I'd like to have something really impressive to show to Daisy when she comes."
Miss Daisy Manners of the Green Paradise floor show was just the person to accept the fourth-dimensional demonstrator without question and to make full use of the results of modern scientific research.
She greeted Pete abstractedly and interestedly asked just how much he'd inherited.
And Pete took her to the laboratory. He unveiled the demonstrator.
"These are my jewels," said Pete impressively.
"Darling, it's going to be a shock, but—have you got a quarter?"
"You've got nerve, asking me for money," said Daisy.
"And if you lied about inheriting some money—"
Pete smiled tenderly upon her.
He produced a quarter of his own.
"Watch, my dear!
I'm doing this for you!"
He turned on the demonstrator and explained complacently as the first cluckings came from the base. The glass plate moved, a second quarter appeared, and Pete pyramided the two while he continued to explain. In the fraction of a minute, there were four quarters. Again Pete pyramided. There were eight quarters—sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, one hundred twenty-eight— At this point the stack collapsed and Pete shut off the switch.
"You see, my dear? Out of the fourth dimension to you!
Uncle invested it, I inherited it, and—shall I change your money for you?"
Daisy did not look at all absent-minded now.
Pete gave her a neat little sheaf of bank notes.
"And from now on, darling," he said cheerfully, "whenever you want money just come in here, start the machine—and there you are! Isn't that nice?"
"I want some more money now," said Daisy.
"I have to buy a trousseau."
"I hoped you'd feel that way!" said Pete enthusiastically.
"Here goes!
And we have a reunion while the pennies roll in."
The demonstrator began to cluck and clatter with bills instead of quarters on the plate. Once, to be sure, it suspended all operations and the refrigeration unit purred busily for a time. Then it resumed its self-satisfied delving into the immediate past.
"I haven't been making any definite plans," explained Pete, "until I talked to you.
Just getting things in line.
But I've looked after Arthur carefully.
You know how he loves cigarettes.
He eats them, and though it may be eccentric in a kangaroo, they seem to agree with him.
I've used the demonstrator to lay up a huge supply of cigarettes for him—his favorite brand, too.
And I've been trying to build up a bank account.
I thought it would seem strange if we bought a house on Park Avenue and just casually offered a trunkful of bank notes in payment.
It might look as if we'd been running a snatch racket." "Stupid!" said Daisy. "What ?" "You could be pyramiding those bills like you did the quarters," said Daisy.
"Then there'd be lots more of them!"
"Darling," said Pete fondly, "does it matter how much you have when I have so much?"
"Yes," said Daisy.
"You might get angry with me."
"Never!" protested Pete.
Then he added reminiscently, "Before we thought of the bank note idea, Thomas and I filled up the coal bin with quarters and half dollars.
They're still there."
"Gold pieces would be nice," suggested Daisy, thinking hard, "if you could get hold of some. Maybe we could." "Ah!" said Pete. "But Thomas had a gold filling in one tooth. We took it out and ran it up to half a pound or so. Then we melted that into a little brick and put it on the demonstrator. Darling, you'd really be surprised if you looked in the woodshed." "And there's jewelry," said Daisy. "It would be faster still!" "If you feel in the mood for jewelry," said Pete tenderly, "just look in the vegetable bin. We'd about run out of storage space when the idea occurred to us." "I think," said Daisy enthusiastically, "we'd better get married right away. Don't you?"
"Sure!
Let's go and do it now! I'll get the car around!"
"Do, darling," said Daisy.
"I'll watch the demonstrator."
Beaming, Pete kissed her ecstatically and rushed from the laboratory. He rang for Thomas, and rang again.
It was not until the third ring that Thomas appeared. And Thomas was very pale.
He said agitatedly:
"Beg pardon, sir, but shall I pack your bag?"
"I'm going to be— Pack my bag?