‘They ain’t filled with straw, ye onderstand,’ explained Ephraim. ‘I’ll show ye.’
He gathered up the straw from the top of one of the barrels, and disclosed underneath a quantity of iron filings and borings.
‘Why, that’s iron,’ exclaimed Lucius; ‘what has that to do with gas?’
‘Hold on,’ replied Ephraim genially. ‘I’ll make it cl’ar ter ye in a jiffy. Ye see,’ he pursued, ‘this kind er thing goes on all the way down—a layer er straw and a layer er iron-filin’s plumb down ter the bottom er the bar’l.’
‘I see,’ said Lucius, looking very wise, though, as a matter of fact, he was as much in the dark as ever.
‘Now,’ went on Ephraim, pointing to some carboys ranged against the wall, ‘them things is full er sulphuric acid—vitriol, that is ter say; and ez soon ez ever I take and heave the acid on top er the iron-filin’s, the gas—hydrergin it’s called—begins ter come off.’
‘Does it?’ said Lucius, much interested. ‘Let’s see.’
Ephraim grinned. ‘I reckon I han’t been gatherin’ the stuff all these months jest ter fire it off before the time,’ he remarked; ‘but I’ll show ye the same thing in a little way, so ter speak.’
He took a glass flask from a shelf and placed a few iron filings in it. He then poured some sulphuric acid into a cup, added some water thereto, and finally introduced it into the flask, completely covering the lumps of iron.
‘Now,’ said he, ‘ye’ll see what ye’ll see.’ He closed the mouth of the flask with a cork through which was set a glass tube, and to the free end of this latter he presently applied a lighted match. Instantly the gas which was issuing from the tube ignited, and burned with a pure, pale flame.