His visitors jumped to their feet in astonishment, while the effect upon Bowser was magical. Whining and whimpering, the big dog flopped heavily upon the floor at his master's feet and looked intently into his face.
"Was it something like that?" asked Yardsley, innocently.
Sladder and Musgrove, with wildly staring eyes, looked toward the room as if fascinated, but upon all the others the truth instantly dawned, and they received it with varied feelings.
"A phonograph!" cried Bob.
"My eye! A—a—phonograph!" echoed Hackett.
Then Nat Wingate began to laugh, and all at once the absurdity of the whole thing appealed irresistibly to most of the boys, and a wild burst of merriment rang out.
Tim Sladder and Billy Musgrove remained ominously silent. There was a steely glitter in the latter's little blinking eyes, which seemed to say,—"Look out!"
"I'm powerful glad you fellers ain't took no offense," grinned John Yardsley. "I notice I come nigh to killin' that dorg. I met one of them scientific fellers oncet. You know the kind what can tell how many hairs a squirrel's got in its tail? He was an animalist; mebbe that ain't the word, but he know'd everything. He stayed out in the woods a spell with me, one winter; bunked right in here; an' he kinder took a fancy to yours truly.
"Well, I happened to run acrost him in town the next summer. 'Yardsley,' says he, 'you did play some awful jokes on me, out in the woods—it's a wonder my hair ain't gray.' An' he says, 'Yardsley, I've been having a lot of records took of different animals' voices. I want to give you one of a laughing hyena—it reminds me so much of you!'"
A titter went around the room.