Next week was Bobby's birthday. He received many gifts, but as usual, saved the biggest package until the last. It had come wrapped in stout1 manila paper, tied with a heavy cord, and ornamented2 with the red sticker and seals of the Express Company. With some importance Bobby opened his new knife and cut the string. The removal of the wrapper disclosed a light wooden box. This was filled with excelsior, which in turn enclosed a paper parcel. A card read:
"For Bobby on his eleventh birthday, from Grandpa and Grandma."
Wrought3 to trembling eagerness by the continued delays, Bobby tore off the paper. Within was a small toy cast-iron printing press. Its ink-plate was flat and stationary4. Its chase held two wooden grooves5 into which the type could be clamped by means of end screws. The mechanism6 was worked by a small square lever at the back. Bobby opened a red pasteboard box to discover a miniature font of Old English type; a round tin box to uncover sticky but delicious-smelling printer's ink; a package to reveal the ink-roller and a parcel to complete the outfit7 with a pack of cheap pasteboard cards.
"What do you think of that?" cried Mrs. Orde.
"Now you'll be able to go into business, won't you?" said his father. "You might make me twenty-five calling cards for a starter."
Immediately breakfast was finished, then Bobby took his printing press upstairs and installed it on his little table. He would have liked very much to show Celia his gifts, but this Mrs. Orde peremptorily8 forbade.
After some manipulation he loosened the chase and laid it on the table. Then he began to pick out the necessary type and arrange it in the upper grove9 to spell his father's name. The replacement10 of the chase was easy after his experience in taking it out. Ink he smeared11 on the top plate, according to directions, rolling it back and forth12 with the composition roller until it was evenly distributed. Nothing remained now but to adjust the guides which would hold the cards on the tympan. Bobby passed the inked roller evenly back and forth across the face of the type, inserted a card and bore down confidently on the lever. He contemplated13 this result:
[Illustration]
Besides the transpositions and inversions15, the impression itself was blurred16 and imperfect and smeared with ink.
After the first gasp17 of dismay, Bobby set to work in the dogged analytical18 mood which difficulties already aroused in him. The remedy for the inversion14 was plain enough. Bobby changed the type end for end and turned the R and the E right side up, but he worked slower and slower and his brow was wrinkled. Suddenly it cleared.
"Oh, I know!" said he aloud. "It's just like the looking-glass!"
Satisfied on this point, he finished the resetting19 quickly and tried again. This time the name read correctly but it slanted20 down the card and was blurred and inky. Bobby fussed for a long time to get the line straight. Experiment seemed only to approximate. One end persisted in rising too high or sinking too low. The problem was absorbing and all the time Bobby was thinking busily along, to him, original lines. At last, by means of a strip of paper and a pencil he measured equidistants from top and bottom of the platen, adjusted the guides in accordance and so that problem was solved. Bobby, flushed and triumphant21, addressed himself to remedying the blurring22.
"Too much ink," said he.
Obviously the way to remedy too much ink was to rub some of it off and the directest means to that end was the ever-useful pocket handkerchief. The paste proved very sticky and the handkerchief was effective only at the expense of great labour. Bobby ruined three more cards before he established the principle that superfluous23 ink must be removed not only from the plate but from the roller and type as well.
But now further difficulties intervened before perfection. Some of the letters printed heavily and some scarcely showed at all. Here Bobby entered the realm of experiments which could not be lightly solved in the course of a half hour. He tried raising the type to a common level and locking them as tightly as possible, but always they slipped. He attempted to insert bits of paper under what proved to be the shorter types. This improved the results somewhat, but was nevertheless far from satisfactory. By now he had learned not to use a fresh card every time. The first half-dozen were printed back and forth, front and behind. Bobby was smeared with more ink than the printing press. Scissors, pencils, paper, used cards and type were scattered24 everywhere. All the time his fingers were working his brain, too, was busy, searching back from the result to the cause, seeking the requisite25 modification26. Mr. Orde, returning at noon, burst out laughing at the sight.
"Well, youngster," said he, "how do you like being a printer?"
"Oh Bobby!" cried Mrs. Orde behind him. "You are a _sight_! Don't you know it's time to get ready for lunch?"
Bobby looked up in bewildered surprise. Lunch! Why he had hardly begun! His father was chuckling27 at him.
"Benzine will take it off," said Mr. Orde to his wife.
Bobby caught at the hint.
"Will benzine take off the ink?" he cried eagerly.
"It's supposed to," replied his father; "but in your case----"
"Can I have a little, in a bottle, and a toothbrush?" begged Bobby. He saw in a flash the solution of the ink problem.
"We'll see," said Mrs. Orde. "Come with me, now."
They disappeared in the direction of the bathroom. Mr. Orde examined the cards with some amusement.
"Well, sonny," said he to Bobby at lunch. "The printing doesn't seem to be a howling success. What are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know," replied Bobby; "but I'll fix it all right yet."
Bobby was busy with his birthday party all that afternoon, but next morning he was afoot even before the Catholic Church bell called him. The press occupied him until breakfast time, but he made small progress. His father's morning paper filled him with envy by reason of its clear impression. After breakfast he begged a tiny bottle of benzine and an old toothbrush from his mother, and went at it again for nearly an hour. The benzine worked like a charm. The type came out bright as new and the old ink dissolved readily from the platen and roller. Bobby took note that he should have cleared them the day before, as a night's neglect had left them sticky. With it all he seemed to have arrived at a dead wall. All his limited mechanical ingenuity28 was exhausted29 and still the letters printed either too deep or too light. About half-past nine he cleaned up and went down to the Ottawa.
His friends there were all sitting under the trees before the hotel, resting rather vacantly after a hard romp30. Celia perched high on a root, her curls against the brown bark, her hat dangling31 by its elastic32 from a forefinger33, her lips parted, her eyes vacant. Gerald leaned gracefully34 against the trunk. Bobby sat cross-legged on the ground watching her--and him. Kitty and Margaret reclined flat on their backs, gazing up through the leaves. Morris alone showed a trace of activity. He had fished from his pockets the short, blunt stub of a pencil, a penny and a piece of tissue paper. The latter he had superimposed over the penny and by rubbing with the pencil was engaged in making a tracing of the pattern on the coin. Through his preoccupation Bobby at last became cognizant of this process. He sat and watched it with increasing interest.
"By Jimmy!" he shouted leaping to his feet.
"What is it?" they cried, startled by the abrupt35 movement.
"I got to go home," said Bobby.
They expostulated vehemently36, for his departure spoiled the even number for a game. But he would not listen, even to Celia's reproachful voice.
"I'll be back after lunch," he called, and departed rapidly. Duke arose from his warm corner, stretched deliberately37, yawned, glanced at the children, half wagged his tail and finally trotted38 after.
Bobby rushed home as fast as he could; broke into the house like a whirlwind; tore upstairs and, breathless with speed and the excitement of a new idea, flung himself into the chair before his little table. He had seen the solution. To the flash of embryonic39 creative instinct vouchsafed40 him, Morris's penny had represented type, the inequalities of its design were the inequalities of alignment41 over which he had struggled so long and the pressure of the pencil and tissue paper paralleled the imposition of the card on the letters. But in the case of Morris's penny the type did not conform to the paper and the pressure, _the paper conformed to the type_.
His brain afire with eagerness, Bobby first stretched several clean sheets of paper over the platen and clamped them down; then he inked the type and pressed down the lever. Thus he gained an impression on the platen itself. At this point he hesitated. On his father's desk down stairs was mucilage, but mucilage was strictly42 forbidden. The hesitation43 was but momentary44, however, for the creative spirit in full blast does not recognize ordinary restrictions45. With his own round-pointed scissors he cut out little squares of paper. These he pasted on the platen over the letters whose impression had been too faint. A few moments adjusted the guides. Bobby inked the type and inserted a fresh card. The moment of test was at hand.
He paused and drew a long breath. From one point of view the matter was a small one. From another it was of the exact importance of a little boy's development, for it represented the first fruits of all the hereditary46 influences that had silently and through the small experiences of babyhood, led him over the edge of the dark, warm nest to this first independent trial of the wings. He pressed the lever gently and took out the card. It was not a very good job of printing; the ink was not quite evenly distributed, the type were so heavily impressed that they showed through the reverse of the card like stamping; _but each letter had evidently received the same amount of pressure!_
Bobby uttered a little chuckle47 of joy--he had not time for more--and plunged48 into the rectification49 of minor50 errors. And by noon the press was working steadily51, though slowly, and a very neat array of _Mr. John Ordes_ was spread out on the window drying.
The game was absorbing. Bobby brushed his type with the benzine and toothbrush; distributed it and set up another name--Miss Celia Carleton. He had printed nearly a dozen of these when his mother's voice behind him interrupted his labours.
"Robert," said the voice sternly, "what are you doing with that mucilage?"
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2
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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grooves
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| n.沟( groove的名词复数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏v.沟( groove的第三人称单数 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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replacement
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| n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品 | |
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smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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inversion
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| n.反向，倒转，倒置 | |
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inversions
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| 倒置( inversion的名词复数 )； （尤指词序）倒装； 转化； （染色体的）倒位 | |
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blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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analytical
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| adj.分析的；用分析法的 | |
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resetting
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| v.重新安放或安置( reset的现在分词 )；重拨（测量仪器指针）；为（考试、测试等）出一套新题；重新安置，将…恢复原位 | |
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slanted
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| 有偏见的； 倾斜的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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blurring
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| n.模糊，斑点甚多，（图像的）混乱v.（使）变模糊( blur的现在分词 )；（使）难以区分 | |
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23
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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modification
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| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
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chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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romp
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| n.欢闹；v.嬉闹玩笑 | |
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31
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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embryonic
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| adj.胚胎的 | |
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vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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41
alignment
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| n.队列；结盟，联合 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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46
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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47
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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48
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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49
rectification
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| n. 改正, 改订, 矫正 | |
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50
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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51
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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