Argosy, Vol. 123, No. 1 — page 59: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE BIG IDEA. fuel takes place entirely away from the furnace—the heat of this combustion being. completely wasted—that a far greater heat can subsequently be obtained. But it is a fact nevertheless. ‘“ How would you start the fire in the ground?” suggtsted Mr. Wentworth. “ By dropping down incandescent coal,” Jimmy returned promptly. “ And thei blowing air to it. You see—” The president raised his hand. ‘‘ That’s only a detail. Then you really thmk you coud approximate a gas-producer with this burning mine of yours?” > “Ves, sir. By forcing down the proper proportions of air and steam. You see, the hele in the burning coal-bed would gradually spread out. But that wouldn’t make any difference, because it would only have two outlets to the surface air, and both of them under control.” “The lower ends of your casing would melt,” said Mr. Wentworth. “What of it, chief?” Mr. Cooper mter- posed. “ That wouldn’t hurt anything.” The presiderft considered. ‘‘ No, I don’t suppese it would,” he admitted. “ It’s an interesting idea, especially if it would work. Have you talked with any of our technical men? How about Merkle, seen him?” - “ He has been—” Jimmy hesitated; then meeting Mr. Cooper’s warning glance, went on: s ; “Ves, sir; he’s been studying it. He says it can be done; he knows just how to do it.” “Oh, he does?” “ Yes, sir. He’s outside now; we fore you might like to talk to him about it.” “We'll have him in at once.”’ The presi- dent reached for the button on his desk, but Jimmy stopped him. “ Just a minute, Mr. Wentworth—hbefore you get Merkle. There’s another point I wanted to make.” Jimmy still had his trump card, and he thought this a good time to play it. “We understand around the office that this new factory you’re planning is for the making of optical glass?” _ The president inclined his head. ‘And for optical glass you need a very good grade of sand; if it has less than one- 49 twentieth of one per cent of iron, and not more than that of other impurities, it is satisfactory?” Jimmy was quoting almost verbatim what he had carefully learned. Mr. Wentworth nodded again; his grow- ing surprise and admiration for Jimmy were evident from his expression. “Well, sir, when I found that out, I thought of a sand-bank that’s on mother’s farm. It’s all sandy; that’s why it’s no geed for a farm.” Jimmy a little bottle from his pocket laid it on the Gesk before the president. “ There’s some of the sand, Mr. Went- worth, I had it analyzed.”” He produced a folded sheet of paper. ‘ Here’s the analysis—over ninety-nine and nine-teaths per cent pure silica.” He handed the paper to Mr. Wentworth. _ “ That’s mighty important, chief, as you know,” said Mr. Cooper earnestly. ‘If you've got the fuel and the sand, that’s pretty near everything, isn’t it?” The president.glanced at the paper and the little bottle of sand lying on his desk; then he sat up briskly. ‘We'll have Merkle in here at once; see what he says. You’re certainly interesting —mighty interesting. If it works—if it works—”’ 4 “Tt ’ll work, chief,” ‘said Mr. Cooper confidently, as the president rang his buzzer to summon Isaac Merkle. The conference with Mr. Merkle lasted over an hour. The little chemist, forgetting the unsavory circumstances under which he had beem induced te begin work on Jimmy’s plan, plunged into a discussion of it with enthusiasm. His ideas, as he out- lined them now to Mr. Wentworth, did not differ in any large essential from the way in which Jimmy had explained how it should be done. Mr. Merkle was sure that coal burning under control in the ground could be made to yield gas cf a very satisfactory quality. In his opihion the main furnaces that had already been decided upon« for the new optical glass factory could be used, un- _ changed. The president raised the question of the saving of the cost of coal; whereupon Mr. Merkle surprised Jimmy and _ George COmiclbooks C©