CHAPTER XII.
BOB BEGINS WORK ON A FAKE CELL.
About noon, the hunchback brought Bob's dinner to him, and two hourslater, King opened the door, saying, "Well, son, I guess I've got allyou'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 downthe stairs. "I know all about electricity and storage batteries andI'm going to watch you every minute, and if you try to fool me anddon't make that cell right, I give you fair warning that it'll be theworse for you."
Bob made no reply, but thought to himself, "If you can catch me beforethe thing is done and tested, you're a good deal smarter than I thinkyou are." He fully realized that he was taking a desperate chance, forhe knew that the cell, as he was going to make it, would not work, forhe had tried one like it while he and Jack were experimenting. But hehad made up his mind not to give the secret away, trusting that anopportunity to escape would present itself before he had finished. Hehad also resolved to work as slowly and to take as long a time aboutit as he dared.
King led the way down to the laboratory and showed him the things hehad bought. It would be tiresome to relate Bob's work in detail, andwe 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 nextday making one cap, but about four o'clock he had to declare that partof 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 believeyou're loafing on the work anyway."
"Believe what you please," said Bob, mad clear through, "but I'll tellyou right now that I'm not going to work any more today, and what'smore you can't make me either."
"Can't, eh, we'll see about that," snapped King, coming toward Bobwith clenched fist.
Now, when Bob was real good and mad, he could be as stubborn as amule, and he was in exactly that condition now, regardless ofconsequences. So, when King raised his fist as if to hit him, hestepped back, saying in a firm tone, "You hit me just once, and Iwon'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 afull minute without speaking. "You'll work tonight or you'll get nosupper," 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, asKing 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 todo, and I've made it up good and hard, right now, and you can't makeme back down. You've got me in your power, and I suppose you can putme out of the way if you want to, but that won't get you the cell, sowhat are you going to do about it?"
King realized that he was licked, and gave in, with as good grace ashe could muster. "All right," he growled, "have your own way."
Bob was much relieved when he realized that he had won, for althoughhe had put up a bold front, he had by no means felt as confident ashis looks indicated. He spent the next forenoon getting the coppercylinder and the tank ready for the electrolysis, telling King that hehad decided not to make the other cap till the cylinder was done,although he could easily have done the work in an hour. After dinnerhe dissolved the lead nitrate in water, poured the solution into thetank, 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 circuitand 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 haveused a piece of copper just as well, but, he thought, "if he will onlygo 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 inplace he was soon obliged to acknowledge that he was ready to turn onthe 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, andsoon he could see that a dark brown powder was collecting on theoutside.
"Hold on a minute," said Bob, "I forgot to insulate the outside ofthat cylinder. Have you a piece of rubber tubing, large enough to slipon over it?"
"I guess so, but it seems to me that you are all the time forgettingsomething 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 purposedthat they take the cylinder out and see if they were getting anyresults, as they could not see the inside of it while it was in thetank. Glad of any delay, Bob readily assented, and as soon as it wasremoved, it was seen that a very small amount of the powder had coatedthe inside.
"Humph," growled King. "It's mighty slow. Won't it go faster if we usemore juice?"
"Yes," replied Bob, "but it will be too loose and spongy." This wasthe truth, as he had found by experiment, and he was very glad thatthis part of the work would have to go slowly, whether or no. Whensupper time came, King proposed that they leave the current runningall night, but Bob wouldn't hear to it.
"No," he said, "I must be here to watch it, for I know what to expectif it don't pan out, and much depends on how that peroxide of lead isdeposited. Either you turn off the current or I quit."
King knew from past experience that it would be useless to threatenand grudgingly yielded the point. "Shall we take the cylinder out?" heasked.
"Of course," replied Bob, "I thought you knew something about thiskind of work."
King muttered something about wanting to make sure, and leaving thelaboratory they went up to supper.
That night about ten o'clock, as Bob was lying on his bed trying, asusual, to think of some way to escape, he heard the key turn in thelock and the hunchback entered.
"Mr. King sent me up to tell you to go to sleep good and early forhe's going to call you at five o'clock."
"Oh, he did, did he?" returned Bob. "Well, you just tell him that I'llgo to sleep when I get good and ready and not a minute before. Do youget that?"
While speaking, he had got off the bed and gradually approached thehunchback. As he finished, he suddenly grabbed him round the neck, andbefore the dwarf had time to defend himself, he was hurled to the farside of the room. Bob made a quick dash for the door and in an instanthad it closed and locked behind him. Quickly, he turned and darteddown the stairs, but before he reached the next floor, he heard theman shouting and pounding on the door. "I must hurry," he thought,taking the next flight three steps at a time. He had reached the lowerfloor and was unlocking the front door, when a door at his left flewopen and both King and Reed rushed out.
"What's all this?" demanded King; then as he saw who it was, he sprangforward 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 ofthat 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 Bobprecede him up the stairs.
"You miserable runt," he shouted, as he unlocked the door and saw thedwarf. "What does this mean?"
"Gee," replied the latter, "he jumped me so quick, I didn't know whatwas 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 messagethrough 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," hethought as he was undressing. "But, confound it, I've got to dosomething pretty soon for I'm not going to make that job pan outnearly as long as I thought I could."
Before he slept that night, he had resolved upon a bold stroke forliberty, which he was resolved to put into execution at the very firstopportunity.
About eight o'clock the next morning, Bob realized that his chance hadcome. King was watching the cell while he was standing about threefeet to one side. Suddenly, Bob drew back his right arm and beforeKing could defend himself, he struck. The blow was a jim dandy, as Bobafterward expressed it. It caught King fairly on the jaw and he wentdown like a log, knocking over the tank as he fell. Bob quickly leanedover him and took the key of the laboratory from his pocket, where hehad seen him put it several times.
"Now, if I can only get out," he thought as he unlocked the door andstole softly up the stairs.