LISTENING IN
Larry registered at the desk, and then they were whisked up in the
elevator to the lad's room. Bob had inquired at the desk for Frank
Brandon, but was informed that he had left early that morning and had left
word for the boys that he would not be back in Clintonia before the
following evening.
Larry's room was only two removed from that of the radio expert, and was
fairly large and comfortably furnished. The young actor was delighted when
he saw it.
"Say, this is great!" he exclaimed. "This has got the hospital beat a
thousand ways. If the eats are only as good as the room, I'll be in
clover."
"You won't find anything the matter with the eats," said Bob. "This hotel
has a reputation for setting a good table, and I don't think you'll have
any fault to find with it."
"When I get my first pay check, we'll try it out together," promised
Larry. "You'll all be my guests, for a change, and we'll make the chef
step around a bit."
"Hooray!" crowed Jimmy, "that's the kind of talk I like to hear, Larry. It
certainly sounds like sweet music to me."
"It is rather pleasant," added Bob. "All you've got to do is set a date,
Larry, and we'll be there with nickel-plated appetites and cast iron
digestions."
"You fellows haven't said much about your radio lately. How is it coming
along? I'm afraid you've spent so much time on me lately, that you've
gotten behind on that new set you were telling me about."
"No, that's coming along all right," said Bob. "We haven't set any hard
and fast date to have it finished, you know. We've all had to bone down
pretty hard at school this term, too."
"Could you hear me plainly last evening?" inquired Larry.
"If you'd been sitting in the room with us, it couldn't have sounded any
different," Joe assured him. "Doctor Dale has a good set for shorter
ranges, but except under very favorable conditions he can't get the
distant stations, like Detroit, for instance."
"Do you expect to be able to hear Detroit?"
"We'll be able to hear any station in the Eastern States," Bob informed
him. "This is going to be a set that is a set, Larry."
"Well, so much the better," said Larry. "If you can hear as far as that,
you won't have to live in fear of not hearing my performance only a few
miles away. I know it would break your hearts if you couldn't."
"It makes me sad just to think of such a terrible thing," sighed Herb.
"Wait till I get my handkerchief, fellows, and mop up the flowing tears."
"Aw, chase yourself," grinned Larry. "The only thing that would bother you
radio bugs if you didn't hear me, would be the fear that your blamed old
set wasn't working just right. You'd be down under the table fussing
around with a few thousand wires, but you'd never stop to think that maybe
I'd been fired by the manager, or run over by a trolley car."
"Oh, we'd never have to worry about you," said Joe. "You've heard the old
saying that 'only the good die young.'"
"I certainly have," admitted Larry. "And that probably explains why that
stage scenery didn't kill me outright. It's been rather a mystery to me
why it didn't, but you've put me wise to the real reason."
"It will do for want of a better one, anyway,'" laughed Bob.
"If we can once get you interested in radio, Larry, you'll be as stuck on
it as any of us," said Joe. "It's interesting right from the beginning,
but when you dig into it a bit, it gets more fascinating all the time."
"Oh, I'm interested in radio all right, don't male any mistake about
that," returned Larry, with a twinkle in his eye. "It's my meal ticket
now, you know."
"Yes, but I mean in the way of recreation," persisted Joe.
"Yes, I suppose it must be mighty interesting, for a fact," admitted
Larry, more seriously. "Just wait until I get strong again, and maybe I'll
take it up in earnest. I've seen enough of it to realize that there are
wonderful possibilities in it, anyway."
"Well, we'll be glad to initiate you any time you say the word," offered
Bob. "We don't know enough about it to keep us awake at night, but we can
probably explain a few things to you."
"Oh, I'll ask questions until you wish you'd never mentioned radio to me,"
laughed Larry. "If I do take it up, I'll have to start at the beginning."
"That's where most everybody starts," announced Jimmy. "You won't be a bit
worse off than we were, will he, fellows?"
"I should say not," answered Bob. "When we started, we hardly knew the
difference between an antenna and a ground wire. We had our own troubles
at first; and we're still having them, as far as that goes. There always
seems to be something new coming up that you have to work out."
"If I keep on getting good pay from the broadcasting station, I'll be able
to buy a set, anyway," said Larry. "What's the use of working so hard over
one, when you can buy them all made up? All you have to do is hook them up
to a small antenna, and you get your music right off the bat."
But the radio boys all scouted this idea.
"Of course you can buy one all made up," said Bob. "But there's not half
the fun in operating that kind of set as there is in one that you've made
yourself. And besides, you can get a lot better results when you've made
the thing yourself and understand just what's in it and how it works. If
you don't get good results some evening, you know where to look for the
trouble."
"It's like driving an automobile when you don't understand the mechanism,"
added Joe. "As long as everything goes all right you go sailing along, but
let something go wrong, and you're up a tree right away. You haven't any
idea of where to look for the trouble."
"All right, all right," laughed Larry. "Don't shoot, and I'll promise
never to mention it again."
"See that you keep it, then," said Bob, laughing. "But anybody who buys a
made-up set isn't entitled to be called a real radio fan; at least, we
don't think so."
"I suppose you're right," agreed Larry. "It must be half the fun of the
game when you do the job yourself. But remember that everybody can't build
elaborate sets the way you fellows do, even if they want to. They haven't
got the knack."
"I suppose that's so," conceded Bob. "But almost anybody that can drive a
nail straight can do it. It's mostly a matter of hard work and a little
study."
"Well, when I get a little stronger, maybe I'll take a fling at it," said
Larry. "But just at present, the only thing I can think about is getting
something to eat. I had a pretty early breakfast, and now I'm rather
anxious to try some of that good cooking you tell me this hotel is famous
for."
"My!" exclaimed Bob, jumping to his feet. "I'm glad you mentioned dinner,
Larry. I'll have to take it on the run if I'm going to get home in time
for dinner. They're always sore if I'm late, too."
"And to think that I overlooked such an important thing as Sunday dinner!"
ejaculated Jimmy, searching frantically around for his cap. "I only hope I
can last out until I get home," he went on. "If I do, it will only be on
account of my strong will power. I'm afraid poor old Herb hasn't much
chance to pull through."
"Huh!" snorted Herb. "If you had to depend on will power to get you home,
you'd never get a block away from here. You'll get home all right, but the
thing that gets you there will be the thought of how good the chicken and
apple pie are going to taste."
"Well, nobody could have a stronger motive than that, after all," said
Jimmy. "Confound this elevator, anyway. I guess it's never going to come
up. You fellows can wait if you want to, but I'm going to walk down. I
know I'll get there, then."
"Doughnuts does have a good idea once in a while," said Joe. "I'll do the
same thing." The others were nothing loath, so they shook hands with Larry
and clattered down the long flights of stairs at high speed, for, as Bob
said, it would never do to let the elevator beat them down after all.