"But where do you get all the money to buy that stuff?" asked Larry. "Some of it must be pretty expensive, isn"t it?"
"Not as expensive as you might think, although some of the apparatus, like audion bulbs, certainly run into money," replied Bob. "But we can easily sell the apparatus that we already have, and make enough on that to buy the new things with. There are plenty of people ready and anxious to buy our sets, because we can sell them for less than the store would charge, and they work as well or better than some store sets."
"Who"s talking of selling our sets?" broke in a well-known voice, as Joe, Herb and Jimmy came, pellmell, into the room.
"I was," said Bob, in answer to Jimmy"s question. "I was thinking of selling your set to the junkman, for what it would bring."
"Huh!" exclaimed Jimmy, indignantly. "I"ll bet a junkman wouldn"t even buy yours. He"d expect you to pay him to take it away."
"Say, you fellows must have a high opinion of each other"s radio outfits,"
broke in Tim, laughing. "But if you want to give one away, here"s Tiny Tim, ready and waiting."
"No chance," said Jimmy, positively. "I worked too many hot nights on mine to give it away now, and I guess Bob thinks he"d like to keep his, too, even though it isn"t really much good."
"It was good enough to take the Ferberton prize, anyway, which is more than some people can say of theirs," Bob replied, grinning. "How about it, Doughnuts?"
"That was because the judges didn"t know any better," said his rotund friend. "They should have made me the judge, and then there"s no doubt but what my set would have won that hundred bucks."
"We can believe that easily enough," laughed Larry. "But you radio bugs forget your hobby for a few minutes and listen to the glad news," and then he told them about the engagement he and Tim had secured.
All the boys congratulated them on their good fortune, and after some further conversation the two actors departed, first promising to drop in for a visit before going away to start their engagement.
"I like those two fellows first rate, and would be mighty glad to see them succeed," said Bob, after they had gone. "It seems to me they ought to make a big hit, too. They"re a regular riot all the time they"re with us."
"Yes, they"re certainly funny," agreed Joe. "What were you telling them about selling our sets, just as we came in?"
"Oh, I was just saying that we could get money to buy new apparatus, audion bulbs, and that sort of expensive stuff, by selling one or two of the sets we"ve got now, and whacking up the proceeds," said Bob. "My dad spoke of that last evening, and it struck me as a mighty good idea. I know of several people in Clintonia who would like nothing better than to have a good set, and having made them ourselves, we can sell them cheaper than the stores, and still make money on them."
"Say, that"s a pretty good stunt," said Joe. "I was trying to figure out the other day where we could get the necessary cash. The cheapest audion bulb you can buy costs about three dollars."
The other boys, also, were pleased with this idea, and said so. They agreed to sell two of their sets as soon as they got back to Clintonia.
This was their last week at Ocean Point, for the fall term of the high school started the following Monday, and they were to leave Ocean Point on Sat.u.r.day.
"It will be pretty hard to bone down to lessons again, after a summer like this, but I suppose there"s no help for it," said Jimmy, mournfully. "I feel as though I"d forgotten all I ever knew."
"That isn"t much, so you don"t need to worry about it," said Joe, with pleasing frankness.
"I suppose you think you"re a regular Solomon, don"t you?" retorted Jimmy.
"n.o.body else does, though, I can tell you that."
"Quit your sc.r.a.pping," admonished Herb. "You don"t either of you know a single good joke, while I"m just full of wit and humor. Why, here"s a joke I thought up just the other day, and I don"t mind admitting that it"s a pippin, not to say peacherino. I thought it up while I was watching some fellows play tennis, and I just know you"re all crazy to hear it."
"We"d have to be crazy to want to hear it," said Bob. "But probably you"ll feel better after you get it out of your system, so fire ahead, and we"ll do our best to stand the strain."
"This won"t be any strain; it will be a pleasure," said Herb. "Now, this joke is in the form of a humorous question and an even more humorous answer. Oh, it"s a wonder, I"ll say."
"We"ll say something, too, if you don"t hurry up and get the agony over with," threatened Joe. "Make it snappy, before we weaken under the strain and throw you out the window."
"Well, then," said Herb: "Why does the tennis ball? And the answer is: Because the catgut on the racquet." And he broke into a peal of laughter, in which, however, his friends refused to join.
"Well, what"s the matter?" asked Herb, cutting short his laughter as he saw that the others only shook their heads despondently. "Why in the name of all that"s good don"t you laugh? Wasn"t that a peach of a joke?"
"Herb, the only reason we don"t kill you right away is because you will be punished more by being allowed to live and suffer," said Bob. "That was a fierce joke."
"Oh, get out!" exclaimed Herb, in an injured tone. "You fellows don"t know a clever joke when you hear it."
"Likely enough we don"t," admitted Joe. "We don"t get much chance to hear clever jokes while you"re around."
"Oh, well, if you don"t like my jokes, why don"t you think up some of your own?" asked Herb, in an aggrieved tone. "There"s no law against it, you know."
"There ought to be, though," put in Jimmy.
"Oh, what do you know about it?" asked Herb, incensed at the laughter that followed this thrust. "All you can think of, Doughnuts, is what you"re going to get to eat when the next meal time comes around."
"Well, I enjoy thinking of that so much, that I"d be foolish to think of anything else," said Jimmy, serenely.
"You win, Jimmy," said Bob, as he and Joe shouted with laughter at Herb"s discomfiture. The latter was inclined to be sulky at first, but he soon forgot his ill humor, and was as gay as the others as they discussed their plans for the fall and winter months.
Contrary to the predictions of some of their neighbors in Clintonia, their enthusiasm for radio work had increased rather than diminished, and they were anxious to become the possessors of sets capable of hearing any station in the United States, and perhaps even the large foreign stations.
Of course, this meant that their apparatus would have to be much more intricate and expensive than any they had constructed hitherto, but the realization of this did not deter them. On the contrary, the thought that the task would be one to tax their skill and knowledge to the utmost only served to make them more eager to begin. They examined numberless catalogues and circulars in an effort to determine where and at what cost they could obtain their necessary supplies, jotting down notes as they went along. By supper time they had acquired a pretty good idea of what their new equipment would cost, and were pleased to find that it came within the amount that they thought they could get by selling two of their present complete sets.
"Well, then," said Bob, in conclusion, as they heard the supper bell ring, "the first thing we do when we get back home will be to sell the two sets, and then we"ll get busy on making the new ones."
With this the others agreed.
CHAPTER V
BACK FROM THE BEACH
"Good-bye, old bungalows, we hate to leave you. Here"s hoping we see you again next summer."
It was Herb speaking, as the radio boys and their families left the group of cottages where all had spent such an eventful and pleasant summer.
Brilliant sunlight beat down on the yellow sand, but its heat was very different from the torrid rays that had kept them running to the ocean to cool off all that summer. There was a clear and sparkling appearance to the air and sky, and the wind that came sweeping over the level sands had a nip in it that made even Jimmy walk fast to keep warm.
They were to return home by train instead of automobile, and all the ladies had gone to the station in the big motor omnibus, but the boys had preferred to walk, as the distance was not great and there was still plenty of time before the train was due.
"We"ve had a wonderful time here, there"s no doubt of that," said Bob, commenting on Herb"s apostrophe to the bungalows. "But it will seem nice to get home again, too. I"ve almost forgotten what the old town looks like."
"It will seem good to see the old bunch at High once more, too," added Joe. "I"ll bet there aren"t many of them have had the fun that we"ve had ever since we landed at Ocean Point."
"Not only that, but we"ve learned a lot, too," said Bob. "We were running in luck when we met Mr. Harvey and had the run of that big station. It was a wonderful opportunity."
"You bet it was," agreed Herb. "It"s a wonderful place to think up jokes in, too. I don"t think I ever thought of so many good ones in a single summer before."
"I didn"t know you thought of any good ones," said Joe. "All those that we heard were punk. Why didn"t you tell us some of the good ones for a change?"