Danny Dunn and the Weather Machine Read Online Free PDF Page A

said. She darted into the laboratory.
    Danny and Joe followed her. Irene stopped so abruptly that they bumped into her. “Look at that,” she said in a whisper.
    On the wall of the laboratory there was a circular patch of something that gleamed like silvery glass.
    â€œIce!” Danny cried.
    â€œGreat jingle bells!” said Joe. “Something tells me our forecast was cockeyed. The weather is changing.”
    â€œIt’s not the weather, Joe,” Danny said. He walked close to the ice patch, put his hands on his knees, and carefully sighted back from it at the Professor’s machine. “Pointing right at it,” he said with satisfaction.
    â€œYou mean it’s that machine that’s doing it?” said Joe.
    â€œYes. We never turned it off.”
    â€œBut I thought it wasn’t working,” said Irene.
    â€œIt is, though. See here,” Danny said, beckoning to her. “Stand where I am, and bend over, and you can see that there are two faint rays of light coming from the nozzles. They meet right here, at this place where the ice has formed. They were too faint for us to spot before, from where we were sitting.”
    Irene and Joe stared at the rays, and then at the icy circle on the wall. “Gosh!” Joe breathed. “A cold ray!”
    â€œRight,” said Danny. “Somehow, the ray is making that patch of wall cold. Moisture is condensing out of the air and freezing. Look here—” He pointed to a basin against the wall, with a water faucet for rinsing out chemical apparatus. “The faucet’s leaking a little, and that, plus the warmth in here, is making the air damp enough at this spot for the ray to condense moisture out on the wall.”
    â€œI see,” said Irene. “It’s like when you pour ice-cold water into a glass. The outside of the glass gets steamy, and that’s the moisture being condensed out of the air by the chill of the ice water.”
    Danny nodded absent-mindedly. “Ice water?” he mumbled.
    â€œOh-oh,” said Joe, backing away. “I feel trouble coming. Look at his face, Irene. He’s got that glazed look.”
    â€œThis isn’t trouble.” Danny grinned. “It’s refreshment.”
    â€œIt is? Well, go on, then.”
    â€œSuppose we had a pitcher of lemonade, and we beamed the ray at it?”
    â€œLemon ice!” Irene said.
    â€œSure. It would be a quick freeze.” Danny looked from one to the other. “What do you say? Shall we try it?”
    â€œWell,” Joe said slowly, “it doesn’t really sound as though anything can go wrong with that. Okay. I’m game.”
    â€œWhat about your resolution not to touch the machine?” Irene asked, with her hands on her hips.
    â€œHmmm,” Danny said. “Well, I won’t touch it. You and Joe pick it up and carry it.”
    She sighed. “Danny Dunn,” she began.
    Danny interrupted. “Don’t you see? That way I won’t be tempted to go any further with wild ideas.”
    â€œMmhmm,” said Irene.
    â€œYou two bring it along into the kitchen,” Danny said. “I’ll start making lemonade.”
    Mrs. Dunn was not in the kitchen when Danny entered. She had gone next door to ask Mrs. Miller, Irene’s mother, if Irene could stay for dinner. A pot of soup was simmering on the stove, and Danny sniffed appreciatively at it. Then he got lemons out of the refrigerator, filled a pitcher with lemon juice and water, and stirred in several spoonfuls of sugar.
    Irene and Joe came in with the machine. It was small, and not too heavy for them to carry. They set it on a stool, under Danny’s direction, and aimed the nozzles at the pitcher of lemonade which stood on the kitchen table.
    â€œOkay,” Danny said. “Throw the switch, Irene.”
    Rather nervously, she did so. In the steamy air of the kitchen, the pale-bluish twin rays could be seen more