“Yas, sah, Massa Tom.  He were.  An’ yo’ ought t’ see him hop when he heard mah voice yellin’ at him.  Ha! ha! ha!”

Eradicate chuckled at the thought.  Then a pain in his shocked arm made him wince.  A wry look passed over his face.

“Yas, sah, Koku done jump about ten feet,” he said.  “An’—­an’ den I jump too.  Ain’t no use in denyin’ dat fact.  I done jump when I got dat shock!”

“All right, Rad.  You may go now.  I think I’m on the right track!” exclaimed Tom.  “Come on, Ned, we’ll try some experiments, and we’ll see what we can do.”

“No shocks though—­cut out the shocks, Tom,” stipulated his chum.

“Oh, sure!  No shocks!  Now let’s bet busy and improve on Eradicate’s Angel Gabriel system.”

Tom made a quick examination of the apparatus.

“I understand it, I think,” he said.  “Koku was near the plate in the other booth when Rad put on the double current.  There was a light there, and in an instant his likeness was sent over the wire, and imprinted on this plate.  Now let’s see what we can do.  You go to that other booth, Ned.  I’ll see if I can get your picture, and send you mine.  Here, take some extra selenium plates along.  You know how to connect them.”

“I think so,” answered Ned.

“This image is really too faint to be of much use,” went on Tom, as he looked at the one of Koku.  “I think I can improve on it.  But we’re on the right track.”

A little later Ned stood in the other booth, while Tom arranged the wires, and made the connections in the way accidently discovered by Eradicate.  The young inventor had put in a new plate, carefully putting away the one with the picture of the giant, This plate could be used again, when the film, into which the image was imprinted, had been washed off.

“All ready, Ned,” called Tom, over the wire, when he was about to turn the switch.  “Stand still, and I’ll get you.”

The connection was made, and Tom uttered a cry of joy.  For there, staring at him from the plate in front of him was the face of Ned.

It was somewhat reduced in size, of course, and was not extra clear, but anyone who knew Ned could have told he was at the other end of the wire.

“Do you get me, Tom?” called Ned, over the telephone.

“I sure do!  Now see if you can get me.”

Tom made other connections, and then looked at the sending plate of his instrument, there being both a sending and receiving plate in each booth, just as there was a receiver and a transmitter to the telephone.

“Hurray!  I see you, Tom!” cried Ned, over the wire.  “Say, this is great!”

“It isn’t as good as I want it,” went on Tom.  “But it proves that I’m right.  The photo telephone is a fact, and now persons using the wire can be sure of the other person they are conversing with.  I must tell dad.  He wouldn’t believe I could do it!”

And indeed Mr. Swift was surprised when Tom proved, by actual demonstration, that a picture could be sent over the wire.