The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-02-04
LIGHTNING IN JOHNNY'S HAIR.
BY ADAM STwIN.

|
BY ADAM sTwIN.
"Combs can't blow, can they?'
Could you guess what Johnny meant
| by such queer, backhanded question?
| couldn't, nor his sister Mary either.
was quite sure, however, that he meant
something sensible if one could only get
at it; but Mary was doubtful.
BLOW what?" she asked, not so pleas
antly as she might
"Why, blow air." said Johnny, to
| make wind"
"Of course not, you silly child; what
| makes you ask such question as that?"
Mary thinks Johnny is pretty bright
little fellow in general, but on particular
points she is always ready to call him a
Ounce without stopping first to find out
what he really means to say. The
trouble is, she knows SO little herself
that she thinks she knows everything, at
least everything worth knowing; and
Johnny is all the time puZZling her with
questions that she has no answer ready
for
"What have you seen to make you ask
that question:" inquired.
a didn't see anything" said Johnny;
"I just felt it-like some one breathing
!
my comb near"
Nonsense" said Mary; "you just
imagined it."
"No, didn't" Johnny insisted;"1 1 felt
it really this morning when was comb
ing my hair"
oh" said |, suspecting the cause Of
his difficulty; what kind of a comb was
it?"
a black comb" said Johnny.
" Horn or RUBBER" / asked.
"lt's rubber comb" said Mary.
How did your hair behave when you
were combing it,"
+" Mean as anything" Johnny replied.
zlffda and leasplii z;s Ike Mary's when its friz-
Johnny likes to tease rer:: -
Did YOU think the comb made it do
that by blowing it?" | asked.
"Not at first" sai1 Johnny; " the
comb seemed to crackle. an put 1t to
myAar to listen; then | felt the wind on
my cheek"
ISuppose you bring the comb here,'
said |, "and show US what it did"
Johnny ran off for the comb, but came
back quite crestfallen.
cit won't do it now," he said.
GAS much as ever!" cried Mary, tri-
umphantly.
said, rather humbly.
"Pshaw!" said Mary; "you imagined
it,"
Like many another discoverer Johnny
had to learn what it is to be discredited
and ridiculed for knowing too much.
Because Mary had never noticed what
he described, she was as ready as older
people to cry "nonsense," impossible" ="
and all that sort of thing, without stop
ping to consider whether he might not
| be in the right after all"
"Gou had better try it again some
| other day." / said to Johnny. Try
| different combs. Try in the dark, too"
"What for?" Johnny asked.
"You might see something" said.
ain the dark"
| eyes, in the dark"
| Johnny wondered how that could be
and he wondered still more when ] sug-
gested that it might be a good plan to
try the comb also on Humpty Dumpty-
that's his shaggy dog.
Two or three mornings after Johnny
came pounding at my door before break
fast; when | let him in he cried: :" i,
blows now, sure"
"What blows?"
"Why! the comb
I.took the comb from his hand and put
ting it to my check said, Il don't Zee
any wind from it.n
@That isn't the way" he said, reachin:
out for the comb. "You must do thi
first" and he ran the comb rapid,
through his hair few times, then helt
it to his cheek, saying, can feel it
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, thel
held the comb near the down, expecting
to see the light stuff blown from th
talle To his great surprise it was no
blown away at all, but on the contrar.
it sprang suddenly toward the comb, thel
, dropped off as suddenly
"That's queer" said Johnny.
excited the comb again and held
: near the back of my hand, callin
Johnny's attention to the fact that all tn
fine hairs stood up when the comb cam
} near fnem.
When you hold the comb near you
= cheek" | said, "the downy hairs stan
e up like that, and the feeling is just lik
4 that of breath of air"
: "Then it isA't wind that comes fror
: the comb?"
u,
4 "Maybe the comb is magnet" su.
4 gested Johnny, seeing its attraction 70
q light hairs, dust and the like, as / held
S over them. took small magnet fror
s my table-drawer and held it near tn
V feathers and hair. 1t did not stir then
| no matter how much | rubbed it.
Y picked up a needle, though, very quickl,
!, Then | rubbed the comb, ana though
q attracted the feathers it had no effect o
0 the needle.
= "Is that like magnet?" / asked.
e "Nc," said Johnny.
:, "When the needle springs to the ma.
n net it sticks there; but when the hair {
n down springs to the comb it flies ava
S again instantly"
n at is very queer" said Johnny.
"Try this horn comb, said |.
Johnny tried it, but comb his hair ;
:, much as he might the horn would N
r draw anything. Then he tried she
t. comb, and an ivory comb, neither of the
e acting as the rubber comb did.
:, q don't understand it at ALL" sal
n Johnny.
IS Nobody does fully said l; but
-e you keep trying you may learn goo
,e deal about it in time"
/. Then we went to breakfast 1t Wi
l. several days before the subject W;
N brought up again. " I've been watchir
s. long time," said Johnny that evenin
!" Il began to think ii would never hal
3! pen again, but it's first rate to-day"
n Haya you found ouf ANYTHING new