plan to get their promised radio receiver into action. Having no shop
nor proper tools for finer work, they would be handicapped, for they had
decided, because of the pleasure and satisfaction in so doing, to make
many of the necessary parts that generally are purchased outright. Bill
made the suggestion, on account of this delay, that they abandon their
original plan, but Gus, ever hopeful, believed that something might turn
up to carry out their first ideas.

The afternoon that they had everything in normal condition again, Mr.
Hooper came down to see them; he knew nothing of the tampering with the
work, 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 bunk, without any real foundation of fact. Thad may
have had some new scheme, but at any rate the unlettered old man would
swallow pretty nearly everything Thad said, even though he often
repudiated Thad's acts. Again Mr. Hooper, Bill and Gus got on the
subject of radio and the old gentleman repeated his convictions:

"I ain't sayin' you boys can't do wonders, an' I'm fer you all the time,
but I'm not goin' t' b'lieve you kin do what's pretty nigh out o'
reason. Listen to me, now, fer a minute: If you fellers kin rig up a
machine to fetch old man Eddy's son's talk right here about two hundred
an' fifty mile, I'll hand out to each o' you a good hundred dollars;
yes, b'jinks. I'll make it a couple a hun--"

"No, Mr. Hooper, we value your friendship altogether too much to take
your money and that's too much like a wager, anyway." Bill was most
earnest. "But you must take our word for it that it can be done."

"Fetch old man Eddy's son's voice--!"