well."

The lad sat down on the high stool again before the lathe and looked
through the dingy window at the scraggy trees outside, beyond the
forlorn yard.

"Oh, I don't know," he said. "I kind of remember it, I suppose, because
I liked it better than this. And when I first had the idea I was sitting
out there in the yard looking at this board. It belongs to a broken
table that had been thrown out there. And I carried it up to my room
when you were out. I thought you wouldn't mind my taking it. And I
picked up scraps that might be useful, and got some gum, and old Barbara
made me some flour paste. It's got green now, and it smells like
thunder, but it's good still. That's about all, I suppose. Now I'll take
it away again. I keep it in the dark closet behind my room, because that
doesn't leak when it rains."

"Don't take it away," said Overholt suddenly. "I'll make room for it
here, and you can work at it while I'm busy, and in the evenings I'll
try and help you, and we'll finish it together."

Newton was amazed.

"Why, father, it's playing! How can you go to work at play? It would be
so funny! But, of course, if you really would help me a little--you've
got such lots of nice things!"

He wistfully eyed a little coil of some very fine steel wire which would
make a beautiful telegraph. Newton even dreamt of making the trolley,
too, in the Main Street, but that would be a very troublesome job; and