The Young Wireless Operator--As a Fire Patrol | Page 3

and Mother have been married twenty years and Dad's worked hard all
this time and saved his money to build a house. And just about the time

Dad was ready to begin building, prices began to go up. Dad held off,
thinking they would drop. But they got higher instead, and finally Dad
told the carpenters to go ahead, lest prices should go higher still. Now
the house is going to cost almost double what Dad expected it would,
and the awful prices of everything else take every cent Dad can earn.
With such a big mortgage on the place, Dad says he's just got to have
my help or he may lose the house and all he has saved in those twenty
years. It's all right about helping Dad, Lew. I want to do that, but I can't
bear to think of going to work in that factory."
"It's too bad, Charley. I had hoped so much that we could go to college
together."
"Lew, if I could go to college I'd work my head off to do it. You know
that. If only I could go to college and learn about the birds and flowers
and rocks and trees and animals, I'd be willing to do anything--even to
work in Miller's factory for a time. But Dad will need every cent I can
earn until I am twenty-one, and I can't see how I can possibly go to
college."
"Never mind, Charley. You never can tell what will happen. Look at
Roy. He was worse off than you are, for his father died suddenly and
Roy had to care for both himself and his mother. And see what came of
it. He isn't much older than we are, yet he's got a fine job. Just keep
your eyes open and you may pick up something, too."
"It'll have to come quick, then," sighed Charley. "Here it is almost
Easter vacation, and I am to graduate in June. This will probably be the
last vacation I shall have in a long time."
"Then let's enjoy this vacation. I've been thinking what we could do,
and it occurred to me that it would be lots of fun for the Wireless Patrol
to make a trip up the river to that old camp of ours. It won't be too cold
to camp out if we take out our tents and our little collapsible stoves.
Suckers ought to be running good and we can catch a fine mess of fish,
take a hike or two, and have a bully trip up the river and back. Let's go
tell the rest of the fellows."

Lew jumped up and started for the door. Then he stopped suddenly and
a look of disappointment came over his face. "I'll bet none of 'em can
go," he said. "They've all got jobs for the vacation. I'm glad we've got
our money earned."
"I just thought of another difficulty," sighed Charley. "Not one of us
owns a boat."
"We can borrow one," said Lew.
"I hate to borrow things," replied Charley. "You remember how I
borrowed old man Packer's bob-sled and broke it and then had to pay to
have it remade. No more borrowing for me."
"Why can't we make a boat? There's plenty of time between now and
vacation. If we do the work ourselves, it oughtn't to cost more than two
or three dollars and then we'd have a boat of our own."
"Bully!" cried Charley. "We can make it as good as anybody. We'll do
it."
"All right. I'll go down-town and find the price of oars and rowlocks,
and you go over to Hank Cooley's and find out how his father made
that boat of his. It's a dandy and just what we need."
The two boys rushed off in opposite directions, each full of enthusiasm
over the plan to build a new boat and make a trip up the river during
their Easter vacation.
Chapter II
What Came of Them

A few hours later Charley Russell again sat before the bench in the
little wireless house in his father's yard. Before him lay some patterns
for a rowboat, and on a piece of paper Charley was trying to figure out
how much lumber it would take to build the boat.

"We'll need two sixteen-foot boards, each a foot wide for the sides," he
said, looking across the table at his chum, who sat ready, with pencil
and paper, to jot down the figures Charley gave him.
"Thirty-two feet," said Lew, setting down the number on his paper.
Charley bent over his patterns, measuring and estimating in silence.
"It'll take three more like 'em for the bottom," he said presently.
"That's forty-eight more," replied Lew, jotting down the number.
"And these cross braces," added Charley,