“Oh, I see, now I understand. I’d forgotten all about it. Well, why don’t you build a new model, old chap?”
“Why--er--well you see, Jack, I’ve been trying to, but, hang it all, I haven’t the material, for one thing, and--and--well, I’ve--you see there are a lot of figures about it that I’ve forgotten. I don’t know just how I did build the first one. It was made of sheet metal all soldered together and I can’t get a bit of tin or sheet iron here. I tried to make one of wood but that don’t go either. Gee, I am up against it. And I wanted to see if I couldn’t earn enough money with it--aw, shucks, let’s quit talkin’ about it. There’s no use in worrying you about it too, Jack.”
“Well, I’m mighty interested, Ray,” said Jack encouragingly. “What was the principle of the thing?”
“Why, just this, Jack. You remember when the _Titanic_ was wrecked about a year ago? Sure you do. Well, when that happened there was a lot of talk about not enough lifeboats, and about the general unsafe condition of the boats that were being used on board the various steamers. That set me a-thinking and I decided to try and build a boat that wouldn’t sink and could not turn over, no matter how hard a wave hit it. Then after months of pottering around I worked out my model which looked like a big pumpkin seed roofed over. It was all fitted up, airtight compartments in the bow and stern, and the keel was so balanced, and the roof so well made, that even if the boat should be launched upside down, it would right itself and not ship a drop of water. There was a little place for a motor which, of course, could not be put in the model, but could be put in a big boat of regulation lifeboat size. It could also be propelled by oars and it had a number of advantages over the old-fashioned open lifeboat.”
“My, but that’s interesting,” said Jack; “I sure would like to see it.”
“Well, I guess it’ll be a long time before I can build another and, by George, I’m getting older all the time. I’m nearly seventeen now.”
“What of it? Why, I want to go to high school some time, and college too. I sort of hoped that I might make money enough out of my invention to pay my way through school. I can’t wait until I am a full-grown man to go to ‘prep’ school, can I? And now that I’ve quit Uncle Vance I haven’t a single person in the world to help me. Not that I could ever expect any real help from him. But then a fellow needs a grown-up friend or two, no matter how cussed mean they are to him at times. But Uncle Vance was dead set against my ever going to school again--said it would make me even lazier than I am. I’m not lazy, am I, Jack?”