Rick reminded him that they had no lights. "I suppose we could make torches out of junk from the trash cans."
"Easy, if we can find some newspapers."
There were several trash cans spotted around the picnic area, and it was indicative of the kind of neat people in the vicinity that they were used. There was no litter.
The second can yielded two entire newspapers, one a bulky edition of a Washington paper, the other a ten-page local sheet. The boys split the papers evenly, then rolled them tightly. They frayed one end with a jackknife to make the torch.
"Got a match?" Rick asked.
Scotty looked at him blankly, then grinned. "No, have you?"
"No match, no flint or steel, no ... hey, wait! I've got a pocket lens!"
Rick's enthusiasm for microscopy had extended to the purchase of a twelve-power pocket lens to supplement the microscope Barby had given him. The pocket lens was used for examining specimens before taking them home for closer scrutiny under the more powerful instrument. Rick had not yet gotten used to carrying the small lens and had forgotten it until the need for a burning glass arose.
He took the lens from his watch pocket and unfolded it from the protective metal case. It focused the sun's rays to a pinpoint of intense light and heat, and the charred paper then burst into a tiny flame. Rick blew the flame into life, then put his lens back for safekeeping.
"Nothing like the scientific method," he told his pal. "Who needs matches? Come on. Let's burn that ghost out of there."