Allen Chapman

“ If I were you I wouldn't let him have a scrap of that chocolate, Jimmy."
"I suppose I shouldn't. I ought to let him chew on a piece of that paraffine that Bob's melting. He's so foolish sometimes that I don't think he'd ever know the difference."
"Well, we can't all of us be wise," said Joe. "But I've got a hunch that I'd rather have the chocolate, so here goes," and he helped himself to a generous piece. "When are you going to have that wax cooked good and tender, Bob?"
"Suppose you leave the wax to me, and you get busy cutting out some squares of tinfoil and paper," suggested Bob. ”

“ Nobody else will have a look in."
"All you'll win will be the nickel plated necktie for trying," said Herb. "If you really want to see the winner of the first prize, just gaze steadily in my direction," and he grinned.
"I'm not saying anything, but that doesn't prove that I'm not thinking a lot," said Bob. "Never leave little Bob Layton out of it when there's a prize hanging around to be picked."
"It would be just like your beastly luck to win it," said Jimmy.
"There won't be much luck about this, I guess," said Joe. ”

“ To them they narrated what they had learned of Miss Berwick's story. Their friends shared their own indignation and were quite as keen as themselves to hear the end of the story.
"What did you say the fellow's name was?" asked Herb, as the quartette walked along Main Street.
"Cassey, she said it was—Dan Cassey," replied Bob. "Ever hear of any one by that name?"
"It sounds rather familiar," replied Herb, knitting his brows as he tried to remember.
"Wait!" he said suddenly. "I've almost got it—Cassey! Cassey! Does the man stutter, do you know?"
"She didn't say anything about that," replied Joe. ”

“ Bob continued during the temporary quiet that ensued, "I was just thinking what a mighty fine thing it would be for these poor folks who never have any fun if they could have a radio attachment in their own houses so that no matter how crippled they were, they could listen to a concert or the news, or any old thing they wanted to, without going outside their houses." ”

“ CHAPTER IX WORK AND FUN "Well, fellows," said Bob, "here we are, all set for a busy evening.
What shall we do first?"
"What I'd suggest," said Jimmy, "would be for everybody to have a little milk chocolate, just to start things off right," and he produced a huge bar of that toothsome confection and passed it around, with an earnest invitation to everybody to "help himself."
"It isn't such a bad idea, at that," admitted Bob, breaking off a chunk that made Jimmy gasp. ”

“ CHAPTER X A STEALTHY RASCAL "Did you really say pie, Bob?" asked Jimmy in a rapturous voice.
"And apple pie at that? Or was it all only a beautiful dream?"
"There's only one way to find out, and that's to go and see," said Bob. "Last man up gets the smallest piece," and he made a dash for the stairs, closely followed by the others. Poor Jimmy, in spite of a surprising burst of speed on his part, was the last one up, and arrived out of breath, but ready to argue against Bob's dictum. ”

“ One day the hardware dealer of whom they had purchased their supplies called Bob, Joe and Jimmy into his establishment.
"Got something to show you," he declared importantly. "New box set, just from New York, and sells for only twenty-two fifty. Better than any you can make. Want to try it? There's a concert coming in from Springfield right now."
"Yes, sir, we'd like to try it, and it's good of you to let us," answered Bob. "But we believe in making our own sets. That's more than half the fun." ”

“ Dale is going to give us to-night on the wireless telephone," answered Bob, as he edged over a little to give Jimmy room to walk beside them. "You're going, aren't you? The doctor said he wanted all the boys to come who could."
"Do you suppose there'll be any eats?" asked Jimmy, who was round and fat, and who went by the nickname of "Doughnuts" among his mates because of his fondness for that special delicacy.
"Always thinking of that precious stomach of yours!" laughed Bob. "Jimmy, I'm ashamed of you. You're getting so fat now that pretty soon you won't have to walk to school. ”

“ For an hour that seemed only a minute in length all listened to a concert of exquisite music both vocal and instrumental, a concert given by some of the world's great artists and plucked from the air for their benefit.
Once Aunty Bixby dropped her trumpet and was heard to murmur something like "drat the thing!" But Jimmy gruntingly got down on his knees and retrieved the instrument from its hiding place under a chair. Then, finding she had missed part of a violin selection, the old woman exclaimed irritably. ”

“ Bob, as the more self controlled of the chums, served as a sort of check on the impulsiveness of his friend, and had many times kept him out of trouble. Joe shared Bob's fondness for athletic sports, and, like him, was a leading spirit in the baseball and football teams of the town.
Another thing that drew the boys together was their keen interest in anything pertaining to science. Each had marked mechanical ability, and would at any time rather put a contrivance together by their own efforts than to have it bought for them ready made. ”

“ The bully started back in surprise and consternation, which was not diminished when Joe followed his friend's example and stood at his side.
"What are you butting in for?" Buck snapped, as soon as he recovered his breath.
"Because I choose to," answered Bob. "Because I won't stand by and see you hit a fellow half your size. If it's fighting you're looking for, I'll give you all the fighting you want right here and now. If your gang want to mix in, Joe will take care of Lutz and Jimmy can look after Mooney. But I'll take you on myself. ”

“ You know you're too fat and lazy, to make up a set all by your lonesome."
"I'm not too lazy to try, anyway," returned the fat boy, "and that's more than some people can say."
"He's got you there, Herb," laughed Bob. "Why don't you start in and make a try for it, anyway?"
"Nothing doing," said Herb. "If I took the trouble to make a wireless outfit good enough to cop that prize, I'd expect them to pay me a thousand dollars for it instead of a measly little hundred."
"To hear you talk, anyone would think that hundred dollar bills grew on trees," said Joe. ”

“ There were no grown people in the gathering, for the doctor had especially confined his invitation to the boys, who, he knew, would feel more at ease in the absence of their elders.
"There's Talley's wagon," remarked Jimmy, as he noted the presence at the curb of a vehicle bearing the name of the leading caterer of the town. "I'll bet we're going to have some eats."
"And you've just come from the supper table!" exclaimed Bob.
"He's like a trolley car," chaffed Joe. "You can always crowd more into it." ”

“ After breakfast he started down town to see about the jitney, met Joe on the way, and the two boys went on together, talking excitedly of their preparations.
"Dad says I can have the big car and the garage man will run it," Joe informed him gleefully. "Gee, I was never so surprised in my life. All he said was 'take it, my son, and Heaven grant you never want it for a worse purpose.' Great old sport, dad is."
"Gee, that's great," said Bob. "Now if we can only find some old bus that looks as if it will stand up for a mile or two, everything will be dandy." ”

“ Of course the whole thing is based on electricity, the most wonderful thing that perhaps there is in the whole physical world. Nobody knows what electricity is—Mr. Edison himself doesn't know. We only know that it is a wonderful fluid and that the ether is full of it. But though we don't know what it is, scientific men have learned how to develop and use its energy, and among other things they have harnessed it in the service of the wireless telephone. ”

“ You always seem to get all the soft jobs, anyhow. Whenever there's anything real hard to do, like this job, for instance, it gets wished on me."
"That's because we know you like hard work," said Bob, laughing.
"Well, I get it whether I like it or not," complained Jimmy. "But it's almost done now, so I'll finish it quickly and prevent any of you fellows having to do some real work."
"Jimmy's certainly good at that, you have to admit it," said Joe. ”

“ Bob frowned. It bothered him to be interrupted, especially when it was hard to express what he felt.
"Shut-ins," he repeated impatiently. "People who can't get out and have fun like us fellows."
"Oh, you mean cripples like Joel Banks," said Herb with relief.
"Gee, did you just find that out?" murmured Jimmy, turning over on his stomach and wondering if he really ought to have eaten that last doughnut. "Some folks are awful stupid."
Herb showed a strong desire to avenge this insult, but Joe quelled the threatened riot.
"Cut out the rough stuff, can't you, fellows?" he asked disgustedly. ”

“ Jimmy and Herb himself caught the idea, at the same time, and they gazed speculatively at each other. There was more recrimination between the stutterer and his tormentor, and the boys listened attentively, hoping to get some clue to the whereabouts of the afflicted one's station. But they could get no hint of this, and finally the voice ceased, leaving them full of hope but with little that was definite to found their suspicions on.
"Of course, it may not mean anything at all," said Bob. "This Dan
Cassey isn't the only man in the world who stutters." ”

“ If you Indians had your way I'd be worn to a shadow in no time."
"It's easy to see we don't have our way much, then," laughed Herb.
"You've got a long way to go before you get in the shadow class, Jim."
"It can't be too far to suit me," responded that youth. "But what I want to know is, is that tuning coil wound yet? Seems to me you take a lot of time to do a simple thing like that."
"You'd better sing small, or first thing you know you'll find yourself in the coal bin," threatened Joe. "How about throwing him in just for luck, fellows?"
"You've got a funny idea of what luck is," said Jimmy. ”

“ A little later they stood entranced in the Convention Hall before a new, beautifully modeled radio amplifier, so massive that the volume of music it poured forth actually seemed to cause vibration in the walls of the great room in which they stood.
One of the most interesting features was the radio-controlled automobile. The crowd before this almost incredible invention was so dense that the operator was handicapped in his demonstration.
The car was about seven feet in length, with a cylindrical mass of wire rising about six feet above its body. ”

“ Brandon is a smart man."
"Meaning that I'm not, I suppose?" said Joe. "Well, there's no need of my being smart as long as you're around with your keen young mind."
"It's nice of you to say so," said Jimmy, choosing to ignore the sarcasm in Joe's tone. "I never expected to hear you admit it, though."
"I'll have to get you two Indians a pair of boxing gloves, and let you settle your arguments that way, pretty soon," came from Bob.
"Nothing doing," said Jimmy. "Boxing is too much like work, and it's time to go home, anyway," and he rose to look for his hat. "Anybody coming my way?" ”

“ How about all the times he's thinking of getting up and eating!"
"Gosh, that was a bad mistake," said Herb, with mock seriousness.
"I did you an injustice, Doughnuts, and I apologize."
"You two will never get to be old," said Jimmy, picking up his trusty saw. "You're altogether too smart to live, I'm afraid."
"Oh, I don't think there's any need to worry about that," said Bob, casually, coming to Jimmy's aid. "I think myself they'll probably live to be a hundred."
"Wow!" exclaimed Joe. "That was a wicked wallop, Bob."
"It's no more than you deserve," said Jimmy. ”

“ They set the date of the concert for the next day, which was Saturday, and added the names of several others to the list of those to be invited. A few minutes later the minister's callers departed gleefully, a warmer feeling than ever in their hearts for Doctor Amory Dale.
"You've got the right idea, boys," the latter called after them, standing at the top of the steps to see them off. "Give happiness to others and you will find true happiness for yourselves." ”

“ Doughnuts had a pair of wire cutters with him, which he had used when working on his set. Silent as ghosts, the four friends crept back to the shack, and Jimmy carefully separated the two wires of the cable and caught one of them between the jaws of his cutter.
"When the light goes out, we rush," whispered Bob. "Give us a few seconds to get set, Jimmy, and then cut!"
Bob, Joe, and Herb withdrew about ten feet from the big front doors and waited tensely for the light to go out. ”

“ After the first awful crash I didn't know anything more until I woke in this room and found the doctor bending over me."
"You're a stranger to this town, aren't you?" asked Bob, with an idea of getting her mind off the subject, which he could see was beginning to excite her. "Mrs. Sterling was telling us that you had only been here for a few days."
"Yes," responded the girl. "I live in the town of Lisburn, about ten miles from here. I'm all alone in the world"—here a shade of sadness passed over her expressive face. "My father and mother are dead and I live with an aunt of mine. ”

“ Aunty Bixby, listening anxiously through her ear trumpet, nodded emphatically at this suggestion.
"Yes," she said in her high, chronically irritable voice, "let's get along with it. I want to see what that horn-shaped contraption can do. Looks to me like nothin' so much's an old fashioned phonygraph."
"It's far more wonderful than any phonograph," the doctor told her good-naturedly. Then turning to Bob, directed: "Let her go, Bob. It's just time to catch that concert in Pittsburgh."
Bob obeyed, and then the fun began. ”

“ He's been dead for more than eighteen hundred years. The man I mean is a very live one. He's the inventor of wireless telegraphy."
"Never heard of him," muttered Buck sullenly.
"Well, since you never heard of him, we'll mention some one else," continued Bob. "I was only going to say that he's a pretty brainy fellow, and he believes in the wireless telephone. Then there's Edison. Perhaps you've heard of him?"
"Of course I have," blurted Buck furiously. "Say, what are you trying to do? Make a fool of me?"
"Nature's done that already," Joe put in, but Bob checked him. ”

“ The boys told her of their radio experiments, and she listened with the keenest interest.
"That reminds me," she said. "I noticed a radio telephone set in this man Cassey's office. His stenographer told me that that was his one recreation."
"You find them everywhere," replied Bob. "They'll soon be a feature in almost every home and business office. But we'll have to go now," he said, as he rose to his feet, while Joe followed his example. "Good afternoon. And don't forget what I said. I feel you'll get your money or you'll get your mortgage." ”