Alexander Black

“ Ever since I saw those rooms in your coach-house, I have been thinking that it would be a fine idea for us to have them for a club—a camera club, if your father would let us have them. Now, if you really think you couldn’t be happy with all that money, why not take some of it and spend it fixing up the rooms and getting things for a club?”
“Splendid!” cried Allan. “It wouldn’t seem so good as giving to you, Owen; but it would be great to have a club, and we could all have the use of better materials than we could afford to have on our own account.” ”

“ It seemed for a time as if they would have to give him up.
“Oh, there’s Big Wolf!” exclaimed McConnell. “I suppose he would know where he was.”
“I’ve a mind to ask him,” said Allan. In a moment he did gather courage to hurry over to where Big Wolf was standing, solemnly and deliberately folding a red blanket.
“Do you know where Mr. Twink is?” asked Allan, in a loud voice, as people always do when they talk to a foreigner or one whom they fear will not understand them.
Big Wolf turned and mutely pointed toward a distant group of men. Yes, Mr. Twink was there. “Thank you,” said Allan. ”

“ Hartel in the doorway. “I photographed with a pinhole when I was a lad.”
“You did!” cried Allan. “You never told me about it.”
“I don’t see how the picture ever squeezes through,” said McConnell.
“Light is wonderful,” mused Allan, prying further into the box.
“Everything in nature is wonderful,” said the Doctor, “when you come to know about it. Your lens is wonderful, but not more wonderful than the hole among the leaves of a tree that photographs the sun on the ground underneath. It isn’t any more wonderful than the way the plate catches and keeps the image.” ”

“ The Arabella was making good time in a southwest breeze, and was heading straight up the broad, majestic river. The ripples whispered under the bow, there was a chuckle in the rudder’s wake, and from the throat of the boom came a grunt of contentment. The boys all shouted a greeting as they passed Mr. Goodstone in his catamaran.
“Mr. Goodstone in his catamaran.”
Allan suspected that the wind would wane at sunset, and in the course of an hour turned the bow of the Arabella to the northwest, to which course the wind was entirely favorable. ”

“ Hartel to Allan, “that if we have war—”
“If we have war!” cried Allan; “we must have war. They have blown up one of our battle ships!”
“Well,” said the Doctor, quietly, “we don’t know that yet. And I should hardly say that we must have war. War is a very serious business.”
“I think we ought to make it very serious for the other side,” insisted Allan, heatedly.
“It would be very serious for both sides,” said the Doctor. “I was going to say that I supposed you would want to go to the front with your camera. ”

“ THE SAILING OF THE ARABELLA.
FOR over a week Allan was so busy over school matters that he had no time to do more than develop his foot-ball negatives; but those gay October days seemed like the best of all outing days. “I want to take that cat-boat cruise just as soon as I can,” Allan said to McConnell.
“Then you had better begin signing your crew,” said McConnell.
“What berth would you like?” Allan asked.
“Well, I don’t suppose you would make me first mate. I’d be satisfied with second mate. I know Owen will want to be first mate.”
“I wish we three could go,” mused Allan. ”

“ Allan turned the Arabella farther to the starboard, drawing in the sheet.
“We must make some noise—all the noise we can,” said Allan; “it will be better than any signal. They would never see us in time.” Thereupon Allan took two of their pans and began clashing them together as violently as he could. McConnell took two flat pieces of wood from the bottom of the boat and produced sounds like pistol shots by clapping them together. But the rumble of the paddle wheels grew louder, until Allan began straining his eyes for a sight of the approaching danger. ”

“ Allan Hartel, the Doctor’s son, said, “If I’d only had a camera!”
Allan recalled how Main Street cleared, or tried to clear, when the elephant was first discovered; and the way the elephant swung his trunk, and dropped into a hobbling trot before he struck the trolley car. He recalled the frantic movement of the motorman as he caught sight of the big, lumbering beast at the corner.
“If I’d only had a camera!” He recalled the brave way that Policeman Ryan stepped out into the street, waving his club, and the way he dodged when the elephant swung at him with his trunk. ”

“ Yes, yes. Blickens,” said Mr. Prenwood to the man who had first encountered Allan, “you’ve got the shadow; the substance has escaped.”
The man laughed. “I never knowed, sir.”
“Come into the house,” said Mr. Prenwood, who was laughing a little to himself. “Well, well! I never expected to see you this way, Mr. Allan Hartel. You see, I remember your name. And I’m glad to see you again. And what a monster this convict must have been to treat you so! Though I suppose you got off very well. ”

“ North and south were the irregular lines of the shore, lighted by patches of sunlight that were moved quickly by the scurrying white clouds overhead.
“I can just see the Arabella,” said Allan, as Owen reached far out with the camera.
To stand firmly on the head of the rock proved to be no easy matter, by reason of the narrow space and the energy of the breeze. The difficulties Allan overcame successfully as he opened his camera and set his diaphragm and shutter. ”

“ And he asked them to be sure that the focus was right and that the shutter had been set, ordered McConnell to pull in on the sheet, and Owen to hand up the camera carefully.
“I tell you, mother,” he said one day to Mrs. Hartel, his eyes glistening, “I’ve thought over the finest way to develop films! They have never thought of it! Why, it’s dead easy! All you have to do is soak the film in—in—there, I’ve—I’ve forgotten just what it was, but—oh, it’s very easy! I’ll have great fun showing them at the club.” ”

“ Owen did not put down the tiller until they were within forty feet of the shore. Then Allan let go the peak, pushed over the anchor, and they all sprang at the flapping sail.
Fortunately the cove afforded shelter from the full vigor of the wind, and made less difficult than might have been expected the task of lowering the sail. The slight shelter made it possible also to hold the lowered sail in a position to cover the pit of the boat.
“All hands to the pumps!” shouted Allan, and all three (McConnell with a drinking-cup) bailed energetically until the boat had again been made habitable. ”

“ But Allan thought Sporty had not looked very happy. “We’ll have to take him again some time when he’s in the humor,” Allan suggested, “or when he isn’t looking.”
“That’s so,” Dobbs said; “good idea—when he doesn’t know it.” He looked after Sporty as the boy went back to his boat, which had drifted far out of her course. “I tell you, he’s one of the greatest boys you ever saw. He’s simply wonderful. You ought to see him do the cart-wheel. When can I see that picture?”
“Probably I’ll develop it to-night and you can see a proof to-morrow.”
“Good! Are you ready to go to New York?” ”

“ Their breakfast exhausted the resources of the commissary department. “You see,” said Owen, “we didn’t expect to be away until to-day, did we?”
“We’ll be late for church,” chuckled McConnell.
“We may be late for supper,” complained Allan. “Do you see the fog?”
“Yes,” said Owen; “you could cut it with a knife. We can’t budge until it lifts.”
“And all the grub gone,” sighed McConnell.
“We haven’t even a horn,” said Allan. “It makes you feel helpless. ”

“ Even the big white bear at the Zoo, who always looked bored when he saw a camera, stared curiously at the Hazenfield party; the ostriches looked 142scornful, and the rhinoceros seemed likely to strangle himself in an effort to keep himself out of sight under water.
Of course Allan photographed the elephants. All the members wanted to photograph the elephants, and Major Mines induced the keeper to make special display of the Princess; and the Princess, while not at all guilty of looking pleasant, at least turned an almost motionless profile to the bristling battery of cameras. ”

“ Just want to be sure things are ready.”
“Owen always has a hunger on,” laughed McConnell.
“You’re right,” confessed Owen. “Especially in a boat. Anywhere else I just have a plain appetite. But the minute I get into a boat, my stomach begins to howl for food. Besides, it’s after four o’clock and I didn’t eat much lunch.”
“Then what do you say to a bite now?” asked Allan, “and then wait until we anchor for real supper. We must make tracks as long as the sun lasts.”
“I’m with you,” said Owen. “Of course McConnell doesn’t want anything.” ”

“ One day he said, “It’s funny that Owen doesn’t get back. But I suppose he’s living with Alexander Hamilton—poor old man! You had better send over and get Owen. If it hadn’t been for the fog—how foggy it is again!”
Owen came every day to ask about his chum’s condition; and McConnell, who was pitifully upset, never could understand why he was forbidden to see Allan, or to help take care of him.
There were many inquirers,—Major Mines, Miss Manston, Mr. Thornton, Mrs. Creigh, and other members of the Camera Club, and Detective Dobbs often called in. ”

“ THE COMING OF THE CAMERA.
ON the day when the circus came to Hazenfield; one of the elephants broke loose and strolled up Main Street; and when they chased him he knocked down three lamp-posts, the stone boy on the drinking-fountain, upset a trolley car, broke the insurance company’s sign, smashed the helmet of Policeman Ryan, and fell into a hole in front of the barber’s. ”

“ A great chorus of sounds went up from the West End—the shouts of hawkers and doorkeepers; the blare of a dozen merry-go-round organs; the whir and clatter of the switch-back railways; the hum of thousands of voices; the screams of children at the water’s edge, mingling with the swish and roar of the surf. ”

“ You’re in it too. Say, I want to be a member, if you’ll take me.”
“I don’t see why not,” laughed Allan, “now that you’re a photographer.”
“Well,” said Dobbs, moving the bristles of his mustache again, “I’m not much of a photographer yet. I’ve only had courage to push the button once. I was just going to take the zebra—thought Sporty might like to see it.”
“What kind of a camera is yours?” asked McConnell. “Just a plain Detective, I suppose,” interposed Allan, laughing.
“It’s a Dashaway,” said Dobbs. “I got it through a pard of mine here in New York. He says it’s a good one. ”

“ The English inventor of photography made negatives first on paper and then on glass. These could be used for making any number of positives or prints.”
“I see,” said Edith, her eyes on the plate. “Is anything more coming, Owen?”
“Yes,” said McConnell, “more little spots, and they are getting blacker. I think I see some flames shooting up.”
But Owen did not seem very sanguine. “It doesn’t seem to come out very well,” he mused. “I guess this one is the snap-shot.”
“Then there will be more on the two others!” cried Allan, hopefully. ”

“ There were handsome faces of both men and women, some of them very young—mere boys and girls, sometimes—and the well-dressed and the ragged were shoulder to shoulder. One face, that of a boy who appeared to be of about Allan’s age, held Allan’s attention until Dobbs asked if he knew the face. ”

“ The fate of the Maine and the prospect of war entirely changed the current of photographic enthusiasm at the club. The boys, especially, turned unanimously to war themes. Owen had made some pictures at the Brooklyn Navy Yard when he first had his camera. He had a picture of the Boston taking coal, and another showing the terrible twin guns in the forward turret of the New York. At the second lantern show in February, Major Mines displayed the mechanism of some of the rapid-fire guns, and had a capital plate showing the disappearing gun at Sandy Hook. ”

“ Merring said, with a laugh. “Your dodging is the feature of the day.”
“An incredibly quick scattering of the players.”
However, Allan found it to be impossible, with his limited experience, to get close-quarter pictures. He knew it worried the players to see him too close, and he felt that with the weakening light he could not use the highest speed of his camera shutter. Close quarters meant a blur. Distance meant small figures. Yet this was the best that could be done.
To make best use of the light, too, he shot rapidly,—and this had its natural results when he came to develop his films. ”

“ What do you always want to spell things for? It begins with a d-i-a and then gets all mixed up—ho, here it is in the directions, if you must spell it—‘d-i-a-p-h-r-a-g-m.’”
“What does it do?”
Allan was turning the disk. “Look,” he said; and they saw that the diaphragm had three holes in it, and that any one of these holes could be brought opposite the centre of the lens.
“I don’t see how anything could possibly get through that!” exclaimed McConnell, staring at the smallest opening.
“Why,” said Allan, “Owen says you can photograph through a pinhole—with a pinhole, I think he said.” ”

“ Owen ventured.
“Will there be girls here?” asked McConnell, with perhaps a little of disappointment in his tone.
“Why not?” demanded Allan.
“Oh,” said McConnell, with a shrug of his shoulders, “I didn’t think they had girls in a club. I knew they had them in societies, and associations, and lodges, and circles,—but not in clubs.”
130“Pshaw!” said Owen, “girls belong to everything nowadays.”
“I don’t suppose we need worry,” said Allan, “they may not think it is nice enough to join. We’ve got to fix this place up a good deal before many will want to join. ”

“ Dobbs asked. “There’s big game in New York; you want to be loaded for bear.”
Allan had not been to New York for several months, and now that he had his camera with him the prospect of so many interesting subjects for pictures filled him with a pleasant excitement. It was a bright day, and as he looked out across the glistening Hudson he made up his mind to “do” the Palisades sometime. He remembered a cat-boat cruise he had taken with the McConnell boys, how they almost had been wrecked near Fort Lee. Yes, he thought a cat-boat and a camera would make a good combination. ”

“ When they did not agree, Allan made the best use he could of their judgment. The truth is that Allan had been reading so much about photography lately that he had made up his mind on a great many points. Dr. Hartel had told him that he must experiment on his own account. “What you will learn from these experiments,” he said, “may be worth more to you than the pictures. You must try and learn something from each experiment. This is the only way you will ever really know a thing. We act on the best advice we can get to begin with ”

“ You have things that you want to do on your own account. But I would like very much if you would go with me and have lunch. When I was a boy I got frightfully hungry at this time of day, and I haven’t altogether recovered from the habit yet.”
Owen thanked Mr. Prenwood, but said they had some lunch with them.
“Yes, I know,” laughed Mr. Prenwood, “you have some dry lunch. But that isn’t enough. Oh, I know! Come along. We’ll eat that—and something else with it! Some oysters, for instance, or chowder, or sweet corn, or watermelon. And how about buttermilk and pie and ice-cream? Hey?” ”

“ Allan and the detective found Sporty down at a little inlet of the river near the house. He wore red-striped bathing trunks, and was sailing a boat, which he pushed into her proper course with a long stick.
“Say, Pop,” Sporty called out, when he saw his father, “I wish you’d buy me a steamboat.” Then Sporty noticed Allan and the camera, and looked curiously at the black box.
“Sporty,” said Dobbs, “you’re going to have your picture taken.”
“Am I?” Sporty peered again at Allan. “Must I put on my Sunday clothes?”
“No, Sporty,” said the detective, “no clothes will do. You’re just right.” ”