“Not unless you’re prepared to die,” replied Jimmy, and Herb forebore to add insult to injury.
“Now as to this lightning arrester,” resumed Bob, leaving Jimmy to regain his equanimity. “We’ve got to put it up, for the regulations require it and we ought to have done it before.”
Jimmy pricked up his ears but said nothing.
“I don’t think there’s really much need of it,” objected Joe. “It’s too nice an afternoon to work. We’ve got a lightning rod on the cottage anyway.”
“It isn’t so much for the cottage as the set,” said Bob. “If the lightning got into the receiving set it would make short work of it. Now here’s the kind of lightning switch we’ll have to have,” and he launched into an earnest discussion of a type that was required by the radio regulations.
Jimmy took no part in the discussions, but they attributed this to a touch of grouchiness and gave him time to get over it. Bob after a while 16 glanced at him, and saw that he wore a broad grin on his face.
“What’s the joke, Jimmy?” he asked, a little suspiciously.
For only answer Jimmy broke into a peal of laughter.
“Of all the boobs,” he chortled.
They looked at him and then at each other in bewilderment.