Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
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By Sara Ware Bassett
The Invention Series
Paul and the Printing Press
Steve and the Steam Engine
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[Illustration: "It was the conquering of this multitude of defects that
gave to the world the intricate, exquisitely made machine."--Frontispiece.
See page 103.]
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The Invention Series
STEVE AND THE STEAM ENGINE
By Sara Ware Bassett
With Illustrations By A. O. Scott
Boston
Little, Brown, And Company
1921
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Copyright, 1921,
By Little, Brown, and Company.
All rights reserved
Published September, 1921
The Plimpton Press
Norwood Mass U S A
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I An Unpremeditated Folly 1
II A Meeting with an Old Friend 19
III A Second Calamity 34
IV The Story of the First Railroad 51
V Steve Learns a Sad Lesson 67
VI Mr. Tolman's Second Yarn 77
VII A Holiday Journey 94
VIII New York and What Happened There 110
IX An Astounding Calamity 125
X An Evening of Adventure 145
XI The Crossing of the Country 156
XII New Problems 169
XIII Dick Makes His Second Appearance 178
XIV A Steamboat Trip by Rail 192
XV The Romance of the Clipper Ship 205
XVI Again the Magic Door Opens 216
XVII More Steamboating 224
XVIII A Thanksgiving Tragedy 238
XIX The End of the House Party 248
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"It was the conquering of this multitude of defects
that gave to the world the intricate, exquisitely
made machine" Frontispiece
"You've got your engine nicely warmed up, youngster,"
he observed casually 9
"I wish you'd tell me about this queer little old-fashioned
boat" 181
He was fighting to prevent himself from being drawn
beneath the jagged, crumbling edge of the hole 244
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STEVE AND THE STEAM ENGINE
CHAPTER I
AN UNPREMEDITATED FOLLY
Steve Tolman had done a wrong thing and he knew it.
While his father, mother, and sister Doris had been absent in New York
for a week-end visit and Havens, the chauffeur, was ill at the hospital,
the boy had taken the big six-cylinder car from the garage without
anybody's permission and carried a crowd of his friends to Torrington to
a football game. And that was not the worst of it, either. At the foot
of the long hill leading into the village the mighty leviathan so
unceremoniously borrowed had come to a halt, refusing to move another
inch, and Stephen now sat helplessly in it, awaiting the aid his
comrades had promised to send back from the town.
What an ignominious climax to what had promised to be a royal holiday!
Steve scowled with chagrin and disappointment.
The catastrophe served him right. Unquestionably he should not have
taken the car without asking. He had never run it all by himself before,
although many times he had driven it when either his father or Havens
had been at his elbow. It had gone all right then. What reason had he to
suppose a mishap would befall him when they were not by? It was
infernally hard luck!
Goodness only knew what was the matter with the thing. Probably
something was smashed, something that might require days or even weeks
to repair, and would cost a lot of money. Here was a pretty dilemma!
How angry his father would be!
The family were going to use the automobile Saturday to take Doris back
to Northampton for the opening of college and had planned to make quite
a holiday of the trip. Now it would all have to be given up and
everybody would blame him for the disappointment. A wretched hole he was
in!
The boys had not given him much sympathy, either. They had been ready
enough to egg him on into wrong-doing and had made of the adventure the
jolliest lark imaginable; but the moment fun had been transformed into
calamity they had deserted him with incredible speed, climbing out of
the spacious tonneau and trooping jauntily off on foot to see the town.
It was easy enough for them to wash their hands of the affair and leave
him to the solitude of the roadside; the automobile was not theirs and
when they got home they would not be confronted by irate parents.
How persuasively, reflected Stephen, they had urged him on.
"Oh, be a sport, Steve!" Jack Curtis had coaxed. "Who's going to be the
wiser if you do take the car? Anyhow, you have run it before, haven't
you? I don't believe your father will mind."
"Take a chance, Stevie," his chum, Bud Taylor, pleaded. "What's the good
of being such a boob? Do you think if my father had a car and it was
standing idle in the garage when a bunch of kids needed it to go to a
school game I would hesitate? You bet I wouldn't!"
"It isn't likely your Dad would balk at your using the car if he knew
the circumstances," piped another boy. "We have got that match to play
off, and now that the electric cars are held up by the strike how are we
to get to Torrington? Don't be a ninny, Steve."
Thus they had ridiculed, cajoled, and wheedled Steve until his
conscience had been overpowered and, yielding to their arguments, he had
set forth for the adjoining village with the triumphant throng of
tempters. At first all had gone well. The fourteen miles had slipped
past with such smoothness and rapidity that Stephen, proudly enthroned
at the wheel, had almost forgotten that any shadow rested on the
hilarity of the day. He had been dubbed a good fellow, a true sport, a
benefactor to the school--every complimentary pseudonym imaginable--and
had glowed with pleasure beneath the avalanche of flattery. As the big
car with its rollicking occupants had spun along the highway, many a
passer-by had caught the merry mood of the cheering group and waved a
smiling salutation in response to their shouts.
In the meanwhile, exhilarated by the novelty of the escapade, Steve had
increased the speed until the red car fairly shot over the level
macadam, its blurred outlines lost in the scarlet of the autumn foliage.
Then suddenly when the last half-mile was reached and Torrington
village, the goal of the pilgrimage, was in sight, quite without warning
the panting monster had stopped and all attempts to urge it farther were
of no avail. There it stood, its motionless engine sending out odors of
hot varnish and little shimmering waves of heat.
Immediately a hush had descended upon the boisterous company. There was
a momentary pause, followed by a clamor of advice. When, however, it
became evident that there was no prospect of restoring the disabled
machine to action, one after another of the frightened schoolboys had
dropped out over the sides of the car and after loitering an instant or
two with a sort of shamefaced indecision, at the suggestion of Bud
Taylor they had all set out for the town.
"Tough luck, old chap!" Bud had called over his shoulder. "Mighty tough
luck! Wish we had time to wait and see what's queered the thing; but the
game is called at two-thirty, you know, and we have only about time to
make it. We'll try and hunt up a garage and send somebody back to help
you. So long!"
And away they had trooped without so much as a backward glance, leaving
Stephen alone on the country road, worried, mortified, and resentful.
There was no excuse for their heartless conduct, he fumed indignantly.
They were not all on the eleven. Five of the team had come over in Tim
Barclay's Ford, so that several of the fellows Steve had brought were
merely to be spectators of the game. At least Bud Taylor, his especial
crony, was not playing. He might have remained behind. How selfish
people were, and what a fleeting thing was popularity! Why, half an hour
ago he had been the idol of the crowd! Then Bud had shouted: "Come
ahead, kids, let's hoof it to Torrington!" and in the twinkling of an
eye the tide had turned, the mob had shifted its allegiance and gone
tagging off at the heels of a new leader. They did not mean to have
their pleasure spoiled, not they!
Scornfully Stephen watched them mount the hill, their crimson sweaters
making a zigzag line of color in the sunshine; even their laughter,
care-free as if nothing had happened, floated back to him on the still
air, demonstrating how little concern they felt for him and his
refractory automobile. Well might they proceed light-heartedly to the
village, spend their money on sodas and ice-cream cones, and shout
themselves hoarse at the game. No thought of future punishment marred
their enjoyment and the program was precisely the one he had outlined
for himself before Fate had intervened and raised a prohibitory hand.
The fun he had missed was, however, of scant consequence now. All he
asked was to get the car safely back to his father's garage before the
family returned from New York on the afternoon train. Now that his
excitement had cooled into sober second thought, he marveled that he had
been led into committing such a monstrous offense. He must have been
mad. Often he had begged to do the very thing he had done and his father
had always refused to let him, insisting that an expensive touring car
was no toy for a boy of his age. Perhaps there had been some truth in
the assertion, too, he now admitted. Yet were he to hang for it, he
could not see why he had not run the car exactly as his elders were wont
to do. Of course he had had a pretty big crowd aboard and the heavy load
might have strained the machinery; and possibly--just possibly--he had
speeded a bit. He certainly had made phenomenally good time for he did
not want the fellows to think he was afraid to let out the engine.
Well, whatever the matter was, the harm was done now and he was in a
most unenviable plight. No doubt it would cost a small fortune to get
the automobile into shape again, more money than he had in the world;
certainly far more than he had in his pocket at the present moment. What
was he to do? Even suppose the boys did remember to send back help
(they probably wouldn't--but suppose they did) how was he to pay a
machinist? As he pictured himself being towed to a garage and the car
being left there, he felt an uncomfortable sensation in his throat. He
certainly was in for it now.
It would be ignominious to charge the repairs to his father but that
would be the only course left him. Fortunately Mr. Tolman, who was a
railroad official, was well known in the locality and therefore there
would be no trouble about obtaining credit; but to ask his father to pay
the bills for this escapade was anything but a manly and honorable way
out and Steve wished with all his heart he had never been persuaded into
the wretched affair. If there were only some escape possible, some
alternative from being obliged to confess his wrong-doing! But to hope
to conceal or make good the disaster was futile. And even if he could
cover up what had happened, how contemptible it would be! He detested
doing anything underhanded. Only sneaks and cowards resorted to
subterfuge and although he had been called many names in his life these
two had not been among them.
No, he should make a clean breast of what he had done and bear the
consequences, and once out of his miserable plight he would take care
never again to be a party to such an adventure. He had learned his
lesson.
So absorbed was he in framing these worthy resolutions that he did not
notice a tiny moving speck that appeared above the crest of the hill and
now came whirling toward him. In fact the dusty truck and its yet more
dusty driver were beside him before he heeded either one. Then the
newcomer came to a stop and he heard a pleasant voice:
"What's the matter, sonny?"
Stephen glanced up, trying bravely to return his questioner's smile.
The man who addressed him was white-haired, ruddy, and muscular, and he
wore brown denim overalls stained with oil and grease; but although he
was middle-aged there was a boyish friendliness in his face and in the
frank blue eyes that peered out from under his shaggy brows.
"What's the trouble with your machine?" he repeated.
"I don't know," returned Stephen. "If I did, you bet I wouldn't be
sitting here."
The workman laughed.
"Suppose you let me have a look at it," said he, climbing off the seat
on which he was perched.
"I wish you would."
"It is a pretty fine car, isn't it?" observed the man, as he approached
it. "Is it yours?"
"My father's."
"He lets you use it, eh?"
Stephen did not answer.
"Some fathers ain't that generous," went on the man as he began to
examine the silent monster. "If I had an outfit like this, I ain't so
sure I'd trust it to a chap of your size. Still, if you have your
license, I suppose you must know how to run it."
[Illustration: "You've got your engine nicely warmed up, youngster," he
observed casually. Page 9.]
A shiver passed through Stephen's body. A license! What if the stranger
should ask to see it?
There was a heavy fine, he now remembered, for driving a car unless one
were in possession of this precious paper, although what the penalty was
he could not at the instant recall; he had entirely forgotten there were
any such legal details. Fearfully he eyed the mechanic.
The man, however, did not pursue the subject but instead appeared
engrossed in carefully inspecting the automobile inside and out. As he
poked about, now here, now there, Stephen watched him with constantly
increasing nervousness; and after the investigation had proceeded for
some little time and no satisfactory result had been reached, the boy's
heart sank. Something very serious must be the matter if the trouble
were so hard to locate, he reasoned. In imagination he heard his
father's indignant reprimands and saw the Northampton trip shrivel into
nothingness.
The workman in the meantime remained silent, offering no comment to
relieve his anxiety. What he was thinking under the shabby visor cap
pulled so low over his brows it was impossible to fathom. His hand was
now unscrewing the top of the gasoline tank.
"You've got your engine nicely warmed up, youngster," observed he
casually. "Maybe 'twas just as well you did come to a stop. You must
have covered the ground at a pretty good clip."
There certainly was something very disconcerting about the stranger's
conversation and again Stephen looked at him with suspicion.
"Oh, I don't know," he mumbled, trying to assume an off-hand air.
"Perhaps we did come along fairly fast."
"You weren't alone then."
"N--o," was the uncomfortable reply. "The fellows who sent you back from
the village were with me."
For the first time the workman evinced surprise.
"Nobody sent me," he retorted. "I just thought as I was going by that
you looked as if you were up against it, and as I happen to know
something about engines I pulled up to give you a helping hand. The fix
you are in isn't serious, though." He smiled broadly as if something
amused him.
"What is the matter with the car?" demanded the boy desperately, in a
voice that trembled with eagerness and anxiety and defied all efforts to
remain under his control.
"Why, son, nothing is wrong with your car. You've got no gasoline,
that's all."
"Gasoline!" repeated the lad blankly.
"Sure! You couldn't have had much aboard when you started, I guess. It
managed to bring you as far as this, however, and here you came to a
stop. The up-grade of the hill tipped the little gas you did have back
in the tank so it would not run out, you see. Fill her up again and
she'll sprint along as nicely as ever."
The relief that came with the information almost bowled Steve over.
For a moment he could not speak; then when he had caught his breath he
exclaimed excitedly:
"How can I get some gasoline?"
His rescuer laughed at the fevered question.
"Why, I happen to have a can of it here on my truck," he drawled, "and I
can let you have part of it if you are so minded."
"Oh, I don't want to take yours," objected the boy.
"Nonsense! Why not? I am going right past a garage on my way back and
can get plenty more. We'll tip enough of mine into your tank to carry
you home. It won't take a minute."
The suggestion was like water to the thirsty.
"All right!" cried Stephen. "If you will let me pay for it I shall be
mightily obliged to you. I'm mightily obliged anyway."
"Pshaw! I've done nothing," protested the person in the oily jumper.
"What are we in the world for if not to do one another a good turn when
we can?"
As he spoke he extricated from his conglomerate load of lumber, tools,
and boxes a battered can, the contents of which he began to transfer
into Stephen's empty tank.
"There!" ejaculated he presently, as he screwed the metal top on. "That
isn't all she'll hold, but it will at least get you home. You are going
right back, aren't you?"
The boy glanced quickly at the speaker.
"Yes."
"That's right. I would if I were in your place," urged the man.
Furtively Stephen scrutinized the countenance opposite but although the
words had contained a mingled caution and rebuke there was not the
slightest trace of interest in the face of the speaker, who was
imperturbably wiping off the moist nickel cap with a handful of waste
from his pocket.
"Yes," he repeated half-absently, "I take it that amount of gas will
just about carry you back to Coventry; it won't allow for any detours,
to be sure, but if you follow the straight road it ought to fetch you up
there all right."
Stephen started and again an interrogation rose to his lips. Who was
this mysterious mechanic and why should he assume with such certainty
that Coventry was the abiding place of the car? He longed to ask but a
fear of lengthening the interview prevented him from doing so. If he
began to ask questions might not the stranger assume the same privilege
and wheel upon him with some embarrassing inquiry? No, the sooner he was
clear of this wizard in the brown overalls the better. But for the sake
of his peace of mind he should like to know whether the man really knew
who he was or whether his comments were simply matters of chance. There
certainly was something very uncanny and uncomfortable about it all,
something that led him to feel that the person in the jumper was fully
acquainted with his escapade, disapproved of it, and meant to prevent
him from prolonging it. Yet as he took a peep into the kindly blue eyes
which he did not trust himself to meet directly he wondered if this
assumption were not created by a guilty conscience rather than by fact.
Certainly there was nothing accusatory in the other's bearing. His face
was frankness itself. In books criminals were always fearing that people
suspected them, reflected Steve. The man knew nothing about him at all.
It was absurd to think he did.
Nevertheless the boy was eager to be gone from the presence of those
searching blue eyes and therefore he climbed into his car, murmuring
hurriedly:
"You've been corking to help me out!"
The workman held up a protesting hand.
"Don't think of it again," he answered. "I was glad to do it. Good luck
to you!"
With nervous hands Stephen started the engine and, backing the
automobile about, headed it homeward. Now that danger was past his
desire to reach Coventry before his father should arrive drove every
other thought from his mind, and soon the mysterious hero of the brown
jumper was forgotten. Although he made wonderfully good time back over
the road it seemed hours before he turned in at his own gate and brought
the throbbing motor to rest in the garage. A sigh of thankfulness
welled up within him. The great red leviathan that had caused him such
anguish of spirit stood there in the stillness as peacefully as if it
had never stirred from the spot it occupied. If only it had remained
there, how glad the boy would have been.
He ventured to look toward the windows fronting the avenue. No one was
in sight, it was true; but to flatter himself that he had been
unobserved was ridiculous for he saw by the clock that his father,
mother, and Doris must already have reached home. Doubtless they were in
the house now and fully acquainted with what he had done. If they had
not missed the car from the garage they would at least have seen it
whirl into the driveway with him at the wheel. Any moment his father
might appear at his shoulder. To delay was useless. He had had his fun
and now in manly fashion he must face the music and pay for it. How he
dreaded the coming storm!
Once, twice he braced himself, then moved reluctantly toward the house,
climbed the steps, and let himself in at the front door. He could hardly
expect any one would come to greet him under the circumstances. An
ominous silence pervaded the great dim hall but after the glare of the
white ribbon of road on which his eyes had been so intently fixed he
found the darkness cool and tranquilizing. At first he could scarcely
see; then as he gradually became accustomed to the faint light he espied
on the silver card tray a telegram addressed to himself and with a
quiver of apprehension tore it open. Telegrams were not such a common
occurrence in his life that he had ceased to regard them with misgiving.
The message on which his gaze rested, however, contained no ill tidings.
On the contrary it merely announced that the family had been detained in
New York longer than they had expected and would not return until noon
to-morrow. He would have almost another day, therefore, before he would
be forced to make confession to his father! The respite was a welcome
one and with it his tenseness relaxed. He even gained courage on the
strength of his steadier nerves to creep into the kitchen and confront
Mary, the cook, whom he knew must have seen him shoot into the driveway
and who, having been years in the home, would not hesitate to lecture
him roundly for his conduct. But Mary was not there and neither was
Julia, the waitress. In the absence of the head of the house the two had
evidently ascended to the third story there to forget in sleep the cares
of daily life. Stephen smiled at the discovery. It was a coincidence.
Unquestionably Fate was with him. It helped his self-respect to feel
that at least the servants were in ignorance of what he had done. Nobody
knew--nobody at all!
With an interval of rest and a dash of cold water upon his face
gradually the act he had committed began to sink back into normal
perspective and loom less gigantic in his memory. After all was it such
a dreadful thing, he asked himself. Of course he should not have done it
and he fully intended to confess his fault and accept the blame. But was
the folly so terrible? He owned that he regretted it and admitted that
he was somewhat troubled over the probable consequences, and every time
he awoke in the night a dread of the morrow came upon him. In the
morning he rushed off to school, found the team had won the game, and
came home feeling even more justified than before. Why, if he had not
taken the car, the school might have forfeited that victory!
All the afternoon as he sat quietly at his books he tried to keep this
consideration uppermost in his mind. Then at dinner time there was a
stir in the hall and he knew the moment he feared had arrived. The
family were back again! Slowly he stole down over the heavily carpeted
stairs. Yes, there they were, just coming in at the door, laughing and
chatting gaily with Julia, who had let them in. The next instant his
mother had espied him on the landing and had called a greeting.
There was a smile on her face that reproached him for having yielded to
the temptation to deceive her even for a second.
"Such a delightful trip as we have had, Steve!" she called. "We wished a
dozen times that you were with us. But some vacation you shall have a
holiday in New York with your father to pay for what you have missed
this time. You shall not be cheated out of all the fun, dear boy!"
"Everything been all right here, son?" inquired his father from the foot
of the stairs.
"Yes, Dad."
"Havens has not showed up yet, I suppose."
The boy flushed.
"No, sir."
"It seems to take him an interminable time to have his tonsils out. If
he does not appear pretty soon I shall have to get another man to run
the car. We can't be left high and dry like this," fretted the elder man
irritably. "Suppose I knew nothing about it, where would we be? I wished
to-day you were old enough to have a license and could have come to the
station to meet us. I believe with a little more instruction you could
manage that automobile all right. Not that I should let you go racing
over the country with a lot of boys. But you might be very useful in
taking your mother and sister about and helping when we were in a fix
like this. I think you would enjoy doing it, too."
"I--I'm--sure I should," replied the lad, avoiding his father's eye and
studying the toe of his shoe intently. It passed through his mind as he
stood there that now was the moment for confession. He had only to say,
"_I had the car out yesterday_," and the dreaded ordeal would be over.
But somehow he could not utter the words. Instead he descended from the
landing and followed the others into the library where the conversation
immediately shifted to other topics. In the jumble of narrative his
chance to speak was swallowed up nor during the next few days did any
suitable opportunity occur for him to make his belated confession. When
Mr. Tolman was not at meetings of the railroad board he was at his
office or occupied with important affairs, and by and by so many events
had intervened that to go back into the past seemed to Stephen idle
sentimentality. At length he had lulled his conscience into deciding
that in view of the conditions it was quite unnecessary to acquaint his
father and mother with his wrong-doing at all. He was safely out of the
entanglement and was it not just as well to accept his escape with
gratitude and let sleeping dogs lie? All the punishments in the world
could not change anything now. What would be the use of telling?