Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-12-02
Novehzed by
LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
From the Play of the
Same Name by
WINCHELL SMITH
Copyright, 1910, by wincheu
Smith and Louis Joseph Vance.

what are you doing, sam?" I
asked.
''Fixin' up the sody fountain.
Meant to get it workin' last month,
Homer, but somehow 1 kind of for
got''
He rubbed away briskly at the sin
gle faucet which protruded above the
counter, lathering it briskly with a
metal polish that smelled to heaven.
DO much sody trade. Sam?"
He paused, passing his worn old
fingers rehectively across a chin
snowy with a stubble of neglecred
beard. NO" he allowed thouShtfully,
mot so much as we used 10 now that
Sothern & Lee we got this newfan-
gled notion of putin ice cream in
nickel glass of sody. Most Of the
young folks go there now, but still 1
get a call now and then, and every
little bit helps" He rubbed on fe-
rociously for a moment Course I'd
do more. likely. If I carried a bigger
line OF havors."
How many do you carry?"
"One." he admitted-with a sigh. va
niIly."
While filed my pipe he continued
to rub very industriously.
why don't you get mOre?"
He flashed me one of his pale, genial
smiles. I'm thinkin' OF it, Homer.
soon's I get some money fn-next
week. mebbe. There's a man In N
York that mebbe can be interested in
one OF my inventions, Roland Bar
nette says. Mebbe he'd be willin' to
put a little money in it. Roland says.
and Of course if he does III be able
to stock up considerable"
I sighed covertly for him. He
rubbed, humming a tuneless rhythm
to himself.
''Roland's gotn' to write to him
about it"
What invention?' I asked, incredu-
lous.
Sam put down his bottle of polish
and came round the counter, beamiug.
Nothing pleases him better than an OPP
portunity to exhibit some one of his
innUmerable models. IN show yous
Homer" he volunteered cheerfully.
shutting over to his workbench. He
raSped a match over its surface ano
applied the fame to a small gas brack-
ct fixed to the wall. 4 strong rush OF
gas extinguished the match, and he
turned the flow half of before trying
again. This time the vapor caught
and settled 10 = steady brilliant flame
as white as and much softer than
acetyIene.
There" he said in triumph. What
A.
why" 1 said, 81 didn't know you
had an acetylene plant"
No more have I. Homer
But what is that, them 7 demand
ed.
IT'S my invention" he returned
proudly i've been workin' on it two
years, Homer. and only got it goin'
yestiddy. It's goin to be q great thing,
I tell YOU
But what is it, SamT'
ITS gas from crude petroleum,
Homer. Seer he continued. indicat-
ing a tank beneath the bench which
seemed to be connected with the
bracket by a very simple system of
piping, broken by a smaller, cylindrical
tank "Ye put the oil in there-just
crude as It comes out OF the wells,
Homer. It don't need ref1nin'. and it
runs through this and down here to
this. where It's aporized-much the
same's they vaporize gasoline for au-
tymobile engines, We know-and then
it just naturally flows up to the brack-
ct, and there ye are"
IT'S wonderful, Sam said I, won
dering If it really were.
and the best part of It is the econ
omy, Homer. A gallon will run one
Jet six weeks, day in and out. And
simple to install. 1 tell ye''-
Have you got 1t patented YETI"
Eyes. street Took out patents just as
soon as it struck me how simple 1T I'D
be-more than two years ago. Only,
of course, 1t took time TO work it out