The Radio Boys at Mountain Pass Part 14

"I think they're kidding us now, Bob," said Joe, grinning. "When a girl tells you you're an expert, you can bet she's figuring to wish something on you."

"Yes, but it's so unusual that we ought to do something to encourage it," laughed Bob. "Let's call their bluff. Probably they'll never be able to find a horn, anyway."

"Don't count too much on that," said Edna, with a dangerous smile. "We almost always get what we ask for."

"Yes, and you are everlastingly asking for something, it seems to me,"

grumbled her father, who had joined the little group at that moment.

"Now, Daddy, you know you love to give us things," chided Ruth. "If we suddenly had everything we wanted, you'd be dreadfully disappointed."

"There's no danger of that happening," said her father, a smile softening his grim face. "But what is it you're after just at present?"

"We want that big phonograph horn they used to have here in the hotel," said Edna, with a provoking side glance at the radio boys.

"Will you ask the manager to hunt it up and lend it to us?"

"I'll see what I can do about it," promised Mr. Salper. "I remember the horn you mean, but it was probably thrown away long ago."

The radio boys rather wished that this might prove to be the case, but they were not destined to get off so easily. The first thing they saw when they entered the dining room the next morning was a large wooden horn, of a style in universal use in the early years of the phonograph, standing prominently near their table.

"There, now!" exclaimed Jimmy, in a low voice. "You see what you've let us in for, Bob. Why didn't you tell them that we didn't have time to waste building a loud speaker, and settle the thing right then and there."

"That's easier said than done," answered Bob. "Why don't you go over to the Salper's house and tell the girls that?"

"Yes, go right over and be rough with them," advised Joe. "Tell them that you're not afraid of girls, and they can't put anything over on you."

"Aw, I would have, last night; but it's too late now," said Jimmy, lamely.

"Yes, you would!" jeered Herb. "After all, it won't be so much work.

You're an expert carpenter, Jimmy, and can make a bang-up job of it."

"That's always the way," complained Jimmy, heaving a dismal sigh. "You fellows think up a good, hard job, and then I do the work. I've never known it to fail yet."

"Buck up, Doughnuts," said Bob. "Think of how the girls will thank you for it. You'll be the most popular fellow in the hotel."

"Like fun I will!" returned the fat boy. "But I'm not going to let it interfere with my appet.i.te. I can see where I've got a hard day ahead of me."

It proved to be a busy morning for all the radio boys. Immediately after breakfast they fell to work on the horn, and after some three hours of steady labor they had constructed a pa.s.sable loud-speaking horn, using one telephone receiver clamped securely at the narrow end.

They mounted the whole thing on a solid wooden pedestal, leaving two substantial shelves at the back to hold their radio apparatus.

It did not take them long to mount the receiving outfit in a neat manner, and when this was done they all drew a long breath and sat down to admire the result of their labors. While still engaged in this gratifying occupation, Edna and Ruth Salper entered.

"Oh!" exclaimed the former, with a gesture of delight, "doesn't it look simply beautiful? I never thought you boys could make it so quickly."

"You've got Jimmy to thank for that," said Bob. "I never saw him work so hard in his life before. It was easy to see that he was thinking of you and Ruth all the time, from the way he put his heart into it."

"I didn't anything of the kind," said the embarra.s.sed Jimmy. "I never thought of them once, even."

"What a dreadful thing to say," laughed Ruth. "I didn't know you hated girls, Jimmy."

"Who said I hated 'em?" demanded Jimmy, getting as red as a beet.

"I--I----"

"Love them," Joe finished for him. "Is that what you are trying to say, Jimmy?"

"Say, who asked you to b.u.t.t in?" inquired Jimmy, desperately.

"Everybody is trying to tell me what I mean, until I don't know which is right myself."

"Never mind," said Edna, coming to the rescue of the floundering youth. "We are grateful to you for working so hard for us, anyway."

"Oh, that's all right," mumbled Jimmy. "If it works all right, we won't worry about the labor we put into it."

"But don't you expect it to work?" asked Edna, teasingly.

"Sure it will work," a.s.serted Bob, before Jimmy could involve himself again. "That is, you'll hear music, all right, but it probably won't be very loud, even with the help of the horn. We're a long way from the broadcasting station, you know. If we were within ten or fifteen miles of it, I'd say surely that it would be a success."

"I'll go and get the loop aerial, Bob, and we can test it right now,"

suggested Joe. "What do you think?"

Bob nodded, and Joe left the room, returning a few minutes later with the loop. This was soon connected with the set, and then Bob began tuning for signals.

"Mercy! what was that?" exclaimed Edna, while Ruth gave a little scream.

From the horn came an ear-piercing howl, followed by whistles and weird unearthly shrieks. But the boys only laughed heartily at the girls.

"That's nothing but old man static," said Bob. "We'll soon get him off the wires."

"Does he live near here?" asked Ruth, innocently.

"Wow!" shouted Herb, and the boys could not help laughing, although they stopped as soon as they saw the mystified and somewhat hurt expression in the girl's eyes.

"That was just Bob's slangy way of talking," explained Joe, after he was sure that he had regained control of his features. "Static is the electricity that is always in the air, and gives us radio fans a good deal of trouble."

"Oh, I see," said Ruth, and she was a good enough sport to laugh at her own mistake.

Meantime Bob had finally got the set tuned to the proper wave length, and the little group were all delighted with the clarity and volume of the resultant sounds. They were not nearly as loud as an ordinary phonograph, but were sufficient to be heard distinctly in a fairly large room.

"It's too bad we only have a one-stage amplifier," said Bob. "If we only had another transformer and vacuum tube, we'd have a loud speaker that you could hear all over the hotel."

"I think this one is plenty good enough," a.s.serted Edna.

Both she and her sister were as excited as children with a new toy, and they were both delighted with the music.

"You boys will have to bring this wonderful thing into the parlor tonight, and let everybody hear it," coaxed Edna. "I know they will all be tickled to death to hear a concert in this new way."

"They might not be as enthusiastic as you think," said Bob, doubtfully. "Maybe they'd rather just talk, and wouldn't thank us for interrupting them."

"What an idea!" exclaimed Ruth. "Just try it once, just to please us, and you'll soon find out whether they like it or not."