The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-05
A RTUNE IN HOT AIR

the converter will work. and what you
believe | believe, but can you make
the public believe it?'
Before he could speak there was a
timid knock at our office door and a
young lady entered. She was the sweet
est little maiden l had ever seen. Her
large blue eyes looked at US with SUI
preme trustfulness and her pretty lips
tried to smile a brave salutation, al
though they were trembling in a pa
thetic way.
Il hope you will pardon me-" she said
softly. but Gerald-thau is, Mr.. Saw
yer-tOld me that Mr. Perkins of this
firm had promised to-to-make things
so that"
She blushed and paused.
Right" Perkins exclaimed, land
what Perkins says always happens.
I'm Perkins. I'll make things so that"
Il just wanted to beg you that if
there is any hope" she pleaded, Ito
please, please not give up until you
had tried everything. You see l do
not want"
She looked at Perkins, and her eyes
filled with tears, and before we know
how it happened she was sobbing in
Perkins arms, and he was strOking
her brown hair and murmuring. "Chirk
~
idiotic manner
When she had gone Perkins turned
from the window where he had been
standing looking out
You asked Perkins" he said, IF he
could make the public believe in the
Sawyer Patent Refrigerative Hot Air
Converter. You saw the girl. After
seeing that girl Perkins can make the
public believe anything"
looked out for several minutes. idly
Tapping his coat tails up and down
Sweet girl" he said at last. Did
you notice her eyes? Did you notice
her teeth?? Did you notice her hair?''
He sighed.
Perkins" 1 said. you are not fall
ing in love with her?''
NO" he said. shaking his head.
No not that. But what an advertise
1nent for Van Stems Radical Hair Re
! generator her portrait would make!
And she would never stand for it; she
isn't that kind of a grill"
III.
A few weeks later there appeared a
full page illustrated article headed
The Mystery of Hot Air. The pic
lures were of the laboratory of Profess
I cav Win the pIOleSSDE potter
ing over collection of glass tubes and
bulbs and things-a very indistinct view
of bottle said to contain negative hot
air, and large portrait of the profess
scr. The article was very grandiloquent
and crowded with errors. Perkins had
been particular about having the err
rors regarding the professor and his
plans inserted, in order that it might
appear more like like a genuine sci
entific story, and less like paid adver-
| tisement.
As soon as it could be respectfully
done, the other papers took up the SUBJ
ject. and progressive monthly maya
zine had one of their special writers
prepare an article, with illustrations
! entitled, Hot Air. A Modern Won
der"
| Professor Sawyer was asked to lee
ture on hot air before. number of sci
entific societies, but pleaded the ne
cessity of keeping his secret for a while
and as a substitute gave them talks on
| the germ theory of the cause of freck-
les on russell apples.
! In short, Perkins skillfulIy managed
to give Hot Air a vast amount of the
most valuable kind of publicity-that
4 WHICH Is not pd1u Tor ana which cannot
be bought. In few weeks he had in
culated the idea that hot air was not
only a scientific fact, but a valuable
commodity.
Interviews with noted scientists re-
garding the possibility of freezing air
J to holiness were in great demand. and
with the well-known scientific reticence
| the great men managed to admit the
possibility of Hot Air. One said thai
| there could be no doubt that Professor
Sawyer was right in stating that water
began to expand instead of continuing
! to contract when it reached freezing
point. and that if his deductions from
| this fact were logical there could be nc
doubt that he had made logical deduc-
| lions Another said that 5000, 600 de-
grees below zero would be so cold thai
almost anything could happen. Another
said that there could be no doubt that
100000 degrees below zero was the
oretically possible, and that all that
was necessary to bring air to that tenn
perature was to make it cold enough
Out of these, by taking a bit of each
and arranging them in proper order,
Perkins produced an indisputable mosa-
ic of acquiescence in Professor Sawyer
| theories
Then he suddenly placed before the
investing public the opportunity to buy
! shares in the Sawyer Hot Air company