" agreed Mr. Bentley, with a likable grin.
"We can't complain that our life is slow."

"I should think," said Bob slowly, "that it might be dangerous,
installing sets right there in the heavy timber."

"That's what lots of radio engineers thought also," agreed Mr. Bentley.
"But no such trouble has developed so far, and I guess it isn't likely
to now."

"Didn't they have some trouble in getting power enough for their sets?"
asked Joe, with interest.

"Yes, that was a serious drawback in the beginning," came the answer.
"They had to design a special equipment--a sort of gasoline charging
plant. In this way they were able to secure enough power for the
charging of the storage batteries."

Bob drew a long breath.

"Wouldn't I have liked to be the one to fit up that first wireless
station!" he cried enthusiastically. "Just think how that Mr. Adams must
have felt when he received his first message through the air."

"It wasn't all fun," the interesting visitor reminded the boys. "The
station was of the crudest sort, you know. The first operator had a box
to sit on and another box served as the support for his apparatus."

"So much the better," retorted Bob stoutly. "A radio fan doesn't know or
care, half the time, what he's sitting on."

"Which proves," said Mr. Bentley, laughing, "that you are a real one!"
And at this all the lads grinned.

"But say," interrupted Joe, going back to the problem of power, "weren't
the engineers able to think up something to take the place of the
gasoline charging stations?"

"Oh, yes. But not without a good deal of experimenting. Now they are
using two hundred and seventy number two Burgess dry batteries. These,
connecting in series, secure the required three hundred and fifty-volt
plate current."

CHAPTER VII

RADIO AND THE FIRE FIEND

"Well, I hope that the boys know what you're talking about," interrupted
Mr. Layton at this point, his eyes twinkling, "for I'm sure I don't."

"They know what I'm talking about all right," returned his guest,
admiration in his laughing eyes as he looked at the boys. "Unless I miss
my guess, these fellows are the stuff of which radio experts are made. I
bet they'll do great things yet."

"Won't you tell us more about your experiences?" begged Herb, while the
other boys tried not to look too pleased at the praise. "It isn't often
we have a chance to hear of adventures like yours first hand."

"Well," said Mr. Bentley, modestly, "I d