But this small fear was immediately dissipated when she ran in after bidding Amy good-night. She found her father and mother both in the library. The package of radio books had been opened, and Mr. and Mrs. Norwood was each reading interestedly one of the pamphlets Jessie had chosen at the bookshop.
The three spent an hour discussing the new “plaything,” as Mr. Norwood insisted upon calling it. But he agreed to everything his daughter wanted to do, and even promised to buy Jessie a better receiving set than Brill, the hardware man, was carrying.
“As far as I can see, however, from what I read 33 here,” said Mr. Norwood, “a better set will make no difference in your plans for stringing the aerials. You and Amy can go right ahead.”
“Oh, but, Robert,” said Mrs. Norwood, “do you think the two girls can do that work?”
“Why not? Of course Jessie and Amy can. If they need any help they can ask one of the men—the chauffeur or the gardener, or somebody.”
“We are going to do it all ourselves!” cried Jessie, eagerly. “This is going to be our very owniest own radio. You’ll see. We’ll put the set upstairs in my room.”
“Wouldn’t you rather have it downstairs—in the drawing-room, for instance?” asked her mother.
“I know you, Momsy. You’ll be showing it off to all your friends. And pretty soon it will be the family radio instead of mine.”
Mr. Norwood laughed. “I read here that the ordinary aerials will do very well for a small instrument or a large. It is suggested, too, that patents are pending that may make outside aerials unnecessary, anyway. Don’t you mind, Momsy. If we find we want a nice, big set for our drawing-room, we’ll have it in spite of Jessie. And we’ll use her aerials, too.”
The next day Brill sent up the things Jessie had purchased, but the girls could not begin the actual stringing of the copper wires until the morning 34 following. Ample study of the directions for the work printed in the books Jessie had selected made the chums confident that they knew just what to do.