board, only to discover that the letters meant nothing to Bloody Bob because he couldn’t read. McMurphy came to the rescue, however, and drew another sort of eye chart.
Brewster would point to one large picture at the very top. “What’s this, Bob?” “Uh...’tis a cow. Doc.” “Okay. Good. Now, let’s move on to the next line, with these smaller pictures here. What animal is this?” “Uh... a rabbit?” “Good. Now how about this one?” “A pig.” “Well, no, actually, this one’s a sheep.” “Looks like a pig.” “ Tis a sheep. Bob,” McMurphy would put in.
“Still looks like a pig. You drew it wrong, McMurphy.” “You think a farmer can’t tell the difference ‘twixt a sheep and a pig?” “I say ‘tis a pig!” (Rasp of a new sword being drawn from its scabbard.) “Okay, okay, ‘tis a pig!” “Uh, maybe we’d better try this again later,” Brewster would say.
Eventually, he was able to make a pair of lenses that allowed Bloody Bob to see reasonably well, even if his vision was still a little blurry, but to Bloody Bob, this was a miracle. And the fact that it took so long obviously meant it was a very complicated thaumaturgic process, indeed.
Then there arose the problem of making frames for the lenses. Plastic, obviously, was out of the question, so they would have to be metal frames. And while metal frames could be fashioned without too much trouble, someone like Bloody Bob would require something pretty strong and durable. Wire rims simply wouldn’t do. It was Bloody Bob himself who finally gave Brewster the solution to the problem. He had referred to Brewster’s glasses as a “magic visor,” so what Brewster came up with and had Mick make was, in fact, a sort of visor, made from two pieces constructed out of bronze and riveted together, between which the lenses could be sandwiched. In fact, the finished product bore a strong resemblance to the sort of wraparound glasses that were popular for a time among musicians and surfers.
Bloody Bob was ecstatic. Not only did they help him see better than he had in years, they were also a unique fashion statement that gave him an even more fearsome appearance. When he first put them on, he did so with as much reverence and solemnity as a king putting on his crown. From that moment on. Bloody Bob was Brewster’s loyal friend and stalwart champion, which he declared formally by dropping to one knee and swearing his lifelong allegiance.
All this took time, however, and as the keep slowly started to shape up, there were other projects in the works, as well. Mick and McMurphy undertook the construction of the still, working under Brewster’s supervision. They fashioned copper tubing by using iron rods from the smithy, wrapping copper sheets around them, then heating them and beating them into solid tubes, which they then pulled off the rods. Solder was made from a blend of tin and gold, which Brewster thought rather extravagant, but Mick dismissed his concerns by telling him that he had plenty of the stuff and it wasn’t really worth anything, anyway.
This was yet one more tidbit of information that gave Brewster pause, for gold had always been valued throughout history and he could not think of a time when it had been considered essentially worthless. He did not know what to make of it. He watched as the molten blend of gold and tin was poured into a mold, so that it came out in the shape of a thin rod, and then all it took was an iron rod heated in the furnace to make a crude yet effective soldering iron. Slowly, but surely, what he thought had to be the most expensive still in history started to take shape.
Another project they devoted time to was the construction of a Franklin stove, to heat Brewster’s new residence in the tower. Brewster drew up the plans and Mick fashioned a square box of iron plate, with a hole in the top and bricks inside it to hold the heat.-Then they made a pipe to conduct the smoke out through the chimney
Brewster would point to one large picture at the very top. “What’s this, Bob?” “Uh...’tis a cow. Doc.” “Okay. Good. Now, let’s move on to the next line, with these smaller pictures here. What animal is this?” “Uh... a rabbit?” “Good. Now how about this one?” “A pig.” “Well, no, actually, this one’s a sheep.” “Looks like a pig.” “ Tis a sheep. Bob,” McMurphy would put in.
“Still looks like a pig. You drew it wrong, McMurphy.” “You think a farmer can’t tell the difference ‘twixt a sheep and a pig?” “I say ‘tis a pig!” (Rasp of a new sword being drawn from its scabbard.) “Okay, okay, ‘tis a pig!” “Uh, maybe we’d better try this again later,” Brewster would say.
Eventually, he was able to make a pair of lenses that allowed Bloody Bob to see reasonably well, even if his vision was still a little blurry, but to Bloody Bob, this was a miracle. And the fact that it took so long obviously meant it was a very complicated thaumaturgic process, indeed.
Then there arose the problem of making frames for the lenses. Plastic, obviously, was out of the question, so they would have to be metal frames. And while metal frames could be fashioned without too much trouble, someone like Bloody Bob would require something pretty strong and durable. Wire rims simply wouldn’t do. It was Bloody Bob himself who finally gave Brewster the solution to the problem. He had referred to Brewster’s glasses as a “magic visor,” so what Brewster came up with and had Mick make was, in fact, a sort of visor, made from two pieces constructed out of bronze and riveted together, between which the lenses could be sandwiched. In fact, the finished product bore a strong resemblance to the sort of wraparound glasses that were popular for a time among musicians and surfers.
Bloody Bob was ecstatic. Not only did they help him see better than he had in years, they were also a unique fashion statement that gave him an even more fearsome appearance. When he first put them on, he did so with as much reverence and solemnity as a king putting on his crown. From that moment on. Bloody Bob was Brewster’s loyal friend and stalwart champion, which he declared formally by dropping to one knee and swearing his lifelong allegiance.
All this took time, however, and as the keep slowly started to shape up, there were other projects in the works, as well. Mick and McMurphy undertook the construction of the still, working under Brewster’s supervision. They fashioned copper tubing by using iron rods from the smithy, wrapping copper sheets around them, then heating them and beating them into solid tubes, which they then pulled off the rods. Solder was made from a blend of tin and gold, which Brewster thought rather extravagant, but Mick dismissed his concerns by telling him that he had plenty of the stuff and it wasn’t really worth anything, anyway.
This was yet one more tidbit of information that gave Brewster pause, for gold had always been valued throughout history and he could not think of a time when it had been considered essentially worthless. He did not know what to make of it. He watched as the molten blend of gold and tin was poured into a mold, so that it came out in the shape of a thin rod, and then all it took was an iron rod heated in the furnace to make a crude yet effective soldering iron. Slowly, but surely, what he thought had to be the most expensive still in history started to take shape.
Another project they devoted time to was the construction of a Franklin stove, to heat Brewster’s new residence in the tower. Brewster drew up the plans and Mick fashioned a square box of iron plate, with a hole in the top and bricks inside it to hold the heat.-Then they made a pipe to conduct the smoke out through the chimney
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