CHAPTER VII
MESSAGES
Doctor Field, much interested, accompanied the boys to the schoolbroadcasting room, and after determining from some data at hand the wavelengths that would be receivable on the Marconi yacht, Tony begantalking earnestly, almost too rapidly, into the horn, the crack andbuzzing of the battery charges making a sound like that of a riflegallery. The president, Bill and Gus also had receiving 'phones clampedto their ears.
"If he doesn't mind, you might ask him to reply in English, please,"requested the Doctor, and Tony nodded.
And presently a reply did come, though in Italian. Tony got it, at somelittle length; then with a gesture of disappointment he turned to theothers:
"It is an attend--an assister. He informs me that the wireless wizard,Signor Marconi, whom I explain is a friend to me and my family and heknow our name, that the signor is away on the earth--no, on land, yousay it,--attends some occasion, or is entertain of American friends andhe will not return this many hour. So that it is no value, or you sayuseless, to cast wide to him again now at this moment and I am, as yousay, deject?"
They all laughed and cheered Tony with the assurance that there would beanother occasion. Then Bill offered his idea to the president:
"Doctor, we have a notion that this radio business right now ought tohave a sort of celebration 'most everywhere; and our school might setthe example. Radio is getting to be an awfully big thing, nearly as bigas the movies. And now here's Marconi. Couldn't we start a generalhurrah for radio, bring the apparatus down to the assembly room, have abig concert, send out some messages and get Tony here, who knowsMarconi, to give us a talk on the inventor of the wireless when he was aboy, and that sort of thing? Of course, if this would interfere withstudies, or----"
"It need not, Brown, it need not in the least," agreed the president. "Ilike your idea immensely and I foresee some features that we can add.Suppose we fix it for the latter part of this week, handbill it in thetown also and make it a gala occasion. It is another way of callingattention to the school and the kind of work we do here. You will allhelp Professor Grant and the janitor with the mechanical details, whichshould not take long. And if Sabaste will communicate with Marconi so asto make sure we can get a message from him, that will be the climax."
The idea proved immensely popular. There are many such plans for callingstudents together to instil interest in various things that prove "wetblankets" when put into operation, but radio, as elsewhere, had takenthe school by storm. Separate departments had been organized this yearfor it. It was equally an interesting plaything and a source of mentalgymnastics. It was a matter of curiosity, and not to be interested, wasto be out of the swim.
Bill got busy, as hardly ever before in his strenuous career. Because ofhis uncertain English, Tony balked at giving an address on Marconi, soBill copied facts and wrote the whole thing out for Tony to memorize,putting in many of the Italian's phrases, corrected. And getting the_Elettra_ again, Marconi's former and youthful neighbor was able to makea date for a message from the wireless wizard on the evening of theradio celebration.
That night there was a crowd in the assembly room. Every student wasthere, half the town, many people from the country around and a fewfriends of the school from various distances. Doctor Field introducedthe occasion briefly. Professor Grant gave a talk on the history andrapid growth of radio communication. Professor Judson, assistant inphysics, talked on the "little bottles," as the vacuum tubes are oftencalled. Professor Search talked on the possible future of radio. Thenthe Doctor arose again and said:
"We want to have members of our student body, also, express to you ourinterest in this great subject. We are fortunate to have this year apupil who, though yet a freshman, has shown an unusual grasp of thetechnicalities of radio. I am going to ask Mr. William Brown to explainbriefly some of the methods employed in building, or selecting, a radioreceiving set, such as those he has been engaged in making here at theschool. His associate, Mr. Augustus Grier, who is an artist, inmechanical matters at least, will aid Mr. Brown at the blackboard."
Bill laid aside his crutch and hobbled forward to the platform, followedby Gus, whose easy motions were in direct contrast. A round of applausegreeted the boys. This was increased and a burst of laughter added whenGus took a piece of chalk and with a few quick strokes made what suggesteda broadcasting station, with a rooster shouting "cock-a-doodle-doo" intothe transmitter. Then he drew a lot of zigzag lines to indicate theHertzian waves, and at the other end of the board, a hen listening in andregistering horror when she hears the sounds translated into "quack,quack." Meanwhile, Bill had plunged headlong into his subject.