‘No,’ said Lucius; ‘I wasn’t told not to look at the bull. I don’t see how there could be any harm in doing that.’ ‘Then thet’s all right. This hyar fight, thet stands fer Holmes’s bull, ye onderstand; and the old balloon, she stands fer the ring fence. How does thet strike ye?’ ‘You mean,’ said Lucius thoughtfully, ‘that since we only intend to watch what is going on, I shall be doing no harm if I go with you.’ ‘Thet’s it, I reckon. Why, don’t ye know, I’ve been studyin’ all the time how I could git ye thar, and give ye suthin’ like what ye wanted, without ye runnin’ no resks.’ It did not appear to strike Ephraim that there could be any risk connected with the balloon itself. ‘Waal,’ he added after a pause, during which Lucius gave himself up to reflection, ‘what d’ ye ’low ye’ll do?’ ‘I’ll come,’ said Lucius, rising to his feet. ‘There can’t be anything wrong in this, for it’s only a piece of fun.’ There was a note of doubt in his voice; but he was anxious to allow himself to be convinced. ‘Then thet’s fixed,’ said Ephraim, with a sigh of relief. ‘’Taint likely ez I’d ask ye ter do anythin’ wrong, Luce.—Now we’ll git outern this, and I’ll let ye know when all’s ready fer a start.’ ‘But how are you going to manage it?’ asked Lucius. ‘What about the gas?’ ‘I’ll show ye,’ answered Ephraim. ‘See them two bar’ls?’ ‘No,’ said Lucius; ‘I don’t see any barrels.’ ‘Thar, opposite the door, buried in the ground.’ ‘Oh yes; filled with straw. What are they for?’ ‘They ain’t filled with straw, ye onderstand,’ explained Ephraim. ‘I’ll show ye.’ He gathered up the straw from the top of one of the barrels, and disclosed underneath a quantity of iron filings and borings. ‘Why, that’s iron,’ exclaimed Lucius; ‘what has that to do with gas?’ ‘Hold on,’ replied Ephraim genially. ‘I’ll make it cl’ar ter ye in a jiffy. Ye see,’ he pursued, ‘this kind er thing goes on all the way down—a layer er straw and a layer er iron-filin’s plumb down ter the bottom er the bar’l.’ ‘I see,’ said Lucius, looking very wise, though, as a matter of fact, he was as much in the dark as ever. ‘Now,’ went on Ephraim, pointing to some carboys ranged against the wall, ‘them things is full er sulphuric acid—vitriol, that is ter say; and ez soon ez ever I take and heave the acid on top er the iron-filin’s, the gas—hydrergin it’s called—begins ter come off.’ ‘Does it?’ said Lucius, much interested. ‘Let’s see.’ Ephraim grinned. ‘I reckon I han’t been gatherin’ the stuff all these months jest ter fire it off before the time,’ he remarked; ‘but I’ll show ye the same thing in a little way, so ter speak.’ He took a glass flask from a shelf and placed a few iron filings in it. He then poured some sulphuric acid into a cup, added some water thereto, and finally introduced it into the flask, completely covering the lumps of iron.