“There they are,” exclaimed Billy.
“There they are,” said Uncle John, with a smile, “but there they are not going to remain.”
Dipping a sponge in water, he wet the sand around the edges of the pattern. Then he screwed a draw spike into the middle of the pattern and rapped it gently with a mallet to loosen it from the sand.
“Pretty nearly perfect, aren’t they?” he said, when he had them all safely out. “Now for some real artist work.”
With a lifter he took out the sand that had fallen into the mold, patched a tiny break here and there, and tested the corners.
Last of all he made grooves, which he called “gates,” between the patterns, and also at the ends where the iron was to be poured in.
Then he clamped the two boxes together. “Now the holes are in the middle,” said he, “and I hope that they will stay there till the iron is poured in.”
Billy, sitting on a box, watched Uncle John till he had finished another set of molds.
“That all clear so far?” asked Uncle John.
“Sure,” answered Billy.