Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-03-11

ing he would thus be more convinced
that he was following up crazy notion
So Joe, thankful for the respite. kept
intently watching the flames reach up
toward the queer, patched object on the
crane, baking the enlightenment harder,
and concealing it with deposit of SCOT
Soon trace of steam issued from the
spout, and became a new center of in.
terest to him, and new subject fol
chatting by the merry circle of sisters.
"When the steam passes off the gas
will begin to GOMEZ explained Joe,
quietly. Then there was a new cause Of
alarm. Jane became more and more
nervous" fidgety," as her mother said
because company was coming, and
her brother and his old tea-kettle
"would be town-talk.'' This nearly
stopped his proceedings, but he man.
aged to save his machine little longer,
James "young man. still delaying his
expected coming; and as the clouds of
steam began to grow less and less, with
strange earnestness, that even the
thoughtless little ones respected, Joe
begged for only ten minutes longer, and
warned Jane and her tongs away from
interfering, in a tone so quietly stern,
that she never thought of answering
him, but sat down Immediately.
The girls went to work On their gram
mar lesson, but soon got back to the
kettle. Every body's thoughts spun
round that black, Kissing object just
now. They talked good deal about
it, but Joe did not appear to be listen
ing. The steam had stopped entirely,
and he was carrying lighted shaving
with trembling hands towards the spout
of the kettle. A brilliant blaze sudden
ly lighted up the house.
Hurrah!" cried Joe. "Sell your
box of candles and buy yourself a new
gown, mother. Hurrah for school and
shingles all winter! Hurrah!''
"Why, Joe!' cried his mother, some
thing sparkling in her eyes, "why, Joe,
l didn't think it would burn so; but it
does, and I'm glad of it, too"
Little Moses and Judith skipped about
from one corner to another, laughing
to know that something was not hid
there to catch them every time they
ventured into the darkness. Joel came
In just then to James great satisfaction,
though, perhaps, he did not help to cor
rect grammar recitation on Monday.
Notwithstanding his presence, she did
not seem very seriously alarmed for
Joe's reputation. Joel looked on the
blazing tea-kettle in amazement, and
with some trepidation.
"May be it's bewitched!" said he to
Jane.
go, I don't know what Joe's been
doing to it, I'm sure,'' said the promis-
ing girl; ''but guess tits light enough
to see to play cat's-cradle, and so they
tried it.
"Why, Joe, you're genius, instead
of Ounce, 1 do declared" said Debby.
This is an invention, and no mistake"
"You are all acting like a parcel of
ounces" declared their father, prepar
ing to 60 to bed. "'Tain It no great Won
der that birch-bark should burn after its
got a-fre, if it is in an old tea-kettle. It'll
all burn out in ten minutes
emo, Debby, I'm only Dance" Joe
replied; ebut you will soon see that it
will burn all the evening""
And it did. At bedtime the tea-kettle
was taken from the crane and the blaze
extinguished. The next morning it was
hung on again-this time without oppo-
sition-and lighted after it got hot, no
time being lost in waiting for steam to
dry off. Joe split his shingles now
without delay, and never was there
more diligent and happy fellow. Toward
the end of the week the crust burned off
the cracks in the kettle, whereupon the
light became more brilliant than ever,
for it streamed out from every crack as
well as from the spout, and the black,
old tea-kettle was clothed in mantle OF
Pickering fire. But Joe was afraid the
shattered constitution of his favorite
would hardly hold together under so
much excitement. So, on Saturday, he
plastered the cracks over anew, this
time with clay, and filed it with new
stock of birch-bark.
And thus he worked by his tea-kettle
light all winter, and got his schooling,
too.
Here endeth the true history of the
first of all the gas factories.