have to bridge it and so they sight a tree or a rock on the other shore and take the distance across by triangulation4 ,or suppose-- ,never heard of it4 ,why wouldn't surveyors git from here to yan that a-way1 'stead o' usin' chains8 ,could you----8 ,chaining it is a little more accurate1 where they have a lot of curves and angles and the view is cut off by woods and hills4 ,yes1 we can work triangulation2 we could tell the distance from the hilltop to your house if we could see it and we had the time4 ,bunk6 ,don't let 'em bluff you that a-way1 ,uncle4 ,make 'em prove it4 ,thad showed his open hostility thus4 ,gus dropped his shovel and came from the creekside where he had begun to dig alongside of the stakes for the foundation4 ,he was visibly and1 for him1 strangely excited as he walked up to ,thad4 ,see here1 fellow1 ,bill can do it and if there is anything in it we will do it1 too6 ,you are pretty blamed ignorant6 ,mr4 ,hooper threw back his head and let out a roar of mirth4 ,well1 ,i reckon that hits me1 too4 ,an' ,i reckon it might be true in a lot o' things4 ,but ,thad an' me1 we kind o' doubt this4 ,we sure do4 ,i'd bet five dollars you couldn't tell it within half a mile an' it ain't much more than that4 ,i'll take your bet and dare you to hold to it1 said ,gus4 ,bet 'em1 ,thad2 bet 'em6 ,i'll stake you4 ,oh1 we don't want your money2 betting doesn't get anywhere and it isn't just square1 anyway4 ,bill was smilingly endeavoring to restore good feeling4 ,now1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 we're not fixed to make a triangulation measurement to-day1 but---- ,not fixed8 ,of course not4 ,begins with excuses1 sneered ,thad4 ,but to-morrow we'll bring out ,professor ,gray's transit and show you the way it's done4 ,oh1 yes1 ,uncle2 they'll show us--to-morrow1 or next day1 or next week4 ,bunk6 ,thad was plainly trying to be offensive4 ,you'll grin on the other side of your hatchet face1 fellow1 when we do show you1 said ,gus4 ,now1 ,gus1 cut out the scrapping4 ,you can't blame him1 nor ,mr4 ,hooper1 for doubting it if they've never looked into the matter4 ,we can bring the transit out this afternoon for taking the levels4 ,be here after dinner1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 if you can4 ,i'll be here1 lads1 said the ex-cattle-dealer4 ,an' ,i reckon my nephew'll come along1 too4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,distance ,,lends ,,enchantment ,mr4 ,hooper1 his nephew1 his daughter and another girl1 fat and dumpy1 were at the power site before two o'clock1 and without more ado ,bill asked ,gus to bring the transit to the comparatively level field on top of the hill4 ,now1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 please don't think we're doing this in a spirit of idle controversy2 we only want to show you something interesting4 ,that's all right1 lad2 an' ,i ain't above learnin'1 old as ,i am4 ,but ,thad here1 he's different4 ,mr4 ,hooper gave ,bill and ,gus a long wink4 ,thad1 he don't reckon he can be learned a thing1 an' he's so blame sure--say1 ,thad1 how 'bout that bet8 ,we don't want to bet anything2 that only-- began ,bill1 but ,gus was less pacific4 ,put up1 or shut up1 he said1 drawing a borrowed five dollar note out of his pocket and glaring at ,thad4 ,the slim youth did not respond4 ,he's afraid to bet1 jeered the daughter4 ,hasn't got the nerve1 or the money4 ,i ain't afraid to bet4 ,thad brought forth a like amount in bills4 ,uncle'll hold the stakes4 ,you got to tell how far it is from here to the house without ever stepping the distance4 ,we'll make a more simple demonstration than that1 ,bill declared4 ,it'll be the same thing and take less time and effort4 ,mr4 ,hooper1 take some object out there in the field2 something that we can see2 anything4 ,here1 ,gracie1 you take a stake there an' go out yan an' stick it up4 ,keep a-goin' till ,i holler4 ,both girls carried out these directions1 the fat one falling down a couple of times1 tripped by the long grass and getting up shaking with laughter4 ,the boys were to learn that she was a chum of ,grace ,hooper1 that her name was ,sophronia ,doyle1 though commonly nicknamed ,skeets4 ,the stake was placed4 ,bill drove another at his feet1 set the transit over it1 peeped through it both ways and at his direction1 after stretching the steel tape1 ,gus drove a third stake exactly sixty feet from the transit at an angle of ninety degrees from a line to the field stake4 ,now1 folks1 explained ,bill1 the stake out yonder is ,a1 this one is ,b and the one at the other end of the sixty-foot base line is ,c4 ,please remember that4 ,the transit was then placed exactly over the stake ,c and1 peeping again1 ,bill found the angle from the base line to the stake ,b and the line to stake ,a to be #gh degrees4 ,thereupon ,gus produced a long board1 held up one end and rested the other on a stake1 while ,bill went to work with a six-foot rule1 a straight edge and a draughtsman's degree scale4 ,bill elucidated3 ,now1 then1 to get out of figuring1 which is always hard to understand1 we'll just lay the triangulation out by scale1 which is easily understood4 ,one-eighth of an inch equals one foot4 ,this point is stake ,b and the base line to ,c is this line at right angles1 or square across the board4 ,c stake is #g-a_/b inches from ,b which is equal to sixty feet on the scale1 that is sixty one-eighth inches4 ,now1 this line1 parallel to the edge of the board1 is the exact direction of your stake ,a4 ,do you all follow that8 ,the direction to your stake was #gh degrees from the base line at ,c4 ,this degree scale will give us that4 ,bill carefully centered the latter instrument1 sharpened his pencil and marked the angle2 then placing the straight edge on the point ,c and the degree mark he extended the line until it crossed the other outward line4 ,at this crossing he marked a letter ,a and turned to his auditors4 ,this is your stake out yonder4 ,the rule shows it to be a little over #cd-e_/h inches from the base line at ,b4 ,that is1 by the scale1 a few inches over #bgg feet and that is the distance from here to where ,grace stuck it into the ground4 ,our hundred-foot steel tape line is at your service1 ,mr4 ,hooper4 ,mr4 ,hooper merely glanced at ,bill4 ,he took up the tape line and spoke to his nephew4 ,git a holt o' this thing1 ,thad1 an' let's see if-- ,grace interrupted him4 ,no1 ,dad2 never let ,thad do it6 ,he'd make some mistake accidentally on purpose4 ,i'll help you4 ,there was utter silence from all while ,grace carried out the end of the tape and placed her sticks1 ,mr4 ,hooper following after4 ,skeets borrowed a pencil and a bit of paper from ,gus and went along with ,grace to keep tally1 but she dropped the pencil in the grass1 stepped on and broke it1 was suffused with embarrassment and before she could really become useful1 the father and daughter had made the count mentally and they came back to the base line1 still without saying a word1 a glad smile on the girl's face and something between wonder and surprise on the old man's features4 ,still without a word ,mr4 ,hooper came straight to ,bill1 thrust out his big hand to grasp that of the smiling boy and in the other hand was held the bills of the wager1 which he extended toward ,gus4 ,yours1 lad1 he said4 ,we made the distance two hundred and seventy-eight foot4 ,i reckon you git the money4 ,thad stood for a moment1 nonplussed1 a scowl on his face4 ,suddenly he recovered4 ,hold on6 ,that's more than they said it was4 ,the money's mine4 ,shucks1 you dumb fool6 ,maybe a couple o' inches4 ,i reckon we made the mistake1 fer we wasn't careful4 ,it gits me they was that near it4 ,the cash is his'n4 ,gus took the bills1 thrust his own into his pocket again and handed the two dollar note and the three ones to ,skeets4 ,please give them to him for me1 indicating ,thad1 ,i don't want his money4 ,not ,i1 said the fat girl2 it isn't my funeral4 ,let him do the weeping and you take and give them to the poor4 ,gus offered them to ,grace1 who also refused1 shaking her head4 ,bill took the bills1 and1 limping over to ,thad1 handed him his wager4 ,you mustn't feel sore at us1 counseled the youthful engineer4 ,this was only along the lines of experiment and--and fun4 ,but though ,bill meant this in the kindliest spirit of comradeship1 the boy sensed a feeling of extreme animosity that he was at a loss to account for4 ,bill backed off1 further speech toward conciliation becoming as lame as his leg4 ,the others witnessed this and ,grace said1 quite heatedly3 ,oh1 you can't make a silk purse out of a pig's ear4 ,thad's an incurable grouch1 at which ,skeets laughed till she shook1 and ,mr4 ,hooper nodded his head4 ,lad1 he said1 you're a wonder an' ,i ain't got no more to say ag'in' your doin' this work here4 ,go ahead with it your own way4 ,but this ,i am abossin'3 to-morrow's half day1 ,i reckon1 so both o' you come over to the house nigh 'long about noon an' set at dinner with us4 ,you're more'n welcome4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,counter ,,influences ,thereafter1 having been fully convinced by the demonstration and fully assured of the precise accuracy in the work on the power plant1 ,mr4 ,hooper treated the boys with the utmost consideration and confidence4 ,the owner of the great estate came down to see them every day and chatted as familiarly as though he had been a lifelong crony of their own age4 ,from time to time the boys were taken to dinner at the big house2 they were given access to the library1 and they found some time for social and sportive pastimes with the young folks whom ,grace invited to her home4 ,throughout all this ,bill shone as an entertainer1 a mental uplift that was really welcome1 so spontaneous and keen were his talks and comments on people and things4 ,gus1 though having little practice1 held his own at tennis and golf2 in swimming races and other impromptu sports he greatly excelled2 and when a young fellow who bore the reputation of an all-round athlete came for the week-end from the city1 ,gus put on the gloves with him and punched the newcomer all over an imaginary ring on the lawn to the delight of ,mr4 ,hooper1 ,grace and ,skeets1 as well as the admiring ,bill4 ,throughout all this1 also1 there was an element of ill feeling1 an often open expression of antagonism toward the boys1 which probably the other guests all tensed unpleasantly1 but which the contented1 jovial host and his impetuous and volatile daughter hardly recognized or thought of4 ,thaddeus1 the thin-faced1 pale1 stoop-shouldered1 indolent1 cigarette-smoking nephew1 though often treated with slight courtesy1 continually pushed himself to the front1 compelling consideration apparently for the sole purpose of exerting a counter-influence upon the popularity of ,bill and ,gus1 especially the latter4 ,the youth even went so far at times as to attempt an interference in the power-plant work1 declaring that it did not proceed rapidly enough and that certain methods were at fault1 to all of which ,mr4 ,hooper turned a deaf ear4 ,there was nothing else but open warfare between ,grace and ,thad1 ,skeets also echoing the daughter's hostility1 while the nephew easily pretended to ignore it1 or to regard the sharp words aimed at him as jokes4 ,he treated ,skeets with as much contempt as her jovial manner permitted1 but now and then it could be seen that his pale eyes glared at ,grace's back in a way that seemed almost murderous4 ,one day ,gus and ,george1 the colored man1 were working at the far end of the curved dam breast1 the stone work having risen to four feet in height4 ,bill was stooping to inspect the cement on the near end and the view of the hill was cut off4 ,presently voices came to him1 mostly a sort of good-natured protest in monosyllables2 then ,thad's tones1 low enough to keep ,gus from hearing4 ,i tell you1 ,uncle1 they're putting it over on you4 ,it ain't any of my business1 but ,i hate to see you having your leg pulled4 ',taint6 was the brief answer4 ,well1 if you don't want to think so2 but ,i know it4 ,look at this dam3 not over two feet thick and expected to hold tons of water4 ,wait till a flood hits it4 ,will it go out like a stack of cards1 or won't it8 ,and they're not using enough cement2 one-fourth only with the sand4 ,grouting1 broken stones1 growled ,mr4 ,hooper4 ,not sufficient1 as you'll see4 ,and does anybody want to say that a two-inch pipe is going to run a water wheel with force enough to turn a generator that will drive thirty or forty lights8 ,bosh6 ,they ought to know4 ,you think they do1 but have you any proof of it8 ,what they don't know would fill a libra-- ,how 'bout that there triang--what you call it8 ,they knew that4 ,oh1 just a draughtsman's smart trick2 used to catch people4 ,i'm talking about things that are practical4 ,you'll see4 ,i'll bet you these blamed fools are going to strike a snag one of these days1 or they'll leave things so that there'll be a fall-down4 ,but what need they care after they get their money8 ,bill heard footsteps retreating and dying away2 ,mr4 ,hooper went over to ,gus and1 with evident hesitation1 asked3 ,do you reckon you're makin' the stone work thick enough8 ,it does look most terrible weak4 ,sure1 ,mr4 ,hooper4 ,bill'll explain that to you4 ,professor ,gray and he worked out the exact resistance and the pressure4 ,and then ,bill limped over2 he had left his crutch on the hillside1 and he said1 half laughing3 ,this wall1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 can't give way1 even if it had the ocean behind it1 unless the stone and cement were mashed and crumbled by pressure4 ,the only thing that could break it would be about two days' hammering with a sledge1 or a big charge of blasting powder1 and even that couldn't do a great deal of damage4 ,all right1 me lad2 you ought to know an' ,i believe you4 ,mr4 ,hooper's genial good humor returned to him immediately2 it was evident that he was from time to time unpleasantly influenced by the soft and ready tongue of his nephew4 ,the old gentleman turned toward home and disappeared2 a short time afterward ,thad came and stood near where ,gus was working1 but he said nothing1 nor did ,gus address him4 ,then the slim youth also departed and hardly half an hour elapsed before down the hill came ,grace and ,skeets1 the latter stumbling several times1 nearly pitching headlong and yet most mirthful over her own near misfortune2 but little ,miss ,hooper seemed unusually serious-minded4 ,a lively exchange of jests and jolly banter commenced between ,skeets and ,gus1 who could use his tongue if forced to2 but presently ,grace left her laughing chum and came over to where ,bill had resumed his inspection4 ,they can't hear us1 can they8 she queried1 glancing back at the others4 ,why1 ,i expect not1 ,bill replied1 surprised and mystified4 ,if ,i say something to you1 real confidentially1 you won't give me away1 will you8 ,honest1 for sure8 ,honest1 ,i won't2 cross my heart2 wish ,i may die2 snake's tongue2 butcher knife bloody6 ,that ought to do1 and anybody with any sense would believe you1 anyway4 ,but1 then1 it will be a big temptation for you-- ,resistance is my nickname2 you may trust me4 ,well1 then1 in some way1 said the girl1 dropping her voice still lower1 you are going to find that this work here won't be--it won't go--not just as you expect it to2 it--it won't be just plain sailing as it ought to be and would be if you were let alone4 ,there are things1 she put a forceful accent on the last word1 that will interfere--oh1 sometimes dreadfully1 maybe1 and ,i felt that ,i must tell you1 but-- ,bill1 wondering1 glanced up at her2 she stood with her pretty face turned away1 a troubled look in her bright eyes1 the usually smiling lips compressed with determination4 ,the boy's quick wits began to fathom the drift of her intention and the cause thereof2 he must know more to determine her precise attitude4 ,i must believe that you mean this in real kindness and friendliness toward ,gus and me4 ,of course ,i do2 else ,i would not have told you a thing1 ,grace said1 blushing a little4 ,i think it must be something real and that you know4 ,this thing1 then1 as you call it1 is more likely a person--some person who is working against us4 ,you mean that2 don't you8 ,please don't ask me too much4 ,i think you're very quick and intelligent and that you'll find out and be on your guard4 ,i think ,i understand4 ,naturally you must feel a certain loyalty toward a relation1 or at least if not just that1 toward one who has your father's good will4 ,gus and ,i surely appreciate your warning2 you'll want me to tell him1 of course4 ,i don't know4 ,gus is not so cool-headed as you are2 ,i was afraid he might-- ,trust ,gus4 ,he and ,i work together in everything4 ,and ,i do thank you1 ,grace1 more than ,i can express4 ,well keep our eyes open4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,further ,,opposition ,the dam was built1 the flood gate in place1 the pipe valve set for further extension of the line down the little valley2 and as the pipe had all come cut and threaded1 ,bill and ,george were working with wrenches and white lead to get the sections tightly jointed against the pressure that would result4 ,gus1 the carpenter1 was laying out the framing of heavy timbers reinforced with long bolts and set in cement on which the ,pelton wheel was to be mounted4 ,several days were thus spent2 the water was pouring over the spillway of the dam and it was with satisfaction that the boys found1 after an inspection one quitting hour1 that the wall1 five feet high1 was not leaking a drop4 ,that night ,gus came over to ,bill's home and the two went over the plans until late2 then ,gus chatted awhile on the steps1 ,bill standing in the doorway4 ,suddenly1 from over toward the northeast1 in the direction of the upper tract of the ,hooper estate1 there was a flash in the sky and a dull reverberation like a very distant or muffled blast4 ,bill was talking and hardly noticed it1 but ,gus had been looking in that direction and1 calling ,bill's attention1 wondered as to the cause of the odd occurrence4 ,in the morning1 as the boys descended the hill1 ,george1 who was always on hand half an hour ahead of time1 came up to meet them and was plainly excited4 ,mist' ,bill an' ,gus1 de dam's done busted a'ready an' de water's jes' a-pourin' through t' beat ol' ,noah's flood6 ,whut you 'low was de because o' dis givin' way8 ,by cracky1 ,bill6 was ,gus' comment as they stood looking at the break which seemed to involve a yard square of the base and cracks1 as though from a shock4 ,you know and ,i know that the water didn't push this out4 ,how about that flash and bang we heard last night8 ,i can't see how the water could have done it1 said ,bill1 who evidently had more talent for construction than for determining destruction4 ,there's something behind this that ,i don't like and ,i'm going to find out about it1 said ,gus1 his usually quiet demeanor entirely gone4 ,you ought to be able1 he continued1 to put two and four together4 ,how about that warning ,grace gave you8 ,and how did she know anything out of which to give it8 ,and why wouldn't she give any names8 ,well1 ,i have wondered2 ,i thought ,i saw why1 ,bill said4 ,of course you see why1 old scout4 ,and if you'll leave it to me1 you'll know why and all the how and the what of it1 too4 ,gus was never boastful2 now he was merely determined4 ,the boys opened the flood gate and after the water no longer flowed through the break1 they began a closer examination that surprised them4 ,mr4 ,hooper1 ,thad1 ,grace and ,skeets descended the hill4 ,bill1 after greetings1 merely pointed to the break4 ,mr4 ,hooper started to say something about the structure's being too weak2 ,thad laughed1 and ,grace1 looking daggers at him1 turned away and pulled ,skeets with her4 ,gus1 gazing at ,thad1 addressed ,mr4 ,hooper4 ,yes1 too weak to stand the force of an explosion4 ,it wasn't the water pressure4 ,mr4 ,hooper2 you'll notice that the stones there are forced in against the water2 not out with it4 ,and the cracks--they're further evidence4 ,we heard the explosion about eleven o'clock2 saw the light of the flash1 too4 ,shucks6 ,you reckon that's so8 ,got any notion who it was that done it8 ,yes1 sir2 got a big notion who it was2 but we won't say till we get it on him for sure4 ,and then's it's going to be a sorry day for him4 ,gus was still gazing straight at ,thad and that youth1 first attempting to ignore this scrutiny and then trying to match it1 at last grew restless and turned away4 ,mr4 ,hooper also had his eyes on ,thad2 the old gentleman looked much troubled4 ,he raised his voice loud enough for ,thad to hear as he walked off3 ,we'll git a watchman an' put him on the job1--that's what we'll do6 ,they ain't goin' to be any more o' this sort o' thing4 ,and ,bill chimed in3 ,good idea4 ,there's ,george1 ,mr4 ,hooper2 we're nearly through with him and we've been wondering what to put him at1 for we'd be sorry to lose him4 ,so it was arranged then and there1 much to the satisfaction of everyone1 especially the old darkey1 and ,mr4 ,hooper1 saying nothing more but looking as though there were a death in his family1 started away toward home4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,mr4 ,,eddy',s ,,son',s ,,sons ,it took but a short time to repair the break2 before many other days had passed the ,pelton wheel1 a direct action turbine1 was going at a tremendous rate1 driven by a nozzled stream from the pipe4 ,it was necessary to belt it down from a small to a larger pulley to run the generator at a slower speed1 which was #abjj a minute4 ,then came the boxing in1 the wiring to the house1 and the making of connections with the wiring to the house after the town company's service was dispensed with1 and it was a proud moment when ,gus turned on the first bulb and got a full and brilliant glare4 ,mr4 ,hooper clasped the hands of both boys1 compelled them to spend the evening1 ordered special refreshments for the occasion1 told ,grace to invite a lot of the young folks and when1 at dusk all the lights of the house went on with an illumination that fairly startled the guests1 the host proposed a cheer for the boys which found an eager and unanimous response4 ,mr4 ,hooper attempted to make a speech1 with his matronly and contented wife laughing and making sly digs at his effort1 and his daughter encouraging him4 ,now1 young fellers1 he began1 these boys--uh1 ,mister ,bill ,brown an' ,mister ',gustus ,grier1--,i says to them1--in the first place1 ,i says3 ',perfesser1 these here kids don't know enough to build a chicken coop1' ,i says1 an' ,perfesser ,gray he says to me1 he says1 he would back them fellers to build a battleship or tunnel through to ,chiny1 he says4 ,so ,i says3 ',you kids kin go ahead1' ,i says1 an' these blame boys they went ahead an' shucks6 you all see what they1 ,bill an' ,gus1 has done4 ,you fellers has got to have a lot o' credit an' you are goin' to git it6 ,now1 my wife she don't think ,i'm any good at makin' a speech an ',i ain't1 but ,i'm a-makin' it jes' the same fer these boys1 ,bill an' ,gus1 b'jinks6 ,they got to git credit fer what they done1 jes' two kids doin' a reg'lar man's job4 ,an' ,i reckon that not even that feller ,eddy's son1 that there chap they call the ',wizard of ,menlo ,park1' ,i reckon he couldn't 'lectrocute nothin' no better'n these here boys1 ,bill an' ,gus1 has lighted this here domycile4 ,an'--oh1 you kin laugh1 ,ma ,hooper1 b'jinks1 but ,i reckon you're as proud o' these here young ,eddy's son's sons as ,i be4 ,now1 ,mister ,bill an' ,mister ,gus1 you kin bet all these folks'd like to have a few words4 ,now1 as they say in prayer meetin'1 ',mister ,bill ,brown'll lead us in a speech4' ,hooray6 ,bill seized his crutch1 got it carefully under his arm and arose4 ,he was not just a rattle-box1 a mere word slinger1 for he always had something to say worth listening to2 talking to a crowd was no great task for him and he had a genius for verbal expression4 ,i hope my partner in mechanical effort and now in misery will let me speak for him1 too1 for he couldn't get up here and say a word if you'd promise him the moon for a watch charm4 ,our host1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 would have given us enough credit if he had just stated that we were two persevering ginks1 bent on making the best of a good chance and using1 perhaps with some judgment1 the directions of our superior1 ,professor ,gray1 along with some of our own ideas that fitted1 in4 ,but to compare us and our small job here1 which was pretty well all mapped out for us1 to the wonderful endeavors of ,thomas ,alva ,edison is more than even our combined conceit can stand for4 ,if we deserved such praise1 even in the smallest way1 you'd see us with our chests swelled out so far that we'd look like a couple of garden toads4 ,edison6 ,mr4 ,hooper1 did you1 even in your intended kindness in flattering ,gus and myself1 really stop to think what it could mean to compare us with that wonderful man8 ,i know you could not mean to belittle him1 but you certainly gave us an honor far beyond what any other man in the world1 regarding electrical and mechanical things1 could deserve4 ,if we could hope to do a hundredth part of the great things ,edison has done1 it would1 as ,professor ,gray says1 indeed make life worth living4 ,but we thank you1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 for your kind words and for inviting all these good friends and our classmates1 and we thank you and good ,mrs4 ,hooper for this bully spread and everything6 ,bill started to sit down amidst a hearty hand-clapping1 but ,cora ,siebold waved her hand for silence and demanded3 ,tell us more about ,edison1 ,billy1 as you did after the talk over the radio6 ,you see1 we missed the last of it and ,i'll bet we'd all like to hear more-- ,yes6 ,yes6 ,sure6 ,me1 too6 ,go on1 ,billy6 came from ,dot ,myers1 ,skeets1 ,grace ,hooper1 ,ted ,bissell and ,gus4 ,in her enthusiastic efforts at showing an abundant appreciation1 the fat girl wriggled too far out on the edge of her chair1 which tilted and slid out from under her1 causing sufficient hilarious diversion for ,bill to take a sneak out of the room4 ,when ,cora and ,grace captured and brought him back1 the keen edge of the idea had worn off enough for him to dodge the issue4 ,i'll tell you what we're going to do1 he said1 and it will be better than anything we can think of just between us here4 ,you all read1 didn't you1 that the lectures were to be repeated by request in two months after the last talk8 ,we didn't hear it because ,professor went away1 and now three weeks of the time have gone by4 ,but ,i'll tell you what ,gus and ,i are going to do3 we're going to build a radio receiver and get it done in time to get those talks on ,edison all over again4 ,really8 ,do you think you can do it8 ,if ,billy says he can1 why1 the-- ,oh1 you ,edison's son6 ,this from the irrepressible ,ted4 ,go to it1 ,bill6 ,can we all listen in8 ,why1 of course1 said ,bill1 replying to the last question4 ,everybody'll be invited and there will be a horn4 ,but don't forget this3 ,we've only got a little over four weeks to do it and it's some job6 ,so1 if you're disappointed-- ,we won't be4 ,no2 ,bill'll get there4 ,hurrah for old ,bill6 ,say1 people1 enough of this4 ,i'm no candidate for ,president of the ,united ,states1 and remember that ,gus is in this1 too1 as much as ,i am4 ,hurrah for ,gus6 ,this was a general shout4 ,gus turned and ran4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,the ,,doubters ,the party was on the point of breaking up1 with much laughter over the embarrassment of poor ,gus1 when ,skeets unexpectedly furnished further entertainment4 ,she had paused to lean comfortably against a center table1 but its easy rolling casters objected to her weight1 rolled away hastily and deposited her without warning on the floor4 ,ted1 who gallantly helped her to her feet1 remarked1 with a grunt due to extreme effort1 that she really might as well stand up or enlist the entire four legs of a chair to support her4 ,bill1 about to take leave of the host and hostess1 felt a slight jerk at his sleeve and looking round was surprised to find ,thad at his elbow4 ,the youth said in a low voice3 ,want to see you out yonder among the trees4 ,give the rest the slip4 ,got a pipe of an idea4 ,bill nodded1 wondering much4 ,a moment later ,mr4 ,hooper was repeating that he was proud of the work done by the boys and glad that he had trusted them4 ,then he added3 ,but say1 young feller1 much as ,i believe in you and ,gus1 seein' your smartness1 ,i got to doubt all that there bunk you give them young people 'bout that there what you call radier4 ,i been borned a long time--goin' on to seventy year now1--an' ,i seen all sorts of contraptions like reapers an' binders1 ridin' plows1 typewritin'-machines1 telephones1 phonygraphs1 flyin'-machines1 submarines an' all such1 but b'jinks1 ,i ain't a-believin' that nobody kin hear jes' common talk through the air without no wires4 ,an' hundreds o' miles6 ',tain't natch'all an' 'taint possible now1 is it8 ,why1 yes1 ,mr4 ,hooper2 it's both poss-- ,come on1 ,billy6 ,good-night1 ,mr4 ,hooper and ,mrs4 ,hooper4 ,we all had a dandy time4 ,and ,bill was led away4 ,but he was able1 by hanging back a little1 to whisper to ,gus that he was on the track of something from ,thad1--for ,bill could only think that the young man would make a confession or commit himself in some way4 ,see you in the morning1 he added and turned back4 ,thad was waiting and called to ,bill from his seat on a bench beneath the shade of a big maple4 ,the fellow plunged at once into his subject1 evidently holding the notion that youth in general possesses a shady sense of honor4 ,see here1 ,brown4 ,i think ,i get you and ,i believe you've got wit enough to get ,uncle ,hooper4 ,did he say anything to you as you came out about being shy on this radio business8 ,bill nodded4 ,say1 he don't believe it's any more possible than a horse car can turn into a buzzard6 ,fact6 ,he told me you fellows might fool him on a lot of things and that you were awful smart for kids1 but he'd be hanged for a quarter of beef if you could make him swallow this bunk about talking through the air4 ,you know the way he talks4 ,i think he can and will be convinced1 said ,bill1 and you can't blame him for his notion1 for he has never chanced to inquire about radio and ,i expect he doesn't read that department in the paper4 ,if he meets a plain statement about radio broadcasting or receiving1 it either makes no impression on him1 or he regards it as a sort of joke4 ,but1 anyway1 what of it8 ,why1 just this and you ought to catch on to it without being told3 ,unk's a stubborn old rat and he hasn't really a grain of sense1 in spite of all the money he made4 ,all you've got to do is to egg him on as if you thought it might be a little uncertain and then sort o' dare to make a big bet with him4 ,i'll get busy and tell him that this radio business is the biggest kind of an expert job and that you fellows are blamed doubtful about it4 ,then1 when you get your set working and let ,unk listen in1 he'll pay up and we'll divide the money4 ,see8 ,easy as pie4 ,or we might work it another way3 ,i'll make the bet with him and you fellows let on to fall down4 ,or we might-- ,well1 ,i've listened to your schemes1 said ,bill1 and ,i'm going to say this about them3 ,i think you are the dirtiest1 meanest skunk ,i ever ran across4 ,you-- ,say1 now1 what's the matter8 ,you're a guest under your uncle's roof2 eating his grub1 accepting his hospitality1 pretending to be his friend-- ,aw1 cut that out1 now6 ,you needn't let on you're so awful fine4 ,and then deliberately trying to hatch a scheme to rob him6 ,of all the rotten1 contemptible-- ,unable to voice his righteous indignation1 ,bill clenched his fist and struck ,thad square in the eye4 ,thad had risen and was standing in front of ,bill1 trembling with rage as impotent as though he were little and lame1 leaning1 like ,bill1 on the crutch a less valiant cripple would have used instead of his bare fist4 ,with a look of fiendish hatred1 instead of returning blow for blow1 ,thad made a sudden grab and tore ,bill's crutch out of the hand which had felt no impulse to use it in defense against his able-bodied antagonist4 ,now1 you blow to ,uncle and ,i'll break this crutch6 ,strange1 isn't it1 how we often are reminded of funny things even in the midst of danger8 ,bill1 a cripple and unable to move about with the agility needed to fend off a cowardly attack by this miserable piker1 showed the stuff he was made of when he burst out laughing1 for he was reminded by this threat of that old yarn about a softy's threatening to break the umbrella of his rival found in the vestibule of his girl's house1 then going out and praying for rain6 ,thad1 astonished at ,bill's sudden mirth1 held the crutch mid-air1 and demanded with a malignant leer3 ,huh6 ,laugh1 will you8 ,go ahead and break it1 but it won't be a circumstance to what ,i'll do to you4 ,i can imagine your uncle-- ,so8 ,listen1 you pusillanimous1 knock-kneed shrimp8 ,i'm going to mash your jaw so you'll never wag it again6 ,and right now1 too1 you-- ,possibly there was as much determination back of this as any evil intent1 but it also was doomed to failure4 ,there was a quick step from the deeper shadows and a figure loomed suddenly in front of ,thad who1 with uplifted crutch1 was still glaring at ,bill4 ,only two words were spoken1 a ,you1 huh8 from the larger chap2 then a quick tackle1 a short straining scuffle1 and ,thad was thrown so violently sidewise and hurtled against the bench from which ,bill had just risen1 that it and ,thad went over on the ground together4 ,the bench and the lad seemed to lie there equally helpless4 ,gus picked up the crutch and handed it to his chum4 ,let's go4 ,he won't be able to get up till we've gone4 ,but as they passed out from among the shadows there followed them a threat which seemed to be bursting with the hatred of a demon3 ,oh1 ,i'll get even with you two little devils4 ,i'll blow you to-- ,the two boys looked at each other and only laughed4 ,notice his right eye when you see him again1 chuckled ,bill4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,the ,,unexpected ,where did you come from1 ,gus8 ,bill asked1 still inclined to laugh4 ,the road4 ,slipped away from the others for ,i was wondering whether you might not get into trouble4 ,couldn't imagine that chump would spring anything that wouldn't make you mad1 and ,i knew you'd talk back4 ,so ,i did the gumshoe4 ,well1 ,i suppose he would have made it quite interesting for me and ,i am eternally grateful to you4 ,if it weren't for you1 ,gus1 ,i guess1 ,i'd have a hard time in-- ,by cracky1 if it weren't for you1 old scout1 where would ,i be8 ,nowhere1 or anywhere1 but never somewhere4 ,that sounds to me something like what ,professor ,gray calls a paradox1 laughed ,bill4 ,i don't suppose you're going to peach on ,thad1 ,gus offered4 ,no2 but wouldn't ,i like to8 ,it's a rotten shame to have that lowdown scamp under ,mr4 ,hooper's roof4 ,it's a wonder ,grace doesn't give him away2 she must know what a piker he is4 ,bill1 it's really none of our business1 ,gus said4 ,well1 see you in the morning early4 ,the boys wished once more to go over carefully all the completed details of the water power plant2 they had left the ,pelton wheel flying around with that hissing blow of the water on the paddles and the splashing which made ,bill think of a circular log saw in buckwheat-cake batter4 ,the generator1 when thrown in gear1 had been running as smoothly as a spinning top2 there were no leaks in the pipe or the dam4 ,but now they found water trickling from a joint that showed the crushing marks of a sledge1 the end of the nozzle smashed so that only enough of the stream struck the wheel to turn it1 and there was evidence of sand in the generator bearings4 ,then appeared ,george1 with an expression of mingled sorrow1 shame1 wonder and injured pride on his big ebony features1 his eyes rolling about like those of a dying calf4 ,at first he was mute4 ,know anything about this business1 ,george8 asked ,bill4 ,don't know a thing but what ,ah does know an' dat's a plenty4 ,what's happened here8 ,the plant has been damaged2 that's all4 ,damage8 ,when8 ,las' night1 close on t' mawnin'8 ,well1 suh1 ,ah 'low that there ghos' done it4 ,ghost8 ,what--where was any ghost8 ,right yer at de tool house4 ,come walkin' roun' de corner fo' ,ah could grab up man stick an' ,ah jes' lef' de place4 ,what8 ,ran away and from your duty8 ,you were put here to guard the plant2 not to let any old-- ,didn't 'low t' guard it 'gainst no ghos'es4 ,dey don' count in de contrac'4 ,folks is one thing an' ghos'es-- ,ghosts6 ,bosh6 ,there's no such thing as a ghost6 ,if you had swung your club at the silly thing you'd have knocked over some dub of a man that we could pretty well describe right now1 and saved us a heap of trouble and expense--and you'd have kept your job6 ,bill was disgusted and angry4 ,lawsee6 ,ah ain't gwine lose mah job jes' fo' dodgin' a ghos'1 is ,i8 ,what did this fellow look like8 asked ,gus4 ,ah nevah could tell 'bout it2 didn't take no time for' t' look sharp4 ,ah wuz on'y jes' leavin'4 ,now1 see here1 ,george1 said ,bill1 his native gentleness dominating1 if you'll promise to say nothing about this1 keep on the job and grab the next ghost1 we'll let you stay on4 ,and we'll make an awful good guess when we tell you that you'll find the ghost is ,mr4 ,hooper's nephew4 ,if you do grab him1 ,george1 and lock him in the tool house1 we'll see that you're very nicely rewarded1--a matter of cold cash4 ,are you on8 ,ah shore is1 an' ,ah'll git him1 fo' ,ah reckon he's gwine come again4 ',tain't no fun tacklin' whut looks lak a ghos'1 but ,ah reckon ,ah'll make that smahty think he's real flesh an' blood fo' ,ah gits through with him6 ,the boys were two days making repairs1 which time encroached upon their plan to get their promised radio receiver into action4 ,having no shop nor proper tools for finer work1 they would be handicapped1 for they had decided1 because of the pleasure and satisfaction in so doing1 to make many of the necessary parts that generally are purchased outright4 ,bill made the suggestion1 on account of this delay1 that they abandon their original plan1 but ,gus1 ever hopeful1 believed that something might turn up to carry out their first ideas4 ,the afternoon that they had everything in normal condition again1 ,mr4 ,hooper came down to see them2 he knew nothing of the tampering with the work1 but it became evident at once that his nephew had slyly and forcibly put it into his head that amateur radio construction was largely newspaper bunk1 without any real foundation of fact4 ,thad may have had some new scheme1 but at any rate the unlettered old man would swallow pretty nearly everything ,thad said1 even though he often repudiated ,thad's acts4 ,again ,mr4 ,hooper1 ,bill and ,gus got on the subject of radio and the old gentleman repeated his convictions3 ,i ain't sayin' you boys can't do wonders1 an' ,i'm fer you all the time1 but ,i'm not goin' t' b'lieve you kin do what's pretty nigh out o' reason4 ,listen to me1 now1 fer a minute3 ,if you fellers kin rig up a machine to fetch old man ,eddy's son's talk right here about two hundred an' fifty mile1 ,i'll hand out to each o' you a good hundred dollars2 yes1 b'jinks4 ,i'll make it a couple a hun-- ,no1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 we value your friendship altogether too much to take your money and that's too much like a wager1 anyway4 ,bill was most earnest4 ,but you must take our word for it that it can be done4 ,fetch old man ,eddy's son's voice--6 ,just that exactly--similar things have been done a-plenty4 ,people are talking into the radio broadcasters and their voices are heard distinctly thousands of miles4 ,but1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 you wouldn't know ,mr4 ,edison's voice if you heard it1 would you8 ,n--no1 can't say as how ,i would--but listen here4 ,i do know a feller what works with him--they say he's close to the ol' man4 ,bill ,medders4 ,knowed ,bill when he was a little cack1 knee-high to a grasshopper4 ,they say he wrote a book about ,eddy's son4 ,i'd know ,bill ,medder's voice if ,i heard it in a b'iler factory4 ,bill ,brown could hardly repress a smile4 ,i guess you must mean ,william ,h4 ,meadowcroft4 ,his ',boys' ,life of ,edison' sure is a dandy book4 ,i liked it best of all4 ,sometimes no one can see ,mr4 ,edison for weeks at a time1 when he's buried in one of his 'world-beaters4' ,but ,i reckon we can let you hear ,mr4 ,meadowcroft's voice4 ,he wrote me a pippin of a letter once about the ,chief4 ,all righty4 ,i'll take ,medders's4 ,i know ,bill1 an' you can't fool me on that voice4 ,mr4 ,hooper1 ,i'll tell you what1 said the all-practical ,bill eagerly4 ,this demonstration will be almost as interesting to you as it is to us1 and you can help us out4 ,we can get what little power we need from any power plant4 ,but we want a shop most of all--a loft or attic with room enough to work in4 ,we're going to get all the tools we need-- ,no4 ,i'll get 'em fer you an' you kin have all that there room over the garage4 7,the old gentleman pronounced this word as though it rhymed with carriage47 ,an' anything else you're a mind to have you kin have4 ,some old junk up there1 ,i reckon1 he went on4 ,you kin throw it out1 er make use of it4 ,an' now1 let's see what you kin do6 ,the boys were eager to acknowledge this liberal offer1 and they expressed themselves in no measured terms4 ,they would do better than make one receiver2 they would make two and one would be installed in ,mr4 ,hooper's library1--but of this they said nothing at first4 ,get busy they did1 with a zeal and energy that overmatched even that given the power plant4 ,that afternoon they moved into the new shop and were delighted with its wide space and abundant light4 ,the next day they went to the city for tools and materials4 ,two days later a lathe1 a grinder and a boring machine1 driven by a small electric motor wired from the ,hooper generator were fully installed1 together with a workbench1 vises1 a complete tool box and a drawing board1 with its instruments4 ,no young laborers in the vineyard of electrical fruitage could ask for more4 ,isn't it dandy1 ,gus8 ,bill exclaimed1 surveying the place and the result of their labors in preparation4 ,if we can't do things here1 it's only our fault4 ,now1 then-- ,it is fine1 said ,gus1 and we're in luck1 but somehow1 ,i think we must be on our guard4 ,i can't get my mind off ghosts and the damage over yonder4 ,i'm going to take a sneak around there to-night again1 along around midnight and a little after4 ,i did last night2 didn't tell you1 for you had your mind all on this4 ,george was on duty1 challenged me1 but ,i've got a hunch that he knows something he doesn't want to worry us about and thinks he can cope with4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,a ,,bit ,,tragic ,hold up your hands1 nigger6 ,the voice was low and sepulchral1 but either the ghostly apparition that uttered the command had slipped up on its vernacular1 or it was the spirit of a bandit4 ,some demand of the kind was1 however1 urgently necessary1 for ,george did not1 as formerly1 show a desire to flee2 his belligerent attitude suggested fight and he was a husky specimen with a handy club4 ,even though he might have suffered a qualm at again beholding the white apparition in the moonlight1 his determination to dare the spectre was bolstered by the voice and the manner of the command4 ,ah knows who yo' is an' ,ah's gwine hol' yo' up6 ,yo' ain't no ghos'4 ,dis club'll knock de sure 'nough breff out'n yo'2 then we'll see4 ,to ,gus1 on the hillside above the power plant1 it looked very much as though this threat were going to be carried out4 ,he had been quietly observing1 under the light of a half moon1 the ghostly visitation and even the advent of this individual before the white raiment had been donned some distance behind the tool house and unknown to the watchful ,george4 ,all this had not surprised ,gus1 but he had been puzzled by the appearance on the hillside of another figure that kept behind the scant bushes much as ,gus was doing1 except that it was screened against being seen from below and evidently did not know of ,gus's presence4 ,now1 however1 all attention was given to the altercation before the tool house1 around which the ghost had come1 evidently to be disappointed at not seeing ,george take to his heels4 ,suddenly there was a shot4 ,the reverberation among the hills seemed ominous1 but not more so than the staggering back and sinking down of poor ,george4 ,gus saw the white figure stand for a moment1 as though peering down at the victim of this murderous act2 then it turned and fled straight up the hill and directly toward the one up there crouching and--waiting8 ,were they in collusion8 ,gus had but a moment to guess4 ,still crouching1 unseen1 though brave1--for ,gus was courageous even sometimes to the point of being foolhardy in the rougher sports1 or where danger threatened others1--he avoided now the almost certain fate of ,george1 for the villain was still armed and desperate1 no doubt4 ,and ,gus hoped that the arrest of the scamp would surely follow his meeting with the other observer4 ,but this safe and sane attitude of the watching ,gus suffered a sudden change when1 as the ascending ruffian fairly stumbled upon the other figure crouching on the hillside1 a scream1 unmistakably that of a female in dire distress1 came to the ears of the witness4 ,he could dimly see the two struggling together1 the dark figure with the white4 ,the next instant1 forgetting all danger to himself1 ,gus lessened the distance by leaps and scrambles along the declivity and flung himself upon the assailant4 ,there was a short1 sharp tussle2 a second shot1 but this time the weapon discharged its leaden pellet harmlessly4 ,then the ghost1 taking advantage of the hillside1 flung ,gus aside and before the boy had time to leap upon his foeman again1 the white figure1 his habiliments torn off1 had backed away and threatened ,gus with the pistol4 ,there was no mistaking the voice that uttered the threat3 ,keep off1 or you'll get punctured6 ,you needn't think anybody's going to get me4 ,i'm going to vanish4 ,if you try to follow me now1 ,i'll kill you6 ,this sounded desperate enough and ,gus had reason to believe the fellow meant it4 ,but in spite of that and driven by righteous anger1 he would again have tackled the enemy had not the voice of ,grace ,hooper checked him3 ,oh1 let him go2 let him go6 she begged4 ,he'll shoot1 and you--you must not be killed6 ,no2 you shall not6 ,and then1 as the rascal turned and fled over the brow of the hill1 ,gus turned to the girl1 sitting on the ground4 ,how did you come here--what--8 ,i knew something was going to happen1 and ,i thought ,i might prevent it some way4 ,then he fired1 and ,i saw how desperate he was1--and he shot-- ,yes--we must do all we can for poor ,george1 if anything can be done4 ,but are you hurt8 ,not very much2 he meant to hurt me4 ,i dodged when he struck and only my shoulder may be--bruised4 ,then you should bathe it in hot water4 ,can ,i help you up8 ,no1 you must not go home alone--but ,i must see about poor ,george4 ,i heard him groan4 ,i'd better go down with you4 ,it might be--too horrible--for a girl1 you see4 ,better stay here4 ,gus had extended his hand to give her a lift2 she took it and came slowly to her feet2 then suddenly crumpled up and lay unconscious before him1 her face white against the dark sod1 her arms outflung4 ,gus stared at her a few long seconds1 as foolishly helpless as any boy could be4 ,he told ,bill afterward that he never felt so flabbergasted in his life4 ,what to do he knew not1 but he must try something1 and do it quickly4 ,perhaps ,grace had only fainted2 should he go to ,george first8 ,he might be dying--or dead6 ,then the thought came to him3 ,women and children first4 ,gus dashed down the hill1 dipped his cap1 cup fashion1 into the water of the dam and fled up with it again1 brimming full and spilling over4 ,he was able to dash a considerable quantity of reviving water into the girl's face4 ,with a gasp and a struggle she turned over1 opened her eyes1 sat up1--her physical powers returning in advance of her mental grasp4 ,oh1 am ,i1--no1 not dead8 ,please help me--up and home4 ,yes1 ,i'll take you home in just a jiffy4 ,do you feel a little better8 ,can you sit still here1 please1 till ,i see about ,george8 ,just a moment8 ,again the boy went down the hill1 now toward the tool house2 he was brave enough1 but a sort of horror gripped him as he rounded the corner of the little shack4 ,what1 then1 was his relief when he found the watchman on his feet1 a bit uncertain about his balance and leaning against the door frame4 ,it was evident from the way he held his club that he meant not to desert his post and that he believed his late assailant was returning4 ,at sight of ,gus1 the colored man's relief showed in his drawn face4 ,mist' ,gus6 ,it's you1 honey6 ,my ,lawd6 ,ah done been shot6 ,by the ghos'1 ,mist' ,gus1 whut ain't nothin' no mo'n dat low-down1 no 'count nephew o' ol' ,mist' ,hooper's4 ,ah reckon ,ah's gwine die1 but ,ah ain't yit--not ef he's comin' back6 ,good boy1 ,george6 ,you're the stuff6 ,but you're not going to die and he's not coming back4 ,he lit out like a rabbit4 ,come now2 we'll go to a doctor and then-- ,reckon ,ah can't do it4 ,got hit in de hip some'ers2 makes mah leg total wuthless4 ,you-all go on an' ,ah'll git me some res' yere till mawnin'4 ,and maybe bleed nearly to death6 ,no1 ,i'll be back for you in no time1--as soon as ,i get ,miss ,grace home4 ,she's on the hill there4 ,she came out to watch that cousin of hers4 ,you hang on till ,i get back4 ,grace tried to show her usual energy1 but seemed nearly overcome by fatigue4 ,she made no complaint1 but presently ,gus saw that she was crying1 and that scared him4 ,in his inexperience he could not know that it was only overwrought nerves4 ,he felt he must make speed in carrying out his intentions to get help to ,george and put the authorities on the track of ,thad4 ,gus could see but one thing to do properly and his natural diffidence was cast aside by his generous and kindly nature4 ,let me give you a lift1 as ,i do ,bill1 sometimes1 he said1 and drew the girl's arm over his shoulder1 supporting her with his other arm4 ,in a second or two they were going on at a rather lively pace4 ,in a few minutes they had reached the house4 ,grace entered and called loudly4 ,her father and mother appeared instantly in the hallway above4 ,the girl1 half way up the stairway1 told of the incidents at the power plant and added3 ,thad boasted to me that he was going to give the boys a lot more trouble1 and ,i watched and saw him leave the house4 ,so ,i followed1 hoping to stop him1 and after he shot ,george he ran into me and was so angry that he struck me4 ,i wish ,i had had a pistol6 ,i would have-- ,gracie1 dear little girl6 ,you mustn't wish to kill or wound anyone6 ,oh1 are you hurt8 ,come1 dear-- ,i'll be with you right off1 me boy6 said ,mr4 ,hooper to ,gus1 and presently they were in the library alone4 ,listen to me1 lad4 ,this nevvy o' mine is me dead sister's child1 an' ,i swore t' her ,i'd do all ,i could fer him4 ,his brother ,bob1 he's in the ,navy1 a decent lad2 won't have nothin' to do with ,thad4 ,an' you can't blame him1 fer ,thad's a rapscallion4 ,smart1 too1 an' friendly enough to his old uncle4 ,but now1 though1 ,i'm done with him4 ,i'm fer lettin' him slide1 not wantin' to put the law on him4 ,i'll take care o' ,george4 ,he shall have the best doctor in the country1 an' ,i'll keep him an' his wife in comfort1 but ,i don't want ,thaddeus to be arrested4 ,now ,i reckon he's gone an' so let luck take him--good1 bad1 er indifferent4 ,won't you let him hit his own trail1 foot-loose8 ,i'd like to see him arrested and jailed1 said ,gus1 but for you and because of what you'll do for ,george and your being so good to ,bill and me1 ,i'll keep mum on it4 ,good1 me lad4 ,an' now you git back to ,george an' tell him to keep ,thad's name out of it4 ,i'll 'phone fer ',doc' ,little and ',doc' ,yardley1 an' have an ambulance sent fer the poor feller4 ,then you can tell his wife4 ,it means very little sleep fer you this night1 but you can lay abed late4 ,gus went away upon these duties1 but with a heavy heart2 he felt that ,mr4 ,hooper1 because of the very gentleness of the man was defeating justice1 and though he had been nearly forced to give his promise1 he felt that he must keep it4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,construction ,,and ,,destruction ,bill and ,gus worked long hours and diligently4 ,all that the power plant construction had earned for ,bill1 the boy had turned in to help his mother4 ,but ,mr4 ,grier1 busy at house building and doing better than at most other times1 was able to add something to his boy's earnings1 so that ,gus could capitalize the undertaking1 which he was eager to do4 ,the layout of the radio receiver outfits to be built alike were put at first on paper1 full size2 plan1 side and end elevations and tracings were made of the same transferred to heavy manila paper4 ,these were to be placed on the varnished panels1 so that holes could be bored through paper and panel1 thus insuring perfect spacing and arrangement4 ,sketches1 also1 were made of all details4 ,the audion tubes1 storage batteries and telephone receivers had been purchased in the city4 ,almost all the other parts were made by the boys out of carefully selected materials4 ,the amplifiers consisted of iron core transformers comprising several stages of radio frequency4 ,the variometers were wound of #bb-;gauge wire4 ,loose couplers were used instead of the ordinary tuning coil4 ,the switch arms1 pivoting shafts and attachments for same1 the contact points and binding posts were home-made4 ,a potentiometer puzzled them most1 both the making and the application1 but they mastered this rather intricate mechanism1 as they did the other parts4 ,in this labor1 with everything at hand and a definite object in view1 no boys ever were happier1 nor more profitably employed1 considering the influence upon their characters and future accomplishments4 ,how true it is that they who possess worthy hobbies1 especially those governed by the desire for construction and the inventive tendency1 are getting altogether the most out of life and are giving the best of themselves6 ,the work progressed steadily--not too hastily1 but most satisfactorily4 ,leaving at supper time1 ,bill's eyes would sparkle as he talked over their efforts for that day1 and quiet ,gus would listen with nods and make remarks of appreciation now and then4 ,the way we've made that panel1 ,gus1 with those end cleats doweled on and the shellacking of both sides--it'll never warp4 ,i'm proud of that and it was mostly your idea4 ,no1 yours4 ,i would have grooved the wood and used a tongue1 but the dowels are firmer4 ,a tongue would have been all right4 ,but1 dear boy1 the dowels were easier to put in4 ,oh1 well1 it's done now4 ,to-morrow we'll begin the mounting and wiring4 ,then for the arial6 ,but that very to-morrow brought with it the hardest blow the boys had yet had to face4 ,full of high spirits1 they walked the half mile out to the ,hooper place and found the garage a mass of blackened ruins4 ,it had caught fire1 quite mysteriously1 toward morning1 and the gardener and chauffeur1 roused by the crackling flames1 had worked like beavers but with only time to push out the two automobiles2 they could save nothing else4 ,the ,hoopers had just risen from breakfast when the boys arrived2 at once ,grace came out1 and her expressions of regret were such as to imply that the family had lost nothing1 the boys being the only sufferers4 ,and it was a bit staggering--all their work and machinery and tools and plans utterly ruined--the lathe and drill a heap of twisted iron4 ,it was with a rueful face that ,bill surveyed the catastrophe4 ,never mind1 ,billy1 said ,grace1 detecting evidence of moisture in his eyes2 but she went over to smiling ,gus and gazed at him in wonder4 ,don't you care8 she asked4 ,you bet ,i care2 mostly on ,bill's account1 though4 ,he had set his heart mighty strong on this4 ,i'm sorry about your loss1 too4 ,oh1 never mind that6 ,dad is 'phoning now for carpenters and his builder4 ,he'll be out in a minute4 ,out he did come1 with a shout of greeting2 he1 too1 had sensed that the real regrets would be with them4 ,it'll be all right1 me lads6 he shouted4 ,herring'll be here on the next train1 with a bunch o' men1 an' ,i'll git your dad1 ,gus1 too4 ,must have this building up just like it was in ten days4 ,an' now count up just what you lads have lost2 the hull sum total1 b'jinks6 ,i'm goin' to be the insurance comp'ny in this deal4 ,the insurance company6 ,bill exclaimed and ,gus stared4 ,sure4 ,goin' to make up your loss an' then some4 ,i'm a heap int'rested in this ,eddy's son business1 ain't ,i8 ,think ,i ain't wantin' to see that there contraption that hears a hunderd miles off8 ,get busy an' give me the expense4 ,we've got to git a-goin'4 ,but1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 our loss isn't yours and you have got enough to-- ,don't talk2 figger6 ,i'm runnin' this loss business4 ,don't want to make me mad2 eh8 ,git at it an' hurry up6 ,he turned and walked away4 ,grace followed in a moment1 but over her shoulder remarked to the wondering boys3 ,do as ,dad says if you want to keep our friendship4 ,dad isn't any sort of a piker1--you know that4 ,the insistency was too direct2 the queen's wish was a command4 ,the boys would have to comply and they could get square with their good friends in the end4 ,so at it they went1 ,bill with pad and pencil1 ,gus calling out the items as his eye or his memory gleaned them from the hard-looking objects in the burned mass as he raked it over4 ,presently ,grace came out again4 ,dad wants the list and the amount1 she said4 ,he's got to go to the city with ,mr4 ,herring4 ,bill handed over his pad and she was gone1 to return as quickly in a few minutes4 ,here is an order on the bank2 you can draw the cash as you need it4 ,you can start working in the stable loft2 then bring your stuff over4 ,there will be a watchman on the grounds from to-night1 so don't worry about any more fires4 ,i must go help get ,dad off4 ,once more she retreated2 again she stopped to say something1 as an afterthought1 over her shoulder3 ,and1 boys1 won't you let ,skeets and me help you some8 ,skeets will be here again next week and ,i love to tinker and contrive and make all sorts of things2 it'll be fun to see the radio receiver grow4 ,sure1 you can1 said ,gus2 and ,bill nodded1 adding3 ,we have only a limited time now1 and any help will count a lot4 ,going down to the bank1 ,bill again outlined the work in detail1 suggesting the purchases of even better machinery and tools1 of only the best grades of materials4 ,there must be another trip to the city1 the most strenuous part of the work4 ,we'll get it through on time1 ,i guess1 said ,bill4 ,i'm not thinking so much of that as about how that fire started1 said ,gus4 ,it couldn't have been any of our chemicals1 could it8 ,chem--8 ,my eye6 ,don't you know1 old chap8 ,i'll bet ,mr4 ,hooper and ,grace have the correct suspicion4 ,more crooked business8 ,you don't mean-- ,sure1 ,i do6 ,thad1 of course4 ,and1 ,bill1 we're going to get him1 sooner or later4 ,mr4 ,hooper won't want to stand this sort of thing forever4 ,i've got a hunch that we're not through with that game yet4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,to ,,labor ,,and ,,to ,,wait ,it was truly astonishing what well organized labor could do under intelligent direction2 the boys had a fine example of this before them and a fine lesson in the accomplishment4 ,the new garage grew into a new and somewhat larger building1 on the site of the old1 almost over night4 ,there were three eight-hour shifts of men and two foremen1 with the supervising architect and ,mr4 ,grier apparently always on the job4 ,as soon as the second floor was laid1 the roof on and the sheathing in place1 ,bill and ,gus moved in4 ,the men gave them every aid and ,mr4 ,grier gave special attention to building their benches1 trusses1 a drawing-board stand1 shelving and tool chests4 ,then1 how those new radio receivers did come on6 ,grace and ,skeets were given little odd jobs during the very few hours of their insistent helping4 ,they varnished1 polished1 oiled1 cleaned copper wire1 unpacked material1 even swept up the dbris left by the carpenters2 at least1 they did until ,skeets managed to fall headlong down about one-half of the unfinished stairway and to sprain her ankle4 ,then ,grace's loyalty compelled her attention to her friend4 ,mr4 ,hooper breezed in from time to time1 but never to take a hand2 to do so would have seemed quite out of place1 though the old gentleman laughingly made an excuse for this3 ,lads1 ,i ain't no tinker man2 never was4 ,drivin' a pesky nail's a huckleberry above my persimmon4 ,cattle is all ,i know1 an' ,i kin still learn about them1 ,i reckon4 ,but ,i know what ,i kin see an' hear an'1 b'jinks1 ,i'm still doubtin' ,i'm ever goin' to hear that there ,eddy's son do this talkin'4 ,but get busy1 lads2 get busy6 ,oh1 fudge1 ,dad6 ,can't you see they're dreadfully busy8 ,you can't hurry them one bit faster4 ,grace was ever just4 ,no1 said ,skeets1 who had borrowed ,bill's crutch to get into the shop for a little while4 ,no1 ,mr4 ,hooper2 if they were to stay up all night1 go without eats and work twenty-five hours a day they couldn't do any-- ,and just then the end of the too-much inclined crutch skated outward and the habitually unfortunate girl dropped kerplunk on the floor4 ,gus and ,grace picked her up4 ,she was not hurt by her fall4 ,her very plumpness had saved her4 ,for goodness' sake1 ,skeets1 are you ever going to get the habit of keeping yourself upright8 asked ,grace1 who laughed harder than the others1 except ,skeets herself2 the stout girl generally got the utmost enjoyment out of her own troubles4 ,quiet restored1 ,mr4 ,hooper returned to his subject4 ,i reckon you lads1 when you git this thing made that's goin' to hoodoo the air1 will be startin' in an' tryin' somethin' else2 eh8 he ventured1 grinning4 ,later1 perhaps1 but not just yet1 ,bill replied4 ,not until we can manage to learn a lot more1 ,gus and ,i4 ,mr4 ,grier says that the competition of brains nowadays is a lot sharper than it was in ,edison's young days1 and even he had to study and work a lot before he really did any big inventing4 ,professor ,gray says that a technical education is best for anyone who is going to do things1 though it is a long way from making a fellow perfect and must be followed up by hard practice4 ,and we can wait1 ,i guess1 put in ,gus4 ,until we can manage in some way to scrape together enough cash to buy books and get apparatus for experiments and go on with our schooling4 ,we want more physics and especially electricity1 said ,gus4 ,and other knowledge as well1 along with that1 ,bill amended4 ,i reckon you fellers is right1 said ,mr4 ,hooper1 but ,i don't know anything about it4 ,i quit school when ,i was eleven1 but that ain't sayin' ,i don't miss it4 ,if ,i had an eddication now1 like you lads is goin' to git1 er like the ,perfesser has1 ,i'd give more'n half what ,i own4 ,boys that think they're smart to quit school an' go to work is natchal fools4 ,a feller may git along an' make money1 but he'd make a heap more an' be a heap happier1 'long of everything else1 if he'd got a schoolin'4 ,an' any boy that's got real sand in his gizzard can buckle down to books an' get a schoolin'1 even if he don't like it4 ,what ,i'm a learnin' nowadays makes me know that a feller can make any old study int'restin' if he jes' sets down an' looks at it the right way4 ,that's what ,gus and ,i think4 ,there are studies we don't like very much1 but we can make ourselves like them for we've got to know a lot about them4 ,grammar1 for instance1 said ,gus4 ,sure4 ,it is tiresome stuff1 learning a lot of rules that work only half4 ,but if a fellow is going to be anybody and wants to stand in with people1 he's got to know how to talk correctly and write1 too4 ,bill's logic was sound4 ,daddy should have had a drilling in grammar1 commented ,grace1 laughing4 ,oh1 you6 blurted ,skeets4 ,mr4 ,hooper can talk so that people understand him--and when you do talk1 she turned to the old gentleman1 ,i notice folks are glad to listen1 and so is ,grace4 ,but1 my dear1 protested the subject of criticism1 they'd listen better an' grin less if ,i didn't sling words about like one o' these here ,eye-talians shovelin' dirt4 ,you just keep a-shovelin'1 ,mr4 ,hooper1 your own way1 said ,bill1 and if we catch anybody even daring to grin at you1 why1 ,i'll have ,gus land on them with his famous grapple6 ,mr4 ,hooper threw back his coat1 thrust his thumbs into the armholes of his big1 white vest and swelled out his chest4 ,now1 listen to that6 ,an' this from a lad who ain't got a thing to expect from me an' ain't had as much as he's a-givin' me1 either--an' knows it4 ,but that's nothin' else but ,simon pure frien'ship1 ,i take it4 ,an' ,gus1 here1 him an' ,bill1 they think about alike2 eh1 ,gus8 ,gus nodded and the old gentleman continued1 addressing his remarks to his daughter and ,skeets3 ,now1 if ,i know anything at all about anything at all ,i know what ,i'm goin' to do4 ,i ain't got no eddication1 but that ain't goin' to keep me from seein' some others git it4 ,you ,gracie1 fer one1 an' you1 too1 ,skeeter1 if your old daddy'll let you come an' go to school with ,gracie4 ,but that ain't all2 if you lads kin git ol' ,eddy's son out o' the air on this contraption you're makin' an' hear him talk fer sure1 ,i'm goin' to see to it that you kin git all the tec--tec--what you call it8--eddication there is goin' an' ,i'm goin' to put ,perfesser ,gray wise on that1 too1 soon's he comes back4 ,no--don't you say a word now4 ,i know what ,i'm a-doin'4 ,with that the old gentleman turned and marched out of the shop4 ,but at the bottom of the garage steps he called back3 ,say1 boys1 ,i gotta go away fer a couple o' weeks1 or mebbe three4 ,push it right along an' mebbe you'll be hearin' from old man ,eddy's son when ,i git back6 ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,early ,,struggles ,the receiving outfits were completed2 the arials had been put up1 one installed at the garage1 the other at the mansion4 ,grace naturally had all1 the say about placing the one in her home4 ,the arial1 of four wires1 each thirty feet long and parallel1 were attached equi-distant1 and at each end to springy pieces of ash ten feet long1 these being insulators in part and sustained by spiral spring cables1 each divided by a glass insulator block1 the extended cables being fastened to a maple tree and the house chimney4 ,the ground wire went down the side of the house beside a drain pipe4 ,the house receiver1 in a cabinet that had cost the boys much painstaking labor1 was set by a window and1 after ,grace and ,skeets had been instructed how to tune the instrument to varying wave lengths1 they and good ,mrs4 ,hooper enjoyed many delightful periods of listening in1 all zealously consulting the published programs from the great broadcasting stations4 ,the other outfit made by the boys1 which1 except the elaborate box and stand1 was an exact duplicate of the ,hooper receiver1 was taken to the ,brown cottage4 ,gus insisted that ,bill had the best right to it1 and as the ,griers and ,mrs4 ,brown had long been the best of friends and lived almost next door to each other1 all the members of the carpenter's family would be welcome to listen in whenever they wanted to4 ,the little evening gatherings at certain times for this purpose were both mirthful and delightful4 ,the boys' arial was a three-wire affair1 stretching forty feet1 and erected in much the same way as that at the ,hooper house1 except that one mast had to be put up as high as the gable end of the cottage1 which was the other support1 thirty-five feet high4 ,then1 when the announcement was made that the talks on ,edison were to be repeated1 ,bill and ,gus told the class and others of their friends1 so the ,hoopers came also1 the merry crowd filling the ,brown living-room4 ,mr4 ,hooper's absence was noted and regretted from the first1 as his eagerness to be shown was well known to them all4 ,the first lectures concerning ,edison's boyhood were repeated4 ,the second and third talks were each better attended than the preceding ones4 ,cora1 ,dot1 ,skeets and two other girls occupied the front row2 ,ted ,bissell and ,terry ,watkins were present4 ,bill presided with much dignity1 most carefully tuning in1 making the announcements1 then becoming the most interested listener1 the theme being ever dear to him4 ,on the occasion of the third lecture1 ,bill said3 ,now1 then1 classmates and other folks1 this is a new one to all of us4 ,the last was where we left off in ,june on the ,professor's receiver4 ,you can just bet this is going to be a pippin4 ,first off1 though1 is a violin solo by--by--oh1 ,i forget his name1--and may it be short and sweet6 ,after the music1 the now well-known voice came from the horn3 ,this is the third talk on the career and accomplishments of ,thomas ,alva ,edison3 ,in a little while young ,edison began to get tired of the humdrum life of a telegraph operator in ,boston4 ,as ,i have told you1 after the vote-recorder1 he had invented a stock ticker and started a quotation service in ,boston4 ,he opened operations from a room over the ,gold ,exchange with thirty to forty subscribers4 ,he also engaged in putting up private lines1 upon which he used an alphabetical dial instrument for telegraphing between business establishments1 a forerunner of modern telephony4 ,this instrument was very simple and practical1 and any one could work it after a few minutes' explanation4 ,the inventor has described an accident he suffered and its effect on him3 ',in the laboratory1' he says1 ',i had a large induction coil4 ,one day ,i got hold of both electrodes of this coil1 and it clinched my hands on them so that ,i could not let go6 ',the battery was on a shelf4 ,the only way ,i could get free was to back off and pull the coil1 so that the battery wires would pull the cells off the shelf and thus break the circuit4 ,i shut my eyes and pulled1 but the nitric acid splashed all over my face and ran down my back4 ',i rushed to a sink1 which was only half big enough1 and got in as well as ,i could1 and wiggled around for several minutes to let the water dilute the acid and stop the pain4 ,my face and back were streaked with yellow2 the skin was thoroughly oxidized4 ',i did not go on the street by daylight for two weeks1 as the appearance of my face was dreadful4 ,the skin1 however1 peeled off1 and new skin replaced it without any damage4' ,the young inventor went to ,new ,york ,city to seek better fortunes4 ,first he tried to sell his stock printer and failed in the effort4 ,then he returned to ,boston and got up a duplex telegraph--for sending two messages at once over one wire4 ,he tried to demonstrate it between ,rochester and ,new ,york ,city4 ,after a week's trial1 his test did not work1 partly because of the inefficiency of his assistant4 ,he had run in debt eight hundred dollars to build this duplex apparatus4 ,his other inventions had cost considerable money to make1 and he had failed to sell them4 ,so his books1 apparatus and other belongings were left in ,boston1 and when he returned to ,new ,york he arrived there with but a few cents in his pocket4 ,he was very hungry4 ,he walked the streets in the early morning looking for breakfast but with so little money left that he did not wish to spend it4 ,passing a wholesale tea house1 he saw a man testing tea by tasting it4 ,the young inventor asked the 'taster' for some of the tea4 ,the man smiled and held out a cup of the fragrant drink4 ,that tea was ,thomas ,a4 ,edison's first breakfast in ,new ,york ,city4 ,he walked back and forth hunting for a telegraph operator he had known1 but that young man was also out of work4 ,when ,edison finally found him1 all his friend could do was to lend him a dollar6 ,by this time ,edison was nearly starved4 ,with such limited resources he gave solemn thought to what he should select that would be most satisfying4 ,he decided to buy apple dumplings and coffee1 and in telling afterward of his first real 'eats' in ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,edison said he never had anything that tasted so good4 ,just as young ,ben ,franklin1 on arriving in ,new ,york ,city from ,boston1 looked for a job in a printing office1 the youthful modern inventor applied for work in a telegraph office there4 ,as there was no vacancy and he needed the rest of his borrowed dollar for meals1 ,edison found lodging in the battery room of the ,gold ,indicator ,company4 ,it was four years after the ,civil ,war and1 besides there being much unemployment1 the fluctuations in the value of gold1 as compared with the paper currency of that day1 made it necessary to have gold 'indicators' something like the tickers from the ,stock ,exchange to-day4 ,dr4 ,laws1 presiding officer of the ,gold ,exchange1 had recently invented a system of gold indicators1 which were placed in brokers' offices and operated from the ,gold ,exchange4 ,when ,edison got permission to spend the night in the battery room of this company1 there were about three hundred of these instruments operating in offices in all directions in lower ,new ,york ,city4 ,on the third day after his arrival1 while sitting in this office1 the complicated instrument sending quotations out on all the lines made a very loud noise1 and came to a sudden stop with a crash4 ,within two minutes over three hundred boys---one from every broker's office in the street--rushed upstairs and crowded the long aisle and office where there was hardly room for one-third that number1 each yelling that a certain broker's wire was out of order1 and that it must be fixed at once4 ,it was pandemonium1 and the manager got so wild that he lost all control of himself4 ,edison went to the indicator1 and as he had already studied it thoroughly1 he knew right where the trouble was4 ,he went right out to see the man in charge1 and found ,dr4 ,laws there also--the most excited man of all6 ,the ,doctor demanded to know what caused all the trouble1 but his man stood there1 staring and dumb4 ,as soon as ,edison could get ,laws' attention he told him he knew what the matter was4 ',fix it6 ,fix it6 and be quick about it6' ,dr4 ,laws shouted4 ,edison went right to work and in two hours had everything in running order4 ,dr4 ,laws came in to ask the inventor's name and what he was doing4 ,when told1 he asked the young man to call on him in his office the next day4 ,edison did so and ,laws said he had decided to place ,edison in charge of the entire plant at a salary of three hundred dollars a month6 ,this was such a big jump from any wages he had ever received that it quite paralyzed the youthful inventor4 ,he felt that it was too much to last long1 but he made up his mind he would do his best to earn that salary if he had to work twenty hours a day4 ,he kept that job1 making improvements and devising other stock tickers1 until the ,gold and ,stock ,telegraph ,company consolidated with the ,gold ,indicator ,company4 ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,fame ,,and ,,fortune ,at twenty-two1 the lecturer continued1 while ,edison was with the ,gold and ,stock ,telegraph ,company1 he often heard ,jay ,gould and ',jim' ,fisk1 the great ,wall ,street operators of that day1 talk over the money market4 ,at night he ate his lunches in the coffee-house in ,printing ,house ,square1 where he used to meet ,henry ,j4 ,raymond1 founder of ,the ,new ,york ,times1 ,horace ,greeley of the ,tribune and ,james ,gordon ,bennett of the ,herald1 the greatest trio of journalists in the world4 ,one of the most memorable remarks made by a frequenter of this night lunch1 as recorded by ,mr4 ,edison was3 ',this is a great place2 a plate of cakes1 a cup of coffee1 and a ,russian bath1 all for ten cents6' ,the so-called bath was on account of the heat of the crowded room4 ,mr4 ,edison tells this story of the terrible panic in ,wall ,street1 in ,september1 #ahfi1 brought on chiefly by the attempt of ,jay ,gould and his associates to corner the gold market3 ',on ,black ,friday we had a rather exciting time with our indicators4 ,the ,gould and ,fisk crowd had cornered the gold and had run up the quotations faster than the indicator could record them4 ,in the morning it was quoting #aej premium while ,gould's agents were bidding #afe for five millions or less4 ',there was intense excitement4 ,broad and other streets in the ,wall ,street district were crammed with crazy crowds4 ,in the midst of the excitement1 ,speyer1 another large operator1 became so insane that it took five men to hold him4 ,i sat on the roof of a ,western ,union booth and watched the surging multitudes4 ',a ,western ,union man ,i knew came up and said to me3 ,shake hands1 ,edison4 ,we're all right4 ,we haven't got a cent to lose4' ,after the company with which our young inventor was connected had sold out its inventions and improvements to the ,gold and ,stock ,telegraph ,company1 ,mr4 ,edison produced a machine to print gold quotations instead of merely indicating them4 ,the attention of the president of the ,gold and ,stock ,company was attracted to the success of the wonderful young inventor4 ,edison had produced quite a number of inventions4 ,one of these was the special ticker which was used many years in other large cities1 because it was so simple that it could be operated by men less expert than the operators in ,new ,york4 ,it was used also on the ,london ,stock ,exchange4 ,after he had gotten up a good many inventions and taken out patents for them1 the president of the big company came to see him and was shown a simple device to regulate tickers that had been printing figures wrong4 ,this thing saved a good deal of labor to a large number of men1 and prevented trouble for the broker himself4 ,it impressed the president so much that he invited ,edison into his private office and said1 in a stage whisper3 ',young man1 ,i would like to settle with you for your inventions here4 ,how much do you want for them8 ,edison had thought it all over and had come to the conclusion that1 on account of the hard night-and-day work he had been doing1 he really ought to have five thousand dollars1 but he would be glad to settle for three thousand1 if they thought five thousand was too much4 ,but when asked point-blank1 he hadn't the courage to name either sum--thousands looked large to him then--so he hesitated a bit and said3 ',well1 ,general1 suppose you make me an offer4' ',all right1' said the president4 ',how would forty thousand dollars strike you8' ,young ,edison came as near fainting then as he ever did in his life4 ,he was afraid the ',general' would hear his heart thump1 but he said quietly that he thought that amount was just about right4 ,a contract was drawn up which ,edison signed without reading4 ,forty thousand dollars was written in the first check ,thomas ,a4 ,edison ever received4 ,with throbbing heart and trembling fingers he took it to the bank and handed it in to the paying teller1 who looked at it disapprovingly and passed it back1 saying something the young inventor could not hear because of his deafness4 ,thinking he had been cheated1 ,edison went out of the bank1 as he said1 'to let the cold sweat evaporate4' ,then he hurried back to the president and demanded to know what it all meant4 ,the president and his secretary laughed at the green youth's needless fears and explained that the teller had probably told him to write his name on the back of the check4 ,they not only showed him how to endorse it1 but sent a clerk to the bank to identify him--because of the large amount of money to be paid over4 ,just for a joke on the 'jay1' the teller gave him the whole forty thousand dollars in ten- and twenty-dollar bills4 ,edison gravely stowed away the money till he had filled all his pockets including those in his overcoat4 ,he sat up all night in his room in ,newark1 in fear and trembling1 lest he be robbed4 ,the president laughed next day but said that joke had gone far enough2 then he showed ,thomas ,a4 ,edison how to open his first bank account4 ,again the lecturer's voice ceased to be heard2 again another voice announced that the fourth talk would be given on a certain date a few days later4 ,a negro song with banjo accompaniment followed and the radio entertainment was over4 ,everyone was talking1 laughing and voicing pleasure in the increasingly wonderful demonstration of getting sounds out of the air1 from hundreds of miles away4 ,only ,gus and ,bill remained and the two--as ,billy always referred to their confabs--went into executive session4 ,this radio receiver was altogether absorbing1 much too attractive to let alone easily4 ,the boys were proud of their very successful construction and they could neither forget that fact1 nor pass up the delight of listening in4 ,this time ,gus had the first inspiration4 ,billy often thought how1 sometimes strangely or by chance or correct steering1 his chum seemed to grasp the deeper matters of detection4 ,gus eagerly acknowledged ,bill as possessing a genius for mechanical construction and invention1 without which the comrades would get nowhere in such efforts1 even admitting ,gus's skill and cleverness with tools4 ,but when it came to having hunches and good luck concerning matters of human mystery1 ,gus was the king pin4 ,i'm going to see what else we can get from near or far1 ,gus said1 detaching the horn and using the head clamp with its two ear 'phones which had been added to the set4 ,he sat down and began moving the switch arms1 one from contact to contact1 the other throughout the entire range of its contacts at each movement of the first1 and proceeding thus slowly for some minutes4 ,bill had turned to the study of his ,morse code1 which the boys had taken up and pursued at every opportunity during the building of the radio sets4 ,gus1 however1 was less familiar with the dots and dashes4 ,a whisper1 as though ,gus were afraid the sound of his voice would disturb the electric waves1 suddenly switched ,bill's attention4 ,two dots1 three dots1 two dots1 one dash1 one dot and dash1 one dot1 one dash and two dots1 same1 dot1 dash1 dot1 two dots1 two dashes and dot1 four dots1 one dash1 two dots1 two dashes1 two dots4 ,a pause4 ,gus had whispered each signal to ,bill2 then he asked3 ,what do you make it8 ,i make it3 ',is it all right1 then8' ,they have been talking some time1 ,i guess1 said ,bill2 and added3 ,that's a good way to pick up and wrestle with the code2 it's dandy practice and we want-- ,wait1 pal1 wait6 gasped ,gus1 bending forward again4 ,words came now1 instead of the code4 ,it was evident that the person giving them out had sought authority for so doing from headquarters4 ,gus heard3 ,this is to whom it may concern3 ,five hundred dollars' reward is to be paid for information leading to the arrest of a party who last night broke into the home of ,nathan ,r4 ,hallowell4 ,after deliberately and1 without apparent cause1 shooting and badly wounding ,mrs4 ,hallowell and striking down an old servant woman1 he stole several hundred dollars' worth of jewels and silverware4 ,both the servant1 who kept her wits about her1 and ,mrs4 ,hallowell1 who is now out of danger1 have described the assailant4 ,he is about eighteen1 of medium height1 slender1 dark complexioned1 one eye noticeably smaller than the other1 nose long and pointed1 has a nervous habit of twitching his shoulder4 ,he wore a light brown suit and a gray cap4 ,send all information1 or broadcast same to ,police ,headquarters1 ,willstown4 ,immediate detention of any reasonable suspect is recommended4 ,gus wheeled about4 ,bill1 it's ,thad6 ,description hits him exactly and there's five hundred reward4 ,he's done a house-breaking stunt and tried to kill two people and ,i don't believe they've got him yet4 ,mr4 ,hooper wouldn't want us to keep quiet on this2 would he8 ,it might be a good idea to talk to ,mrs4 ,hooper and ,grace about it before you inform on ,thad1 ,bill said4 ,i'll do that1 ,gus agreed and was off4 ,in half an hour he was back again4 ,i saw them1 late as it was4 ,grace and ,skeets were playing crokinole and ,mrs4 ,hooper came down4 ,and1 what do you think8 ,mr4 ,hooper wrote that ,thad had forged his name on a check for several hundred dollars and got away with it and1 even if he did still want to shield ,thad1 the law wouldn't let him4 ,grace says ,thad ought to be caught and punished and that her father will want it done4 ,but ,gus1 even if you got ,willstown on the long distance 'phone1 how would that help to---- ,we'll get them later2 after we have located ,thad4 ,oh1 ,gus1 do you think ,ben ,shultz was dreaming8 ,when he said he saw ,thad out there in the barren ground woods by the old cabin8 ,not a bit of it6 ,it's the last place they'd ever think of looking for him--right on his uncle's place4 ,thad is pretty keen in some ways4 ,but ,i doubt if he'll stay there long4 ,he'll be pulling out for the mountains4 ,there's a late moon to-night1 you see4 ,i wish ,i could go with you2 this old leg-- ,never mind now2 don't worry4 ,i'll take ,bennie ,shultz and make him messenger4 ,if ,thad's there you can get down to the drug store and call ,willstown4 ,that'll make our case sure4 ,by cracky1 old scout1 five hundred6 ,we can-- ,chickens1 old man2 chickens4 ,hatch 'em first4 ,but you will1 ,i'll bet1 and it will be yours2 not-- ,what are you talking about8 ,ours6 ,it's as much your job as mine4 ,divy-divy1 half'n'half1 fifty-fifty4 ,well1 ,i'm off4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,justice ,now then1 ,bennie1 whispered ,gus1 beat it on the q4t4 ,then streak it for ,bill's house4 ,he'll be watching for you4 ,tell him our man is here and probably getting ready to light out4 ,you needn't come back2 ,i'm only going to spot this bird and find out where he goes1 if ,i can4 ,you'll get well paid for this1 kid4 ,the two boys were lying on the sandy ground among young cedars1 and watching the little cabin not fifty yards distant4 ,out of this crude shack had come the sole occupant1 to stand and gaze about him for a minute1 lifting his face to the moon4 ,gus could plainly distinguish the gray cap1 the slender build of the youth2 he recognized the walk1 a certain manner of standing1 and once he plainly caught that upward shift of the shoulder4 ,then ,gus gave his orders to ,bennie1 knowing that they would be carried out with precision1 for the little fellow1 almost a waif and lacking proper influences1 would have nearly laid down his life for ,gus after the athlete had very deservedly whipped two town bullies that were making life miserable for him4 ,moreover1 the youngster wanted to be like ,gus and ,bill1 in the matter of mentality1 and a promise of reward meant money with which he could buy books4 ,left alone1 ,gus crept nearer the cabin4 ,he could be reasonably sure of himself1 but not of ,bennie1 who might crack a stick or sneeze4 ,some low cedars grew on the slope above the cabin2 ,gus took advantage of these and got within about forty feet of the shack4 ,then he lay watching for fully an hour1 there being no sign of the inmate4 ,but after what had seemed to ,gus almost half the night1 out came the suspect1 stood a moment as before and started off2 it could be seen that he carried a small pack and a heavy stick in his hands4 ,then ,gus was taken by surprise2 even his ready intuition failed him4 ,he had made up his mind that he was in for a long hike to the not too distant mountains and that over this ground the work of keeping the other fellow in sight and of keeping out of sight himself was going to mean constant vigilance and keen stalking4 ,but the midnight prowler swung around the cabin and with long1 certain strides headed straight for the ,hooper mansion4 ,this was easier going for ,gus than the open road toward the mountains would have been2 there was plenty of growth--long grass1 trees and bushes--to keep between him and the other who never tried to seek shelter1 nor hardly once looked behind him until the end of the broad driveway was reached4 ,gus knew the watchman must be about1 though possibly half asleep4 ,he also believed that the suspected youth1 by the way he advanced1 must know the ways of the watchman4 ,roger1 the big ,saint ,bernard1 let out a booming roar and came bounding down the driveway2 the fellow spoke to him and that was all there was to that4 ,gus stayed well behind1 fearing the friendly beast might come to him also and thus give his presence away1 but ,roger was evidently coaxed to remain with the first comer4 ,the big house stood silent1 bathed in the moonlight2 there was no sign of anyone about1 other than the miscreant who stood now in the shadow1 surveying the place4 ,presently he put down his pack1 went to a window and1 quick and silent as an expert burglar1 jimmied the sash4 ,there was only one sudden1 sharp snap of the breaking sash bolt and in a moment the fellow had vanished within the darkness and ,gus distinguished only the occasional flash of a pocket torch inside4 ,there was but one thing to do1 and that as quickly as possible4 ,the dog had gone around to lie again on the front veranda4 ,gus made a bolt for the rear of the grounds1 reached the garage1 found an open door1 began softly to push it open and suddenly found himself staring into the muzzle of a revolver that protruded from the blackness beyond4 ,don't shoot6 ,i'm ,gus ,grier1 ,mr4 ,watchman4 ,the boy was conscious of a certain unsteadiness in his own voice4 ,oh6 ,an' phwat air yes doin' here8 ,talk low1 said ,gus1 but listen first3 ,there's a burglar in the house4 ,i spotted him some time ago1 followed him and saw him get through the dining-room window4 ,move fast and he's yours6 ,pat moved fast4 ,he recognized that he had not been up to his duty so far and he meant to make amends4 ,with ,gus following1 the boy's nerves on edge with the possibility that the housebreaker would shoot1 the ,irishman1 who was no coward1 reached the house1 entered the basement1 flooded the house with light1 alarmed the inmates and in a few minutes had every avenue of escape guarded1 the chauffeur1 butler and gardener coming on the scene1 all half dressed and armed4 ,what followed needs little telling4 ,hardly had the men decided to search the house before the sound of a rapidly approaching motor horn was heard and from the quickly checked car two men leaped out1 the constable and a deputy from the town--and then ,bill ,brown6 ,the illuminated house had stopped their course4 ,the search revealed ,thad cowering in a closet1 all the fight gone out of him4 ,grace and ,skeets were not even awakened2 ,mrs4 ,hooper did not leave her room4 ,as the constable turned a light on the handcuffed prisoner he remarked3 ,that's the chap all right4 ,description fits4 ,he'll bring that five hundred all right4 ,a reward2 is it8 said the watchman4 ,an' don't ye fergit who gits it4 ,not me1 ner you1 ,constable1 but the bye here4 ,he laid his hand on ,gus's shoulder4 ,the constable laughed3 ,oh1 you're slow1 ,pat4 ,we all know that4 ,the kid and his pal1 that young edition of ,edison by the name of ,billy ,brown1 got the thing cinched over their radio4 ,we didn't know that the description that ,willstown sent out fitted ,mr4 ,hooper's own nephew4 ,and so with relief1 mixed with regret for ,mr4 ,hooper's sake1 ,gus and ,bill saw a sulky and rebellious ,thad vanish into the night and out of their immediate affairs4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,,genius ,,is ,,often ,,erratic ,the fourth radio talk on the life1 character and accomplishments of the world's foremost inventor proved to be the most interesting of the series4 ,fairview had heard of these entertainments and so many people had asked ,bill and ,gus if they might attend1 the boys became aware that the modest little living-room of the ,brown home would not hold half of them4 ,they1 therefore1 decided to let the radio be heard in the town hall1 if a few citizens would pay the rent for the evening4 ,this was readily arranged1 but when the suggestion was made that an admission be charged1 the boys refused4 ,this was their treat all round1 even to transferring their arial to the hall between its cupola and a mast at the other end of the roof1 put up by the ever willing ,mr4 ,grier who could not do too much to further the boys' interests4 ,early in the evening the hall was filled to overflowing1 and ushers were appointed to seat the crowd4 ,naturally there was much chattering and scraping of feet until suddenly a strain of music1 an orchestral selection1 began to come out of the horn and there was instant quiet4 ,after its conclusion came the voice3 ,this is our last lecture on ,edison4 ,following this will be given a series on ,marconi1 the inventor of the wireless4 ,as ,i have told you1 ,mr4 ,thomas ,alva ,edison's leap to fortune was sudden and spectacular1 as have been most of his accomplishments since4 ,those who do really great things along the lines of physical improvement1 or concerning the inception of large enterprises are apt to startle the public and to surprise thoughtful people almost as though some impossible thing had been achieved4 ,from a mere salaried operator to forty thousand dollars in a lump sum for expert work was quite a jump4 ,the forty thousand dollars1 however1 did not turn ,mr4 ,edison's head as has been the effect of sudden wealth on many a good-sized but smaller minded man4 ,he used it as a fund to start a plant and hire expert men to experiment and work out the inventions which came to him so fast in his ceaseless work and study4 ,he could get along with as little sleep as ,napoleon is said to have required when a mighty battle was on4 ,edison could lie down on a settee or table and sleep just as the ,little ,corporal did even while cannon were booming all around him4 ,there was something ,napoleonic1 also1 about ,edison's intensity of application and his masterfulness in his gigantic undertakings4 ,if genius is the ability to take great pains1 ,thomas ,a4 ,edison is the greatest genius in the world to-day--if not in all history4 ,sometimes1 as ,napoleon did with his chief generals before a decisive engagement1 ,edison would shut himself up with his confidential coworkers4 ,sometimes he and they would neither eat nor sleep till they had fought out a problem of greater importance to the world than even ,napoleon's crossing the ,alps or the decisive battle of ,austerlitz4 ,but1 though he began to work on a large scale1 young ,edison's financial facilities were of the crudest and simplest4 ,almost all of his men were on piece-work1 and he allowed them to make good salaries4 ,he never cut them down1 although their pay was very high as they became more and more expert4 ,instead of books he kept hooks--two of them4 ,all the bills he owed he jabbed on one hook1 and stuck mems of what was due him on the other4 ,if he had no tickers ready to deliver when an account came due1 he gave his note for the amount required4 ,then as one bill after another fell due1 a bank messenger came with a notice of protest pinned to the note1 demanding a dollar and a quarter extra for protest fees besides principal and interest4 ,whereupon he would go to ,new ,york and borrow more funds1 or pay the note on the spot if he happened to have money enough on hand4 ,he kept up this expensive way of doing business for two years1 but his credit was perfectly good4 ,every dealer he patronized was glad to furnish him with what he wanted1 and some expressed admiration for his new method of paying bills4 ,but1 to save his own time1 ,edison had to hire a bookkeeper whose inefficiency made him regret for a while the change in his way of doing business4 ,he tells of one of his experiences with this accountant3 ',after the first three months ,i told him to go through his books and see how much we had made4 ,three thousand dollars6 he told me after studying a while4 ,so1 to celebrate this1 ,i gave a dinner to several of the staff4 ',two days after that he came to tell me he had made a big mistake1 for we had lost five hundred dollars4 ,several days later he came round again and tried to prove to me that we had made seven thousand dollars in the three months6' ,this was so disconcerting that the inventor decided to change bookkeepers1 but he never 'counted his chickens before they were hatched4' ,in other words1 he did not believe that he had made anything till he had paid all his bills and had his money safe in the bank4 ,mr4 ,edison once made the remark that when ,jay ,gould got possession of the ,western ,union ,telegraph ,company1 no further progress in telegraphy was possible1 because ,gould took no pride in building up4 ,all he cared for was money1 only money4 ,the opposite was true of ,edison4 ,while he had decided to invent only that which was of commercial value1 it was not on account of the money but because that which millions of people will buy is of the greatest value to the world4 ,after he stopped telegraphing1 ,edison turned his mind to many inventions4 ,it is not generally known that the first successful1 widely sold typewriter was perfected by him4 ,this typewriter proved a difficult thing to make commercial4 ,the alignment of the letters was very bad4 ,one letter would be one-sixteenth of an inch above the others1 and all the letters wanted to wander out of line4 ,he worked on it till the machine gave fair results4 ,the typewriter he got into commercial shape is now known as the ,remington4 ,it is not hard to understand that ,mr4 ,edison invented the ,american ,district ,messenger call-box system1 which has been superseded by the telephone1 but very few people know when they are eating caramels and other sticky confectionery that wax or paraffin paper was invented by ,edison4 ,also the tasimeter1 an instrument so delicate that it measures the heat of the most distant star1 ,arcturus4 ,one of the few vacations ,mr4 ,edison allowed himself was when he traveled to the ,rocky ,mountains to witness a total eclipse of the sun and experiment on certain stars with his tasimeter1 and this very clearly shows that ,mr4 ,edison is as much interested in the advancement of science as in matters purely commercial4 ,,chapter ,,xxv ,,the ,,genius ,,of ,,the ,,age ,i want to tell you something more about the personal side of this great man1 continued the voice from the horn4 ,one of the striking things about ,thomas ,alva ,edison is his gameness4 ,in this respect he has been greater than ,napoleon1 who was not always a 'good loser1' for he had come to regard himself as bound to win1 whether or no2 so when everything went against him1 he expressed himself by kicking against ,fate4 ,but when ,edison saw the hard work of nine years which had cost him two million dollars vanish one night in a sudden storm1 he only laughed and said1 ',i never took much stock in spilt milk4' ,when his laboratories were burned or he suffered great reverses1 ,edison considered them merely the fortunes of war4 ,in this respect he was most like ,general ,washington1 who1 though losing more battles than he gained1 learned to 'snatch victory from the jaws of defeat1' and win immortal success4 ,some of ,edison's discoveries were dramatic and amusing4 ,during his telephone experiments he learned the power of a diaphragm to take up sound vibrations1 and he had made a little toy that1 when you talked into the funnel1 would start a paper man sawing wood4 ,then he came to the conclusion that if he could record the movements of the diaphragm well enough he could cause such records to reproduce the movements imparted to them by the human voice4 ,but in place of using a disk1 he got up a small machine with a cylinder provided with grooves around the surface4 ,over this some tinfoil was to be placed and he gave it to an assistant to construct4 ,edison had but little faith that it would work1 but he said he wanted to get up a machine that would 'talk back4' ,the assistant thought it was ridiculous to expect such a thing1 but he went ahead and followed the directions given him4 ,edison has told of this3 ',when it was finished and the foil was put on1 ,i shouted a verse of ,mary had a little lamb into the crude little machine4 ,then ,i adjusted the reproducer1 which when he began to operate it1 proceeded to grind out-- ',mary had a little lamb1 ,its fleece was white as snow1 ,and everywhere that ,mary went1 ,the lamb was sure to go' with the very quality and tones of my voice6 ,we were never so taken back in our lives4 ,all hands were called in to witness the phenomenon and1 recovering from their astonishment1 the boys joined hands and danced around me1 singing and shouting in their excitement4 ,then each yelled something at the machine--bits of slang or slurs--and it made them roar to hear that funny little contraption 'sass back6' ,edison has always had a saving sense of humor4 ,though such a driver for work--sometimes twenty hours a day seemed too short and they often worked all of twenty-four1--there was not unfrequently a jolly1 prank-playing relaxation among the employees in the laboratory4 ,if some fellow fell asleep and began snoring the others would get a record of it and play it later for the culprit or they would fix up a 'squawkophone' to outdo his racket4 ,most amusing was ,edison's means of taking a short nap by curling up in an ordinary roll-top desk1 and then turning over without falling out4 ,everybody knows ,edison really invented the telephone--that is1 he made it work perfectly and brought it to the greatest commercial value1 so that a billion men1 women and children are using it in nearly all the languages and dialects in the civilized world4 ,but he was very careful to give ,dr4 ,alexander ,graham ,bell credit for his original work on this great invention4 ,when a friend on the other side of the ,atlantic wired that the ,english had offered 'thirty thousand' for the rights to one of ,edison's improvements to the telephone for that country1 it was promptly accepted4 ,when the draft came the inventor found1 much to his surprise1 that it was for thirty thousand pounds--nearly one hundred and fifty thousand dollars4 ,the phonograph or talking machine has been considered one of ,edison's greatest inventions1 but it does not compare in importance and value with the electric incandescent burner light4 ,this required many thousands of experiments and tests to get a filament that would burn long enough in a vacuum to make the light sufficiently cheap to compete with petroleum or gas4 ,during all the years that he was experimenting on different metals and materials for the electric light which was yet to be1 in a literal sense1 the light of the world1 he had men hunting in all countries for exactly the right material out of which the carbon filament now in use is made4 ,thousands of kinds of wood1 bamboo and other vegetable substances were tried4 ,the staff made over fifty thousand experiments in all for this one purpose4 ,this illustrates the art and necessity of taking pains1 one of ,mr4 ,edison's greatest characteristics4 ,the story of producing electric light would fill a big volume4 ,when the proper filament was discovered and applied there was great rejoicing in the laboratory and a regular orgy of playing pranks and fun4 ,the philosophers say we measure time by the succession of ideas4 ,if this is true the time must have been longer and seemed shorter in ,edison's laboratories than anywhere else4 ,the great inventor seldom carried a watch and seemed not to like to have clocks about4 ,soon after he was married1 the story went the rounds of the press that within an hour or two after the ceremony1 ,edison became so engrossed with an invention that he forgot that it was his wedding day4 ,edison has declared this story to be untrue4 ',that's just one of the kind of yarns1' said the inventor laughing1 'that the reporters have to make up when they run short of news4 ,it was the invention of an imaginative chap who knows ,i'm a little absent-minded4 ,i never forgot that ,i was married4 ',but there was an incident that may have given a little color to such a story4 ,on our wedding day a lot of stock tickers were returned to the factory and were said to need overhauling4 ',about an hour after the ceremony ,i was reminded of those tickers and when we got to our new home1 ,i told my wife about them1 adding that ,i would like to walk down to the factory a little while and see if the boys had found out what was the matter4 ',she consented and ,i went down and found an assistant working on the job4 ,we both monkeyed with the machines an hour or two before we got them to rights4 ,then ,i went home4 ',my wife and ,i laughed at the story at first1 but when we came across it about every other week1 it began to get rather stale4 ,it was one of those canards that stick1 and ,i shall be spoken of always as the man who forgot his wife within an hour after he was married4' ,a similar yarn was told of ,abraham ,lincoln1 which was equally false1 but even more generally believed4 ,out of a multitude of labor savers and world-beaters--and world savers1 too6--to be credited to ,mr4 ,edison1 it is impossible to mention more than these3 ,the quadruplex telegraph system for sending four messages--two in each direction--at the same time2 the telephone carbon transmitter2 the phonograph2 the incandescent electric light and complete system2 magnetic separator2 ,edison ,effect now used in ,radio bulbs2 giant rock crushers2 alkaline storage battery2 motion picture camera4 ,these are but few of ,edison's inventions1 but they are giving employment to over a million people and making the highest use of billions of dollars4 ,with ,mr4 ,edison's modesty it is difficult to get him to talk of the relative importance of his inventions1 but he has expressed the opinion that the one of most far-reaching importance is the electric light system which includes the generation1 regulation1 distribution and measurement of electric current for light1 heat and power4 ,the invention he loves most is the phonograph as he is a lover of music4 ,he has patented about twelve hundred inventions4 ,recent developments are proving that the moving picture1 because of its educational and emotional appeal is the greatest of them all4 ,it is estimated that more than one hundred millions of people go to one of these shows once every seven days1 which is equivalent to every man1 woman and child in the ,united ,states of ,america going to a movie once a week4 ,the motion picture reaches1 teaches and preaches to more people in ,america than all the schools1 churches1 books1 magazines and newspapers put together1 and when it teaches1 it does it in a vivid way that live people like4 ,political campaigns are beginning to be carried on with the silver screen for a platform4 ,writers in great magazines are proving1 on the authority of the ,japanese themselves1 that the ,american moving picture is re-making ,japan4 ,another1 who has studied the signs of the times1 asserts that the only way to bring order out of chaos in ,russia is by means of the motion picture4 ,comparisons are of times odious1 but not in this case1 for there is no man living1 nor has there ever lived a man1 except the ,great ,teacher1 who has more greatly and generally benefited humanity or cast a stronger light upon the processes of civilization than ,thomas ,alva ,edison4 ,at the close of another musical number there was a general expectation of dismissal1 a shuffling of feet and a murmur of voices4 ,this was checked suddenly by ,bill4 ,the boy had been near the receiver all the while1 on the chance of being needed in case of mishap1 or for a sharper tuning in2 now he got what the others did not and rising he let out a yell3 ,everybody quiet6 ,something else6 and in the instant hush was heard the completion of an announcement3 --,scouts of ,america1 the ,girl ,scouts and other organizations of kindred nature1 upon their urgent invitation4 ,we are making this announcement now for the fourth and last time in the hope that it may be universally received4 ,mr4 ,edison will now probably be here within an hour from this minute4 ,all the youth of the land who may avail themselves of radio service will please respond and listen in4 ,in a warmly appreciative sense this must be a gala occasion4 ,that's all1 folks2 ,i'm certain4 ,bill shouted the school yell and the class year3 ,umpah1 umpah1 ho1 ho2 it's up to you1 ,fairview1 #aibb6 ,then3 ,bring 'em all back here1 ,gus4 ,but not one of them needed urging nor reminding4 ,separating themselves from the rapidly diminishing and retreating audience came ,ted1 ,terry1 ,cora1 ,dot1 ,grace1 with ,skeets as a guest1 ,bert ,haskell1 ,mary ,dean1 ,lem ,upsall1 ,walt ,maynard1 ,lucy ,shore and ,sara ,fortescue1 the entire bunch eagerly attentive4 ,they crowded around ,bill and ,gus and were well aware of the purpose4 ,sure1 we'll all be here1 ,i'll bet a cow6 shouted ,ted4 ,dot and ,i could listen in on our own radio1 said ,cora4 ,we've got it finished and it works fine and dandy1 ,billy4 ,we want you and ,gus and everybody to come over and try it4 ,but we'll join in with the class on this2 eh1 ,dot8 ,sure will1 agreed ,dot4 ,ours is only a crystal set1 but it has some improvements you boys haven't seen4 ,wait till we get it all done1 and we'll give you a spread and a surprise4 ,say1 ,bill1 this thing's great1 ,terry said4 ,father is going to get me an outfit in the city and ,i'll pay you and ,gus to set it up for-- ,set it up yourself1 you lazy thing6 said ,cora4 ,if you please1 miss1 ,i've got other matters-- ,all right1 ,terry1--see you later about it4 ,now1 listen1 hopefuls4 ,you'll all be here1 but this occasion is going to be incomplete1 unless we have a lot more on deck4 ,we all want to get out1 and scout round and fetch in every kid that wants to amount to anything at all and is big enough to understand and appreciate what's going on4 ,and even then it won't be quite up to snuff unless-- ,i know6 ,you want ,mr4 ,hooper here1 too6 shouted ,skeets4 ,but in trying to rise to make herself heard1 she upset her chair and then sat down on the floor1 jarring the building4 ,when the shout of mirth subsided1 ,bill said3 ,that's right4 ,mr4 ,hooper and ,professor ,gray4 ,we'll have to tell them about it4 ,father wrote that he's coming home to-night1 announced ,grace proudly4 ,great shakes6 ,did he8 ,gus1 get on the 'phone and find out6 ,bill commanded4 ,now1 then1 let's all get busy and---- ,righto1 ,billy1 but what will our folks think has become of us when it's so late8 ,dot questioned4 ,i move we go into executive session6 shouted ,walt ,maynard4 ,sure1 and the president of the class can call a meeting1 said ,terry ,watkins4 ,it's up to you then1 ,billy1 ,cora agreed4 ,i call it4 ,come to order and dispense with the minutes1 ,miss ,secretary1 ,billy grinned at ,dot4 ,motion in order to send a committee to inform all the girls' parents4 ,i make that motion1 said ,bert4 ,second it4 ,the boys' parents can get wise by radio1 asserted ,ted4 ,bert and ,ted appointed4 ,get out and get busy6 ,bill was no joke as an executive4 ,here's ,gus4 ,did you get ,mrs4 ,hooper8 ,i sure did4 ,mr4 ,hooper got home an hour ago4 ,glory6 ,grace1 you're driving your little runabout8 ,i appoint ,grace and ,mary a committee to go and get ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,hooper here right off4 ,no objections8 ,don't fail1 ,grace1 or we'll send the entire bunch4 ,we'll fetch him1 laughed ,grace as she and ,mary hurried out4 ,now then1 everybody else1 including the chair1 is appointed a committee to bring in every boy and girl in the town who will come4 ,work fast6 ,i wonder if we could promise some eats4 ,bill glanced at ,terry4 ,yes2 tell them there'll be refreshments6 shouted the rich boy4 ,it'll be my treat4 ,bill1 make me a committee of one to hive the grub4 ,cakes1 candy1 bananas and ice cream2 eh8 ,done6 declared ,bill4 ,go to it1 with the class's blessing6 ,yes and ,heaven's best on ,terry ,watkins1 said ,cora4 ,in a moment the hall was empty4 ,twenty minutes later the ,hooper party arrived and about three minutes thereafter who should appear but ,professor ,gray1 hurried1 eager1 registering disappointment when he saw the empty room1 then smiling as the ,hoopers and ,mary ,dean came to greet him4 ,i had hoped to find my class here1 he began and was interrupted by the thump of ,bill's crutch on the steps without4 ,forgetting his support the boy leaped1 rather than limped1 forward1 followed more sedately by several lads and lasses he had rounded up4 ,if this isn't the best thing that ever happened6 shouted ,bill1 grasping the hands of the two men held out to him4 ,both of you6 ,and you1 too1 ,mrs4 ,hooper4 ,great6 ,just got back1 ,professor6 ,and now we're going to get the very thing we talked about1 ,mr4 ,hooper3 we're going to hear ,mr4 ,edison's voice or that of his right-hand man1 nearly three hundred miles away4 ,the rest of the bunch will be here in a minute4 ,i expect ,gus and ,ted and ,cora to fetch in a few dozen besides4 ,hello1 here's ,terry with the eats4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,,good ,,counsel ,this quite overcomes me1 said ,professor ,gray to ,mr4 ,hooper4 ,i hurried back to invite some of my pupils to hear a message from ,mr4 ,edison's laboratory2 but trust ,bill to do the thing in a monumental fashion6 ,that there lad's a reg'lar rip-snorter1 ,perfesser4 ,you can't beat him4 ,well1 now1 let's set down here in the middle2 eh1 ,mother8 an' wait fer what's a-comin'4 ,i want a chance to tell the ,perfesser 'bout that there water-power plant an' what them boys done4 ,them's the lads1 ,i'm a-sayin'4 ,but conversation was out of the question1 for in came another troop of youngsters1 landed by ,cora1 ,dot and ,lucy1 followed a moment later by more1 invited by the boys1 who had joined forces in the street4 ,the hall was half filled by an expectant and noisy throng4 ,of course1 half of them anticipated the refreshments more eagerly than anything else4 ,these were already1 under the ministration of a young woman from the confectionery hastily engaged by ,terry1 now becoming evident4 ,bill was beside the radio outfit1 silently listening with the ear 'phones clamped to the side of his head4 ,suddenly he arose and shouted3 ,quiet6 ,silence1 everybody1 and listen hard6 ,out of the horn again came the well-known voice of the transmitting station official announcer3 ,it gives us great pleasure to be able to broadcast very worth while messages of helpfulness and cheer to the youth of ,america4 ,this occasion and opportunity was largely inspired by the ,boy ,scouts and the ,girl ,scouts and it will interest you to know that the presidents1 secretaries and many of the executive officers of these splendid organizations are now here with us in person to inspire the occasion4 ,they have asked me to express to you the hope that every ,girl and ,boy ,scout--and ,i add every other self-respecting girl and boy--has access to a radio receiver and is now listening in to catch these words4 ,i will now reproduce for you a message from one of the world's foremost citizens and greatest men1 one who has brought more joy and comfort to civilized millions than any other man of his time1 and therefore the greatest inventor in history2 ,mr4 ,thomas ,alva ,edison will now speak to the boys and girls of ,america through his constant associate and devoted friend1 ,mr4 ,william ,h4 ,meadowcroft4 ,there was a slight pause4 ,the silence in the hall was most impressive4 ,bill cast his eyes for a brief moment over the waiting throng4 ,there was in the eager faces1 some almost wofully serious1 some half-smiling1 all wide-eyed and with craning necks1 a tremendous indication of an almost breathless interest4 ,then1 from the horn came slow and measured accents in a loud voice1 perhaps a trifle tremulous from a proper feeling of the gravity of the occasion1 but it was perfectly distinct3 ,young people1 ,i-- ,that's ,bill--hello1 ,bill ,medders--when did you------8 ,and the startled company1 staring about1 saw ,mr4 ,hooper stumbling forward in the aisle toward the trumpet4 ,you win1 me lads1 you-- ,bill ,brown could not help laughing at the impetuous honesty of his kind old friend4 ,pointing to the horn1 and placing his hand like a shell behind his own ear1 the amused boy signed to the excited old man to listen4 ,the old geezer looks like ',his ,master's ,voice1' don't he8 came like a sneer from the background4 ,during the pandemonium1 the voice in the trumpet was proceeding quite unperturbed4 ,silence6 shouted ,bill1 looking severely in the direction of the seat of the scornful4 ,all please listen in on this4 ,mr4 ,meadowcroft is speaking4 ,the confusion subsided and they heard these words3 --sometimes impossible to get ,mr4 ,edison's attention for weeks at a time4 ,he has his meals brought in and sleeps in the laboratory--when he sleeps at all--and so intense is his interest in his work that it is useless to attempt to disturb him even for what seems to me to be business of the highest importance4 ,but he has permitted me to express his deep and sincere interest in all you young people1 and ,i am adding1 on my own responsibility1 three expressions of his which now seem to have maximum force because he has used them3 ',never mind the milk that's spilt4' ,genius is one per cent4 inspiration1 and ninety-nine per cent4 perspiration4' ',don't watch--don't clock the watch--oh6--don't watch the ,,clock6--' ,why1 ,mr4 ,edison1 ,i thought you--,i have just been explaining why you couldn't come--and now 7with a laugh7 here you are6 ,there was a hearty chuckle and another voice said3 ,i know it's mean to make you a victim of misplaced confidence1 but it came across me like a flash that ,i couldn't do a better thing for the ,boy ,scouts and ,girls ,scouts and all the 'good scouts1' old and young1 than to broadcast a good word for my friend ,marconi4 ,so ,i have run up here to speak to the ,radio ,boys after all4 ,i know it's a shame1 but-- ,nothing of the sort1 ,mr4 ,edison1--not on your life6 7,it is the more familiar voice of ,mr4 ,meadowcroft now47 ,wait1 let me introduce you3 ,boys and girls1 you are now 'listening in' with ,thomas ,alva ,edison1 who said1 like the young man in the parable1 ',i go not1' then he changed his mind and went4 ,he is here--not to give you any message for or about himself1 but to express his regard for the man to whom all ,radio ,boys and ,girls owe so much4 ,mr4 ,edison has come on purpose to say a word to you4 ,when the room was in a silence so solemn that those present could hear their own hearts beat1 the voice the company now recognized as ,mr4 ,edison's came through with trumpet clearness3 ,i have great admiration and high regard for ,marconi1 the pioneer inventor of wireless communication4 ,i wish you all the happiness that ,comes through usefulness4 ,good night4 ,mr4 ,edison--one moment6 ,in the name of the millions who are not 'listening in' on this1 won't you please write this sentiment so that it can be seen as well as heard8 ,all right--came through in ,edison's voice4 ,a brief pause ensued and--,thank you1 ,mr4 ,edison1 from ,mr4 ,meadowcroft in a low tone1 which he immediately raised3 ,mr4 ,edison has just written the words you have heard him speak to be broadcast1 as it were1 to the young eyes of ,america4,a ,hearty cheers followed this closing announcement1 but as the speakers they had heard were not aware of this1 the demonstration soon ceased4 ,exuberant youth1 however1 must be heard1 and so1 led by the irrepressible ,ted1 they immediately sought fresh inspiration and began to cheer whomever and whatever came quickly into their minds2 first ,bill and ,gus1 with demands for a speech from ,bill2 then in answer to the school yell1 they cheered the school and ,professor ,gray4 ,finally they began to cheer the refreshments as these suddenly developed a full-form materialization4 ,but this was suddenly switched off into a sort of doubtful hurrah as ,mr4 ,hooper1 with his wife trying to dissuade him by his coat-tails1 arose and cleared his throat4 ,lads and lasses3 ,i sez to this 'ere lad1 ,bill ,brown1 sez ,i1 some time back2 ,i sez3 ',bill1 me lad1 if you ever fix it so's ,i kin hear my old friend ,bill ,medders talkin' out loud more'n a hunderd mile off1' ,i sez1 'then1' ,i sez1 ',i'll give you a thousand dollers4' ,well1 this ,bill1 he sez3 ',no1 sir1 ,mr4 ,hooper1' he sez3 ',we won't accept of no sich1' he sez1 an' what he sez he sticks to1 this 'ere lad ,bill does1 an' so does his buddy1 ,gus1 'ere4 ,so1 young people1 ,i'm goin' to tell you what ,i'm a-goin' to do4 ,i'm goin' to spend that thousand some way to sort o' remember this occasion by1 an' it'll be spent fer whatever your teacher here an' ,bill an' ,gus an' any more that want to git into it sez it shall be4 ,an'1 b'jinks1 if you spring anything extry fine an' highfalutin ,i'll double it--make it two thousand2 anything to help 'em along1 gettin' an eddication1 which ,i ain't got1 ner never kin git1 but my gal shall an' all her young friends4 ,so1 go to it1 folks1 an' ,i'm thinkin' my friends1 ,bill an' ,gus-- ,roaring cheers interrupted the earnest speaker4 ,he smiled broadly and sat down4 ,professor ,gray got to his feet1 but ,bill1 not seeing him1 was first to be heard when the crowd silenced2 the boy had got to the platform and then on a chair4 ,standing there balanced on his crutch1 a hand where his shoulder usually rested1 he was a sight to stir the pathos and inspire admiration in any crowd4 ,i say1 people1 give three royal yells for ,mr4 ,hooper6 ,he's one of the dearest old chaps that ever drew breath6 ,ready1 now---- ,the roof didn't quite raise1 but the nails may have been loosened some and the timbers strained4 ,with the ceasing of the cheers1 ,bill shouted again3 ,and now don't forget ,professor ,gray6 ,he's going to be in on this deal1 big1 as you know6 ,again the walls trembled4 ,once more ,bill was heard3 ,and ,i have this suggestion3 ,we'll put up a radio broadcasting station at the school4 ,get a government license1 find means to make our service worth while and talk to anyone we want to4 ,how's that8 ,the building didn't crumble1 but it surely shook4 ,and then ,professor ,gray had the floor3 ,girls and boys1 we mustn't forget ,william ,brown and ,augustus ,grier4 ,you can hardly mention one without the other4 ,i propose-- ,gus shamelessly interrupted his respected teacher and friend3 ,three yells for ,bill ,brown's radio6 ,let her go6 ,it went2 as did also the refreshments a little later4 ,how ,bill's idea of building a radio broadcasting station was carried out will be told in ,bill ,brown ,listens ,in4 ,,the ,,end ,footnote ,a3 ,this message will be found in facsimile in the foreword of this book4