Then came the crowning discovery. The shaft could be moved forward or back and turned at the same time. As Andy pushed it backward and gave it a twist to the right, the feather-like leaves depressed, assumed a diagonal line and spread out like a bird darting to the earth.
“Old junk, is it?” muttered the boy, as he carried the model into the shop again. “Maybe so. But, junk or not, I’ll bet there’s never been anything like that made before. And I’m goin’ to find out what it’s for.”
Although Andy had only partly investigated the fascinating mystery of the shop, he suddenly determined to have another look at the contents of the house. He was excited, hot, and dust-covered. Passing through the dining room, an unopened bottle of lime juice in the cupboard caught his eye.
“Might as well refresh myself,” chuckled Andy, with a boy’s hot-weather thirst. “A little Florida ‘cup’ is just about my size on a day like this,” he went on; and rushing out to the grove, he secured three oranges and a small pineapple. A big glass pitcher was filled with fresh water. Into this, using his pocketknife, Andy sliced the fruit, and then on it poured a cup of lime juice, after which he took up the sugar box. It was alive with ants.
Spreading a newspaper on the table, the boy poured out a quantity of sugar. The ants did not abandon their banquet. They rolled out with the sugar. The boy scratched his head. Then he tried to chase the ants away. They were not easily chased. He got a little stick and began pushing them off the sugar. They went off one side and returned on the other. From scratching his head, Andy fell to rubbing his chin. Then he had a great thought.
“I’ll drown ’em,” he said to himself.
Finding a shallow dish, the thirsty boy poured the sugar into it. The ants clung to their feast. He ran to the pump with the dish and filled it with water. The persistent ants were defeated. Those that did not escape the deluge by hasty flight were drowned at once, victims of their appetites. In a few moments, the top of the syrupy bath was thick with overcome ants. A few sweeps of the surface with his hand, and Andy was free of his enemies.
“An’ I’ve got all the sugar without a speck o’ ants,” he chuckled again.
Dumping the sweetening into the pitcher the boy stirred up the mess.
“It tastes awful good,” he said to himself, “but it’s kind o’ sweet.”