"Hush!" cautioned Alice, raising her hand for silence. Then the two girls heard some men in the next screened-off place talking, and one of them spoke loudly enough to be overheard.
"I'm sure we can get it," he was saying. "It's a nice little patent, and all the movies in the country will want it. It makes the pictures clearer and steadier. I tried to make a deal with him for it, but he turned me down. Now I'm going to get it anyhow, if you'll help."
"But how can you get it if it's patented?" another voice asked.
"That's the joke of it. It isn't patented yet. And all we need is the working model, and we can make one like it and patent it ourselves. Are you with me?"
"I guess so—yes!" was the answer.
"Good, then we'll get the model to-night and start a patent of our own. I know where he's taken it."
There was a scraping of chairs, indicating that the men were leaving. Ruth and Alice gazed at each other with startled eyes.