The loud drumming noise of a tick-tack rattled upon a window is enough to give any one the cold shivers, and if the guests of a Halloween party are gathered about the fire-place, telling weird ghost stories, this unearthly noise is sufficient to give even the bravest heart a conviction that the house is haunted by supernatural beings. The writer and his friends used to make
Fig. 303-304.
Details of Crank for Tick-tack.
A New Style of Tick-tack, such as illustrated in [Fig. 302], which claims several advantages over the ordinary kind. In the first place it has a crank arrangement which does away with the long string that is everlastingly becoming entangled, and only one boy is necessary to operate it where two are required with the old-style affair. Again, by having the tick-tack upon the end of a long pole, second-story windows can easily be reached with it. For the making of this tick-tack, procure two large spools, some heavy cord, and a long pole (perhaps you can borrow your mother's clothes-pole for the occasion). With a knife cut notches in the flanges of one spool, and fasten it to one end of the pole, driving a large nail through the hole in the centre of the spool into the pole (see [Fig. 302]). Place the other spool in your bench-vise and saw it in two pieces, as shown in [Figs. 303 and 304], so that A is one-half the size of B, or one-third of the length of the spool. Cut a strip of wood about six inches long, bore a hole near one end a little larger than a sixteen-penny nail, and nail the strip to the end of spool A so that the hole comes exactly over the one in the spool (see[ Fig. 303]). Attach spool B to the other end of C by means of a nail driven through the hole into the strip. The crank is now completed, and should be fastened to the lower end of the pole by means of a nail driven through the hole in A. It will be seen that this tick-tack is a simple piece of apparatus. The crank at the lower end of the pole is turned and revolves the notched spool at the upper end. To keep the cord from slipping on the pole, a little resin should be rubbed upon it, and it might be well also to rub a little upon the spools.
Fig. 305. The Clockwork Tick-tack.
A Clockwork Tick-tack, such as is illustrated in [Fig. 305], is another good idea, and one that can be carried out with a few minutes' work. Remove the works from an old alarm clock, and fasten them with wire or cord to the end of a pole, as shown. Attach a cord to the striker, and make it long enough to reach to the other end of the pole. Make a loop in the end of the cord, and drive a nail into the pole over which to loop the cord to keep the striker in check. This tick-tack is worked by placing the end of the pole close to the window-glass, with the striker toward the glass, and slipping the cord off its nail. The striker is controlled entirely by the cord.
The Goblin-man ([Fig. 306]) is easily made out of such material as you can most generally find about the house. The framework for the body of this ghostly creature is shown in [Fig. 307], and consists of a pole about four feet long with the centre of an eighteen-inch crosspiece nailed across it. In order to fasten these pieces firmly together, they should be halved as shown in [Fig. 267], Chapter XIX. The arms consist of two sticks (A and B in [Fig. 307]) fastened together at right angles with small iron braces, and screwed in place near the ends of the crosspiece, as shown in the [illustration]. Holes should be bored through the arm pieces in order that they may work freely on the screws. Place a small screw-eye in each arm at B, and attach a short string to it. A short stick should be nailed to the four-foot pole about eighteen inches from the lower end, so that the boy who carries the framework can rest it upon his shoulder.