“That kind of picture,” he said, “does make a man look as black as his own hat, though it is often a good profile. I used to make them myself. Some night I’ll make one of you.
“Now that you’ve seen the musket, I think that you had better take a look at this suit of armor that I have been trying to make stand up here like a knight.
“This coat of mail is made of links, you see. Sometimes they were made of scales of iron linked together.
“The work that those old smiths did is really wonderful, especially when you remember that their only tools were hammer, pincers, chisel, and tongs. It took both time and patience to weld every one of those links together.”
“I don’t think I understand what weld means,” said Billy.
“When iron is heated to a white heat,” said Mr. Prescott, “it can be hammered together into one piece. Most metals have to be soldered, you know. The blacksmiths generally use a powder that will make the iron weld more easily, because it makes the iron soften more quickly, but iron is its own solder.
“You’d better sit down here while I explain a little about this suit of armor; then you’ll know what you’re reading about when you come to a knight.
“I suppose that every boy knows what a helmet and a vizor are; they learn about that from seeing firemen.”
“And policemen,” said Billy.
“Only the helmets of the knights covered their faces and ended in guards for their necks. I dare say that you don’t know what a gorget is.”