BOB BEGINS WORK ON A FAKE CELL.
About noon, the hunchback brought Bob's dinner to him, and two hours
later, King opened the door, saying, "Well, son, I guess I've got all
you'll need, and now I want you to get to work at once."
"All right, I suppose I might as well begin now as any time."
"Now, let me tell you something," continued King, as they started down
the stairs. "I know all about electricity and storage batteries and
I'm going to watch you every minute, and if you try to fool me and
don't make that cell right, I give you fair warning that it'll be the
worse for you."
Bob made no reply, but thought to himself, "If you can catch me before
the thing is done and tested, you're a good deal smarter than I think
you are." He fully realized that he was taking a desperate chance, for
he knew that the cell, as he was going to make it, would not work, for
he had tried one like it while he and Jack were experimenting. But he
had made up his mind not to give the secret away, trusting that an
opportunity to escape would present itself before he had finished. He
had also resolved to work as slowly and to take as long a time about
it as he dared.
King led the way down to the laboratory and showed him the things he
had bought. It would be tiresome to relate Bob's work in detail, and
we shall tell about only those parts that are necessary to the story.
He managed to use up that afternoon and the greater part of the next
day making one cap, but about four o'clock he had to declare that part
of the work done.
"Now, what's next?" asked King.
"We'll have to make another cap to go with this one."
"Are they both alike?"
"No, this one is positive and the other will have to be negative.
We'll begin on that one in the morning."
"Not much we won't," almost shouted King. "We'll start it right now,
and we ought to have it done by twelve o'clock tonight. I believe
you're loafing on the work anyway."
"Believe what you please," said Bob, mad clear through, "but I'll tell
you right now that I'm not going to work any more today, and what's
more you can't make me either."
"Can't, eh, we'll see about that," snapped King, coming toward Bob
with clenched fist.
Now, when Bob was real good and mad, he could be as stubborn as a
mule, and he was in exactly that condition now, regardless of
consequences. So, when King raised his fist as if to hit him, he
stepped back, saying in a firm tone, "You hit me just once, and I
won't do another bit of work on that thing if you kill me for it."
King dropped his fist, and the two looked each other in the eyes for a
full minute without speaking. "You'll work tonight or you'll get no
supper," he finally threatened.
"Get no supper, eh?" snapped Bob. "If I get no supper tonight,
there'll be no cell made tomorrow, just remember that," and then, as
King did not at once reply, he continued, "Now see here, no one yet,
except my parents, ever made me do a thing I'd made up my mind not to
do, and I've made it up good and hard, right now, and you can't make
me back down. You've got me in your power, and I suppose you can put
me out of the way if you want to, but that won't get you the cell, so
what are you going to do about it?"
King realized that he was licked, and gave in, with as good grace as
he could muster. "All right," he growled, "have your own way."
Bob was much relieved when he realized that he had won, for although
he had put up a bold front, he had by no means felt as confident as
his looks indicated. He spent the next forenoon getting the copper
cylinder and the tank ready for the electrolysis, telling King that he
had decided not to make the other cap till the cylinder was done,
although he could easily have done the work in an hour. After dinner
he dissolved the lead nitrate in water, poured the solution into the
tank, and adjusted the cap.
"Have you a piece of platinum foil?" he asked King.
"What do you want that for?"
"Why, you see I make this cylinder the positive pole of the circuit
and have to have the platinum for the negative."
"All right, I guess I can find a piece," he replied.
Bob hoped that he couldn't, and, as a matter of fact, he could have
used a piece of copper just as well, but, he thought, "if he will only
go out after some and leave me here, I might find a way to escape."
But, to his disappointment, it was soon forthcoming, and putting it in
place he was soon obliged to acknowledge that he was ready to turn on
the current.
"How much do you want?" asked King.
"One and four-tenths volts and six tenths of an ampere," replied Bob.
As the current was turned on, King watched the cylinder closely, and
soon he could see that a dark brown powder was collecting on the
outside.
"Hold on a minute," said Bob, "I forgot to insulate the outside of
that cylinder. Have you a piece of rubber tubing, large enough to slip
on over it?"
"I guess so, but it seems to me that you are all the time forgetting
something or other."
The correction was soon made, and the cylinder returned to the bath.
After the current had been running about half an hour, King purposed
that they take the cylinder out and see if they were getting any
results, as they could not see the inside of it while it was in the
tank. Glad of any delay, Bob readily assented, and as soon as it was
removed, it was seen that a very small amount of the powder had coated
the inside.
"Humph," growled King. "It's mighty slow. Won't it go faster if we use
more juice?"
"Yes," replied Bob, "but it will be too loose and spongy." This was
the truth, as he had found by experiment, and he was very glad that
this part of the work would have to go slowly, whether or no. When
supper time came, King proposed that they leave the current running
all night, but Bob wouldn't hear to it.
"No," he said, "I must be here to watch it, for I know what to expect
if it don't pan out, and much depends on how that peroxide of lead is
deposited. Either you turn off the current or I quit."
King knew from past experience that it would be useless to threaten
and grudgingly yielded the point. "Shall we take the cylinder out?" he
asked.
"Of course," replied Bob, "I thought you knew something about this
kind of work."
King muttered something about wanting to make sure, and leaving the
laboratory they went up to supper.
That night about ten o'clock, as Bob was lying on his bed trying, as
usual, to think of some way to escape, he heard the key turn in the
lock and the hunchback entered.
"Mr. King sent me up to tell you to go to sleep good and early for
he's going to call you at five o'clock."
"Oh, he did, did he?" returned Bob. "Well, you just tell him that I'll
go to sleep when I get good and ready and not a minute before. Do you
get that?"
While speaking, he had got off the bed and gradually approached the
hunchback. As he finished, he suddenly grabbed him round the neck, and
before the dwarf had time to defend himself, he was hurled to the far
side of the room. Bob made a quick dash for the door and in an instant
had it closed and locked behind him. Quickly, he turned and darted
down the stairs, but before he reached the next floor, he heard the
man shouting and pounding on the door. "I must hurry," he thought,
taking the next flight three steps at a time. He had reached the lower
floor and was unlocking the front door, when a door at his left flew
open and both King and Reed rushed out.
"What's all this?" demanded King; then as he saw who it was, he sprang
forward and grabbed Bob by the shoulders and roughly yanked him back.
"So you thought you'd give us the slip, did you? How'd you get out of
that room?"
Poor Bob's heart sank as he realized that his attempt was a failure,
and he made no reply.
"We'll soon find out," said King. "Come on now," and he made Bob
precede him up the stairs.
"You miserable runt," he shouted, as he unlocked the door and saw the
dwarf. "What does this mean?"
"Gee," replied the latter, "he jumped me so quick, I didn't know what
was up before he was out of the room and I was locked in."
"Don't blame him," broke in Bob, "it wasn't his fault."
"Well, the next time I send you up here, just deliver your message
through the door, do you understand?"
"I certainly do. I won't give him a chance to get hold of me again,"
declared the dwarf, rubbing his arm.
Bob was much cast down as they went out. "But I won't give up," he
thought as he was undressing. "But, confound it, I've got to do
something pretty soon for I'm not going to make that job pan out
nearly as long as I thought I could."
Before he slept that night, he had resolved upon a bold stroke for
liberty, which he was resolved to put into execution at the very first
opportunity.
About eight o'clock the next morning, Bob realized that his chance had
come. King was watching the cell while he was standing about three
feet to one side. Suddenly, Bob drew back his right arm and before
King could defend himself, he struck. The blow was a jim dandy, as Bob
afterward expressed it. It caught King fairly on the jaw and he went
down like a log, knocking over the tank as he fell. Bob quickly leaned
over him and took the key of the laboratory from his pocket, where he
had seen him put it several times.
"Now, if I can only get out," he thought as he unlocked the door and
stole softly up the stairs.