and I cannot raise the money. You cannot make bricks without straw."

He looked steadily down at the tiny front of the Bank in Main Street,
and a hungry look came into his eyes.

But Newton had a practical mind, even at thirteen.

"I was thinking," he said presently. "It looks as if we were going to
get stuck some day. What are we going to do then, father? I was thinking
about it just now. How are we going to get anything to eat if we have no
money?"

"I shall have to go back to teaching mathematics for a living, I
suppose."

"And give up the Motor?" Newton had never yet heard him suggest such a
thing.

"Yes," Overholt answered in a low tone; and that was all he said.

"Oh, that's ridiculous. You'd just die, that's all!"

Newton stared at the engine that was a failure. It looked as if it ought
to work, he thought, with its neat cylinders, its polished levers, its
beautifully designed gear. It stood under a big case made of thick glass
plates set in an iron frame with a solid top; a chain ran through two
cast-iron wheels overhead to a counterpoise in the corner, by which
device it was easily raised and lowered. The Motor was a very expensive
affair, and had to be carefully protected from dust and all injury,
though it was worth nothing at present except for old brass and iron,