Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-11-12
Che family Circle.
Tad'S Telephone,

1t began with Tommy's falling down
stairs.
Most things in the Blake household be-
gan or ended with Tommy's falling down
stairs or from a window, or into the els
tern. This morning there was rafting
of Tin, a iinglng of wire,a series of bumps,
and then wildly mingled cutlery from
boy and cat; for Tommy'S descent had
ended at the precise spot where puss was
enjoying a morning nap.
The noise attracted Tad Kendrick, who
was near the open door.
Hello! What's the matter, Tommy?
Fell! sobbed Tommy GROSSLY, but with
a slight movement that released the squall-
ing cat.
What did you try to doP questioned
Tad, with curious eyes on the wire and tin
box that lay in the hall.
Was fshin' over the balusters, and the
old stairs and everything's always slippery
so they are! And don't want to be asked
bout everything all the time
Just then appeared Grandmother Blake
who, with much sympathy and few gum
drops, lured the victim away from the
scene of disaster, and Tad improved the
occasion by examining the novel fishing
tackle-a piece of wire with tin box at
tached to one end of it. Suddenly brill
liant thought struck him.
Will! he exclaimed to Tommy's eldest
brother, his own particular chum, let's
make telephone.
A tele what? Oh! one of the
things they can talk with ever so far off?
Yes.
Well, but you see l don't b'lieve they
can do it, said Willy with an air of pro-
found wisdom.
They can! Everybody's settled down to
that, affirmed Tad.
Will did not like to insist upon Ignorance
of what everybody knew. lie had heard
his father express some skepticism in re-
gard to some new invention, but still it
might not have been the telephone.
Anyway, we don't know how to make
one, he said after moments reflection.
Ho! that's easy enough! You have to
get long wire, and have boxes or some
thing at the ends-I expect some like
this ii do-and then you fix something in
the inside, and have ground connection,
you know. and it vibrates, and--that's all
there is TO it, explained Tad not very lu-
cidly but with great deal of confidence.
Anybody can make one if they know
how.
Wouldn't it be fun to get one up and
surprise the fellows at school? Willy
finally said.
That's just the thing l mean US to do
answered Tad.
They entered upon the business at once
Willy made a hasty raid into Bridget's
storc-room for empty fruit cans and bak.
ing powder boxes, and departed leaving
the bewildered proprietress looking about
her in dismay. Wants tin boxes to make
an elephant with Did ever | hear the like!
Pm thinkin' if he'd had the basic ready
made, and turned it loose here, the plac.
couldn't look much worse.
The boys were already experimenting in
the back yard. Eminently successful the
experiments were, too, for they each hearC
the others voice distinctly. That the,
were SO near together that the same result
would have been reached without the aiC
Of the telephpne was of small consequence
they were satisfied, and already planning
lor the establishment of longer line.
If we could get II long, long wire
said Tad.
Plenty of it up in the attic, said Willy
promptly,-a great big coil of it. That;
where Tommy must have found this.
Since the undertaking was to be kept
profound secret they wished to stretch
their line where it would not attract OBJ
servation, and II suitable route was sub
ect of much discussion.
III tell you! said Tad at length wei
faslen one end to the little south window
in your barn-loft. ana carry the othe
across the field down to the old mill in the
edge Of the wood. Nobody will notice i
there.
The farther terminus was SOLITARY
mill was seldom visited. That question
settled, the boys INDUCED in some specula
tons of all the wonders and benefits tina
might grow out of the achievement
For if fellow can talk that way,I don
see why he can't have ever so many line
everywhere, and just call what we wan
to, and save great deal of bother of hav
ing TO run errands and all that, sal,
Willy.
But there the school bell rang and endet
the pIanning-the talking of plans, Il
least, for Tad's head was still too full O
the subject to allow much else 10 enter
Lessons were fairly crowded out, and mis-
chief too, pretty nearly, until he caugh
sight of Dode Bunn-or, as he said, thu
sunbonnet that covered her, great flap
ping affair, from under which pair O
solemn grey eyes looked out. A calico
apron OF Undesirable shape, and patched
with variety of colors, enveloped the re
mainder of her small person, reaching
down to the bare ankles that, like hel
hands were sunbrowned and woefull,
scratched An odd little figure she wa
surely Even Dode herself had dimly re
allied it when she surveyed herself in the
tiny cracked mirror at home, and she hat
been bordering it all the way to school.
Don't seems if I'm just like other folk
only don't know why, she meditated
with eyes bent upon her brown feet n
they ploughed their way along the sand,
road. Joe thinks | patch things and max,
'em look real good, cause he says so, an,
little Bob too; but then they don't ever SCI
the other girls. Most wish didn't hav
to either-and do want to get the learnin
and Joe wants me to tell it to him Il
night.
She scanned with increasing shyness
but with new interest, that day, some o
her young schoolmates with whom sh
had made no acquaintance in her one brie
week at the school; she was trying tt
comprehend the difference between then
and herself. How pretty the light dresse
and ruffled aprons were!
Maybe it's cause other folks hav
mothers and don't have any-don't hav