Electricity was this young man's "hobby," and he had already fitted up the
cellar with all sorts of wires and attachments for regulating the
household affairs, such as turning on the heat by touching a button in the
stable where the hired man, John, had his quarters, and lighting the gas
in the coal-cellar by touching a button at the cook's elbow; in fact, Nat
really did arrange a number of most convenient contrivances, but the
family, all except Joe and Roger, thought his talent misapplied. They
insisted he ought to study "railroading."
"Or laying pipes," Ned would tell him when Nat pointed out some
improvement in the miniature telephone system.
But Joe and Roger loved to watch their big cousin make the sparks and turn
on the signals, the latter task always being assigned to Roger, who had a
very small engine of his own to practice on.
"Come on, boys," said Nat to the youngsters, when, dinner being over,
Major Dale and his sister, Mrs. White, went to "figure out Christmas
secrets," and Dorothy turned to the piano to put in her time until the
hour for going out again, "come on, and we'll rig up something."
Instantly both little fellows were at Nat's heels, through the back hall
to the cellar-way, where Nat stopped to don his overalls, for he always
insisted that the first principle of true mechanics was "good, stout
overalls.
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