"What! and get all wet?" said Ned.
"Don't be in a hurry," said Phaeton. "Each one would wear an India-rubber water-proof garment (a sort of over-dress), covering him all over and fastened up tight. Of course, these would be provided by the company."
"But wouldn't it use up a cable every time you cut it?" said Ned.
"Not at all; it could be stretched again by hitching a team of horses to the end and drawing it back, and then we should solder it together with melted India-rubber. Probably a dozen teams would be at work at night stretching cables for use next day. You see, we should have as many cables as the business of the road required."
I have never known whether Phaeton was sincere in all this, or whether he was simply fooling Ned and me. I have since suspected that he had a purpose which did not appear at the time. At any rate, we took it all in and believed it all, and looked upon him as one of the world's great inventors.
"And what do you want the ten dollars for?" said Ned.
"Well, you know nothing can be done without more or less money," said Phaeton. "The first thing is, to get up a model to send to the Patent-Office, and get a patent on it."
"What's that?" said Ned.
"What's what?"
"A model."