listener and avid for information. He had had no notion of how complicated
the whole matter could be. Bert Taylor dissertated sometimes on one phase
of the subject, sometimes on another.

"It's drills we need, and the fellows won't drill enough!" was Bert
Taylor's constant complaint. "What do they know about hose? They run it out
any way it comes; and roll it up anyhow, instead of doing a proper job."

"How should you do it?" asked Keith.

"It ought to be laid right--so there's no bends or sharp angles in it; it
should never be laid over heaps of stones, or any kind of uneven surface--
it all increases the water resistance. If there are any bends or curves
they should be regular and even. The hose ought never to rest against a
sharp edge or angle. And when you coil it up you ought to reverse the sides
every time, so it will wear even and stretch even. Do they do it? Not
unless I stand over them with a club!"

He showed Keith the hose, made of India rubber, a comparatively new thing,
for heretofore hose had been made of riveted leather. Bert Taylor made him
feel the inside of this hose with his forefinger to test its superlative
smoothness.

"Mighty little resistance there!" he cried triumphantly.

The nozzles, all in racks, he handled with almost reverent care.

"These are the boys that cost the money," said Taylor. "If the inside isn't
polished like a mirror the water doesn't come smooth. And the least little
dent makes the stream ragged and broken. Nothing looks worse--and it isn't