HE FILLED IT WITH MOIST SAND
Then he took another frame, a cope, which was like the first, except that it had pins on the sides, where the other had sockets. Slipping the pins into the sockets, he fastened them together.
Taking two round, tapering plugs of wood, he set them firmly in the sand, at each end of the patterns.
“One of those,” said he, “will make a place for the hot iron to go in, and the other for it to rise up on the other side.”
Then he filled the second box as he had the first, and made more vent holes.
“Billy,” he said, suddenly, “where are those corn cutters?”
“In the middle of the box,” answered Billy promptly, just as if he had always known about molding in sand.
“Now,” said Uncle John, “comes the artist part.”
Lifting the second part off the first, he turned it over carefully and set it on the bench.