. They looked at
it, praised me to my face and said: 'Node, by golly, you got it,' then
they went right down street and told everybody that I was a dam fool and
that's what disheartened me and I quit working on it. If I hadn't
invited anybody to look at my work I'd had perpetual motion down to a
nicety today. Why, I invented a magnet with which you could find gold or
silver, no matter if it was buried ten feet deep." (It was the belief of
many that there was gold buried in the hills around the old town; that
eccentric, wealthy persons in the early days had buried.)

"I had this magnet," continued Node, "working to perfection. Well, I
took four men with me, and we went around the Point to where a fortune
teller told 'Had' there was money buried. We worked along the hill up to
where the fortune teller had said the money was. The magnet swung right,
then left; suddenly it stopped, then whirled around and around. We all
turned pale. There was a smell in the air like the damp in a coal bank.
One of the men marked the place and said: 'Node, it's too late to begin
digging today; we'll dig tomorrow.' I waited all day, but none of the
men came. 'Had' was all excited about it because the fortune teller had
described the spot to her; she could tell it with her eyes shut. Well,
we walked straight to the place, and what do you suppose?" Node waited
for Alfred's reply.

"Well, I expect you found you was fooled," drawled Alfred.

"Yes, that's what we did," asserted Node, "that's jest what we did find,
we was fooled, robbed, tricked. There was a hole in the ground four or
five feet deep. At the bottom, just the size of a dinner plate and round
as a crock, you could tell there had been a crock full of money taken
out of the hole. Not one of them fellers thet was with me has ever
worked a day since." (Node had forgotten that they had never worked a
day previously.)

Node put his hand on the flying machine as he declared: "No, sir, no one
shall know a thing about this invention until your Uncle Noah has it so
he can do anything a bird can."

The allusion to the hidden wealth impressed Alfred greatly. He became
certain Node would make the flying machine a success. Therefore, he
built the platform on the barn longer that Node might get a better
start. Alfred was strong in the belief that he could greatly aid Node
with the clothes prop as before. But at the mere suggestion Node became
angry. He threatened to abandon the flight if he cau