"Yes," said Jonas.
"What is it for?" said Nathan.
"It is to keep the wind from coming out of that hole."
"Why don't they want the wind to go out of that hole?" said Nathan.
"Because," said Jonas, "they want it to go to the fire,—to blow the fire."
"You see," said Rollo, "it can't go out of the hole, and so it has to go out of the long nose, which is pointed towards the fire."
"What makes it go out at all?" said Nathan.
"Why, when we blow the bellows, we press the two sides together, and that presses the wind out. It can't go out of the hole whence it came in, because the clapper stops it up, and so it goes out the long nose, right into the fire, and makes the fire burn."
By this time, Jonas had got the leather off so far, that he could get at the clapper to mend it. He told the boys that it was old and worn out, and he must make a new one.
"How are you going to make it?" said Rollo.