"Wow!" exclaimed Joe. "That was a wicked wallop, Bob."
"It's no more than you deserve," said Jimmy. "A good wallop with the business end of a gas pipe would be about the best thing that could happen to some people."
"I'm glad he doesn't mean us, Joe," said Herb, with a wink at his friend.
"Here are your cleats, so you can get busy and screw them on to the back of that panel. I'll lie down on the couch and watch you to see that you don't make any mistakes."
"No danger of that," said Herb. "I couldn't make a mistake if I tried. Wait till I get hold of a screw driver and watch my speed."
"You'll probably make a mistake without trying," said Jimmy, "but I suppose there's no use trying to give you good advice, so go ahead."
However, Herb justified his modest estimate of himself this time, for he soon had the cleats strongly fastened to the back of the panel, raising it two inches, which gave plenty of clearance for wires and screw heads underneath.
"That will make a better job of it, anyway," said Bob. "I was figuring on running the wires on the top side, but if we put them underneath it will look neater, although it will take longer to do it."
"We might as well do it up brown now that we've got this far," said Joe, and the others were of the same opinion.
The boys arranged the various pieces of apparatus to their satisfaction, and then drilled holes through and bolted them securely to the back. This also took a little more time than merely to screw them to the face of the panel, but made a more secure and lasting piece of work.
They were still drilling holes and clamping down nuts when Mrs. Layton called down to tell them that lunch was ready.
"Gosh! is it lunch time already?" exclaimed Joe. "It seems as though we had hardly got started yet."
"I guess it is, just the same," said Bob. "Let's wash our hands, and eat."
"This seems like rubbing it in, though," protested Herb. "We've almost been living here at your house lately, Bob, and now we're putting your mother to the trouble of getting lunch for us. I think we ought to go home and come around later."
"Oh, nonsense," said Bob. "Mother's got everything all ready now, and she'd feel bad if you didn't stay. Come on up," and he set the example by making for the stairs.