"I'm glad. I'm afraid of atom and hydroshells. They kill people and poison them and make them suffer."
"This station doesn't do that. It reaches out into space and brings in all kinds of power. It's a magnet, you might say."
"What are you going to do with the power you bring in, Joe?"
"Now that's a very interesting question." Joe smiled. "Maybe we'll tickle little girls with it."
Biddy laughed. "You're just joking with me."
"No, I'm not. Tell you what we'll do. Suppose I give you a little sample?"
"That would be fun."
Joe seemed to be wondering about the machine in the cave with one part of his mind and talking to Biddy with the other. Not wondering exactly, but kind of like Pop when he tried to rig the jeep up to pull the big rock out of the backyard by just turning the back wheels. Pop had done it too. He was smart about making things do the things they hadn't been built to do and Joe looked as though he was trying to do the same thing with his machine.
Joe said, "Why don't you sit right here, Biddy—on this chair. Then we'll take this wire and fasten it there—so—and this one, here."