The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-01-22
Lightning I'm Johnny's Hair.

COMBS can dow, can tney
Could you guess what Johnny meant
by such queer, backhanded question
1 couldn't, nor his sister Mary, either.
I was quite sure, however, that he
meant something sensible, if one could
only get at it but Mary was doubtful.
elbow what ?" she asked not SO
pleasantly as she might.
why, blow air, said Johnny, "to
make wind"
"Of course not, you silly child
what makes you ask such silly ques-
tion as that?'
Mary thinks Johnny is pretty bright
little fellow in general, but on particu-
lar points che is always ready to call
him Ounce, without stopping first to
find out what he really means to say.
The trouble is she knows so little her
self that she thinks she knows every
thing, at least everything worth know
ing; and Johnny is all the time puz-
zling her with questions that she has
no answer ready for.
"What have you seen to make you
ask that question ?" inquired.
CT didn't see anything" said Johnny !;
81 just felt it like some one breathing
softly on my face and hand when 1 held
my comb near"
Nonsense said Mary "you just
imagined it,"
"No l didn't" Johnny insisted ct
felt it really, this morning, when I was
combing my hair.
ooh" said /, suspecting the cause of
his difficulty; "what kind of q comb
was it p
ga black comb" said Johnny.
"Horn or rubber ?" L asked.
It's rubber comb" said Mary.
"How did your hair behave when
you were combiug it ?"
"Mean as anything" Johnny replied.
"It stuck up like Mary's when it's
frizzed, and wouldn't stay anywhere. I"
Part of that was for Mary's benefit.
Johnny likes to tease her.
"Did you think the comb made it do
that by blowing it ?" L asked.
mot at first" said Johnny the
comb seemed to crackle, and put it to
my ear to listen then l felt the wind
on my cheek.
"Suppose you bring the comb here, +"
said /, land show us what it did.
COnuDy Iuu Ol lOI Vic COIlD DuJ Ctult
back quite crestfallen.
1T won't do it now" he said.
GAS much as ever !" cried Mary, tri-
umphantly.
"But it did this morning, truly" he
he said, rather humbly.
"Pshaw?" said Mary, "you mag
ined it."
Like many another discoverer, John
ny had to learn what it is to be discred-
tied and ridiculed for knowing too much.
Because Mary had never noticed what
he described, she was as ready as older
people to cry "nonsense," "impossi-
ble," and all that sort of thing, without
stopping to consider whether he might
not be in the right after all. "
"You had better try again some other
day." said to Johnny. "Try differ
ent combs. Try in the dark, too"
"What for ?" Johnny asked
"You might see something" said.
"In the dark ?"
eyes, in the dark"
Johnny wondered how that could be
and he wondered still more when / sug-
gested that it might be good plan to
try the comb also on Humpty Dumpty-
that his shaggy uOS.
Two or three mornings after, Johnny
came pounding at my door before break
fast when let him in he cried, "It
blows now, sure u
"What blows %
"Why, the comb"
I took the comb from his hand and
putting it to my cheek, said, 81 don't
feel any wind from it."
"That isn't the way" he said, reach
ing out for the comb. "You must de-
this first" and he ran the comb rapid,
through his hair few times, then heit
it to his cheek, saying, ct can feel i
plainly"
"See if it will blow these" l said
stripping some bits of down from
feather and laying them upon the table
Johnny repeated the combing, ther
held the comb near the down expectin,
to see the light stuff blown from tn
table. To his great surprise it was no
blown away at all, but on the contrar
it sprapg suddenly toward the comb
then dropped off as suddenly.
That's queer" said Johnny.
excited the comb again and held i
near the back of my hand, callin
Johnny's attention to the fact that a
the fine horse hairs stood up when tn
comb came near them.
"When you hold the comb near you
cheek" said, "the downy hairs stan
up like that, and the feeling is just lik
that of breath of air. I"
"Then it isn't wind that comes fror
the comb ?"
"No, it is not wind"
"Maybe the comb is magnet,
suggested Johnny, seeing its attraction
for light hairs, dust and the like, as
held it over them. took small MAG
net from my table-drawer and held
near the feathers and hair. 1t did nc
stir them, no matter how much Irubbe
it. 1t picked up needle though, yer
quickly. Then 1 rubbed the comb, an
though it attracted the feathefs it ha
no effect on the needle.
Is that like a magnet ?" asked.
No" said Johnny.
"When the needle springs to th
magnet it sticks there; but when tn
l. Al. n