Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1930-01-02

But go on about the battery"
do you know" be said admiringy.
my respect for you becomes pro-
founder every moment You have an
admirable drectness and pertinacity:
and your short cuts Of Intuition are a
delight We were talking about the
battery a few centuries ago, weren'i
WEI"
"We've been talking about the bat
terry right along and you know IT."
said She
WELL as was saying: most
people imagine that when : man
writes a story he sits down and IN
vents 1t with the front part of his
brain, the way you'd sit down and
make list of something: that he de
cides that this character will do this
and that character will do that and
the whole plot will do so-and-so."
Doesn't he?"
'sHe may think be does; but he
! doesn't. What he really does is this
he either has d situation. or central
| CiUitd Ill tuSdr vi OnC VI lioIC NbdI
ters. He makes q start Then one by
one the situations. the telling points
and even the trend OF converse
lions com, into his mind, and be picks
them out He doesn't do any thinking
at all, In the way mathematician In
vents theorem. He Just keeps his
story In his consciousness. 80 to
speak; and things form. II isn't
thinking: II certainly isn't dreaming
idly. for there Is very active volition
| In It."
he nodded slowly. u think / see
dimly where you're coming out"
I'm sure yor do. Well, | noticed
that my old experience In the dark
and this story writing had one thing
In common: the more or less holding
In allegiance OF the sharply reasoning
mind From then IN II was practice"
"A1d the hattery?"
"Came to me irsl like story. a
little at time. I'm no mechanic. and
have no scientific education No one
! could be worse fitted than | to be an
inventor. But, like anyone else, |
couldn't help noticing from time to
time the incredible amount of power
everywhere going to waste, and the
equally incredible exertions we have
| to make get hold of what little
| power we do use. Just think OF the
amount OF power necessary to raise
and lower the tides; or to deliver mil
lions OF waves on the beach: or, In
deed, to warm single acre of land to
the growing point. And OF course
we're just beginning to use water
power"
Yes" she urged him as he paused
"Then one day when | was filling
the starting battery OF my carl have
got cart struck me what
nuisance 1t was, and | wondered II we
couldn't get battery that would work
with air."
And then you figured 1t out"
Il did not" he disclaimed II mere.
~. kept 1t In mind, the way | do
story, and 1t worked out Its own plot.
bit by bit. Every once In q while ia
try 1t, just the way I'd try story
plot and 1t wouldn't work so I'd quit
1t, and keep II In MIND again, anu wait
for another bright idea 1t took me
some time 10 tumble TO the fact TINT
the plates had to be just exactly SO
far apart. | got mainly by
accident-and II worked well for two
or three days Then all at once II
quit on me. ! found afterward that
probably the plate got Jared little
1t took me three weeks to get on the
right track. Then one day said to
myself, oh, yes, micrometer
screw"
But you've succeeded at ast!'
TO certain extent. anyway
There's lot 10 be considered
whether a number OF batteries will all
work together, for instance. Bur III
least I've got two TO work and to work
hard for long time. One horrible
thought occurred to me: that maybe
1t will only work near electric plants
already In operation under the old
methods That's why I'm up In this
wild country. bag and baggage. I'm
going to get far enough away to find
out. 1t seems to be all right, though
They returned to camp down the old
wood road. The evening shadows were
crouching close to earth. stealing back
and forth like players In concealment
waiting the moment to rise and take
the stage They walked Ia a spell
that was unbroken until the campfire
fllckered through the trees.
you don't know how | appreciate
your, telling me all this. Mr.. Daven.
port" then said she
Il told you my friends call me Lar
ry," he pointed out: then at her slight /.
withdrawal "Oh | know we're sup /
posed TO be recent acqualntances and |
all that; but we're not really. and yon}
know It. But II Isn't that. speak /
from sense OF the appropriate. Now
really, look at me. Am ! Larry
looking person or Davenport look
ing persona" He cooked his eye com.
icalIy In her direction.