"It won't be play, Mr. Wolf," said Roger. "It'll be bitter hard work, but it will add considerably to Ernest's reputation."
"Pah! Pah! Was ist's!" snorted the older man. "You are a good boy, Roger, but you are full of foolishness. You are bad for Ernest."
"Pshaw, Papa, don't talk like a goose," protested Elsa, her cheeks crimson. "All the initiative Ernest's got, Roger gave him. Why not let Ernest see a little of life before he settles down forever? Let him have just one adventure, for goodness sake."
"Will you be still, Elsa?" asked her father sternly.
"Hush, Elschen," whispered Mamma Wolf.
"Roger should be settling down and finding a wife for himself," Papa Wolf went on. "He'd soon get over his absentminded ways."
Ernest suddenly laughed. "Why, Papa, Roger looks on women about the way you look on inventors."
"Dry up, Ern," said Roger.
"What sort of a thing is it, this desert machine?" asked Uncle Hugo.
"It's a method of utilizing solar heat for power," replied Roger.