"What are you going to take?" asked Fred.
"I guess I'll try old Spriggins's back yard," answered the other. "He's got a big grape-vine arbor there that will take immense."
Fred, left to himself, poured the collodion over the plate, and gently tilted it from side to side. The liquid did not flow evenly, but lay in rings and streaks all over the surface.
"Why didn't we try the Professor's gum-arabic, and save collodion!" he exclaimed. But not discouraged by failure, he tried again, and by sheer luck succeeded in making a smooth surface. In about five seconds he put the plate in the bath, and awaited the result. When he removed it, instead of being finely coated with silver, the plate appeared cracked, greasy, and spotted.
"Oh, misery!" he cried, "the bath is all full of yellow stuff. What shall I do?"
Hearing this, Jim returned to the laboratory, and with his usual calmness simply said, "Filter."
Fred did so, and in a few moments a clear bath was again obtained.
"How did that happen, I wonder?" said Fred.
"I don't believe you allowed the collodion time enough to set," was the answer. "Let me try this time."