And so, Mr. Bombs fancied he had not failed after all. If he had done nothing more he had proved himself to have the proper personality for the making of a successful Pyro-King. He could fascinate and mystify the public. “You see,” he said to Adelaide the next morning, “I might better have such accidents and experiences now than when I get about my larger piece—‘The Battle of the Wilderness.’”
“The Battle of the Wilderness!” exclaimed Adelaide. “Is it possible you are going to try making an amusement out of that dreadful battle?”
“Yes, it’s a possibility,” laughed Bombs, “and I know of another possibility, that will match it beautifully.”
“What is it, Mr. Bombs?”
“That Miss Adelaide Schwarmer will not be so scrupulous about such matters when I return from Europe as she is now.”
“Why do you think so, Mr. Bombs? Have you changed that way since you were my age?”
“No, Miss Adelaide, but I was a boy and you are a girl.”
“What difference could that make, Mr. Bombs.”
“A mighty sight of difference, Miss Adelaide. You were not educated or expected to have anything to do with business concerns. I was and with the very biggest kind, and they all mean war, more or less.”
“O dear, how dreadful! I can’t understand it at all, Mr. Bombs.”