The Campfire Girls of Roselawn Part 8

"I shall have to get an amplifier--a horn," Jessie murmured.

At first she heard only a funny scratchy sound; then a murmur, growing louder, as she tuned the instrument to the required wave length. The murmurous sound grew louder--more distinct. Amy squealed right out loud! For it seemed as though somebody had said in her ear:

"--and will be followed by the s.e.xtette from Lucia. I thank you."

"We're just in time," said Burd. "They are going to begin the concert."

String music, reaching their ears so wonderfully, hushed their speech.

But Darry got close to his sister, stretching his ear, too, to distinguish the sounds. The introduction to the famous composition was played brilliantly, then the voices of the singers traveled to the little group in Jessie Norwood's room from the broadcasting station thirty miles away.

"Isn't it wonderful! Wonderful!" murmured Amy.

"s.h.!.+" admonished her chum.

When the number was ended, Burd Alling removed his head-harness and gravely shook hands with Jessie.

"Some calico, you are," he declared. "Don't ever go to college, Jess.

It will spoil your initiative."

"You needn't call me by your slang terms. 'Calico,' indeed!" exclaimed Jessie. "Calico hasn't been worn since long before the war."

"You might at least call us 'ginghams,'" sniffed Amy.

"Wait!" commanded Jessie. "Here comes something else. You take my ear-tabs, Darry."

"Wait a moment," cried Amy, who still had her phones to her ears. Then she groaned horribly. "It's a lecture! Oh! Merciful Moses' aunt! Here!

You listen in, Darry!"

"What's it all about?" asked her brother.

"A talk on 'The Home Beautiful,'" giggled Burd, "by One of the Victims. Come on, Darry. You may have my phones too."

As all three seemed perfectly willing to let him have their listening paraphernalia, Darry refused. "Your unanimity is poisonous," he said.

"The Greeks bearing gifts."

"Let's get a rain check for this," suggested Burd.

"It will last only twenty minutes, according to the schedule," Jessie said, with a sigh. It was such a fine plaything that she disliked giving it up for a minute.

They talked, on all kinds of subjects. The boys had had no time before to tell the girls about the _Marigold_. Just such another craft it was evident had never come off the ways!

"And it is big enough to take out a party of a dozen," Darry declared.

"Some time this summer we are going to get up a nice crowd and sail as far as Bar Harbor--maybe."

"Why not to the Bahamas, Darry?" drawled his sister.

"And there, too," said Darry, stoutly. "Oh, the _Marigold_ is a seaworthy craft. We are going down to Atlantic Highlands in her next.

Burd's got a crush on a girl who is staying there for the summer," and he said it wickedly, grinning at his sister.

"Sure," his chum agreed quickly, before Amy's tart tongue could comment. "She's my maiden aunt, and I've got a lot of things to thank her for."

"And she can't read writing, so we have to go to see her," chuckled Darry.

"Send us a snapshot of her, Darry," begged Jessie, not unwilling to tease her chum, for it was usually Amy who did the teasing.

"I should worry if Burd has a dozen maiden aunts," observed Amy scornfully, "and they all knitted him red wristlets!"

"How savage," groaned Darry. "Red wristlets, no less!"

The girls had news to relate to the boys as well. The church society was going to have a summer bazaar on the Fourth of July and a prize had been offered by the committee in charge for the most novel suggestion for a money-making "stunt" at the lawn party.

"I hope they will make enough to pay Doctor Stanley's salary," Darry said.

"We want to raise his salary," Jessie told him. "With all those children I don't see how he gets on."

"He wouldn't 'get on' at all if it wasn't for Nell," said Amy warmly.

"She is a wonderful manager."

The boys departed for City Island and the _Marigold_ the next morning; but they promised to return from their trip to Atlantic Highlands in season for the church bazaar.

For the next few days Jessie and Amy were busy almost all day long, and evening too, with the radio. They even listened to the weather predictions and the agricultural report and market prices!

The Norwood home never had been so popular before. People, especially Jessie's school friends, were coming to the house constantly to look at the radio set and to "listen in" on the airways. The interest they all took in it was amusing.

"You see, Momsy," laughed Jessie, when she and her mother were alone one day, "if my radio set were downstairs here, I wouldn't have much use of it. Even old Mrs. Grimsby has been in twice to talk about it, and yesterday she came upstairs to try it."

"But she won't have one in her house," Mrs. Norwood said. "I don't know--I didn't think of it before, Jessie. But do you suppose it is safe?"

"Suppose what is safe, dear?"

"Having all those wires outside the house? Mrs. Grimsby says she would not risk it."

"Why not, for mercy's sake?" cried Jessie.

"Lightning. When we had a shower yesterday I was really frightened.

Those wires might draw lightning."

"But, _dear!_" gasped Jessie. "Didn't I show you the lightning switch?"

"Yes, child. I told Mrs. Grimsby about that. Do you know what she said?"

"Something funny, I suppose?"

"She said she wouldn't trust a little thing like that to turn G.o.d's lightning if He wanted to strike this house."

"O-oh!" gasped Jessie. "What a dreadful idea she must have of the Creator. I'm going to tell Doctor Stanley that."

"I guess the good doctor has labored with Mrs. Grimsby more than once regarding her harsh doctrinal beliefs. However, the fact that such wires may draw lightning cannot be gainsaid."