The next morning, while they were eating breakfast, the kids tried to decide what to do for the day.
“Well, it’s never a bad idea to add to our food stores,” Suki said. “While we have the free time, why don’t we do some fishing?”
“That’s a good idea,” Shaun said. “While you’re doing that, Tam and I can go set out some snares. Maybe we can catch a rabbit or two.”
“Sure,” Tam said. “If we set the snares this morning, we can check on them in the afternoon.”
Once the boys left, Kikki turned to Suki.
“Okay, what kind of fishing do you want to do? We can use the nets or the lines with the bone hooks.”
“Or,” she said with a mischievous grin, “we can go freestyle.”
“You know, just wade in and chase them down.”
“It’d be a shame to waste a beautiful summer day,” Suki said. “I vote for freestyle.”
They went upstream a short ways to where there was a wide spot and the stream was fairly shallow. They could see fish swimming just below the surface. Kikki cautiously dipped a foot into the water. Satisfied that it wasn’t too cold, she waded in.
“How is it?” Suki asked.
“Just a little cool. Come on, let’s fish,” Kikki replied.
Kikki waited until Suki was in position a few feet to her side, then they both made lightning strikes into the flowing water. They both came up with a fish. Kikki’s fish gave a sudden twist and almost got away, but she managed to keep juggling it until she got it to the grass on the bank of the stream. Suki had a firm grip on her fish and simply threw it onto the bank with the other fish.
“You make it look easy,” Kikki said.
“Yeah, but the way you do it is much more entertaining,” Suki laughed.
Then they really went after it. There was a lot of splashing, laughing, and occasionally slipping, but the pile of fish on the bank was growing. They were about ready for a break when Shaun and Tam walked out of the forest.
“With all the noise, we couldn’t imagine what was going on,” Tam said.
“What? You’ve never seen anyone fish before?” Kikki said, standing in the stream.
“Well, I’ve never seen anyone having so much fun doing it,” Tam replied, laughing. “Do you want some help?”
“Sure. Here, catch!” Suki said, throwing a fish at Shaun.
“Hey! What the heck!” Shaun said, ducking as the fish flew by.
“Oh, so it looks like you girls are asking for it… help that is.”
The boys waded in to help, which amounted to even more splashing, laughing, and slipping, but not all that much fishing. They finally settled down, and when the girls waded ashore to take a break, the boys stayed to catch more fish to add to the ones the girls had already caught.
When the fishing was done, they all stretched out in the grass, soaking up the warm sunshine. After a while, Tam sat up and said, “I could stay here all day, but we’ve got a lot of fish to clean and get ready to smoke.”
“What a killjoy,” Kikki sighed. “But you’re right. Let’s haul the slimy buggers back home and start to work on them.”
It took a while, but they finally finished cleaning and filleting the fish. They started a fire and were letting it burn down to coals when they heard voices growing nearer. It wasn’t long before Isis, Cisco, and Baxter walked into the village clearing.
“Welcome home,” Suki said excitedly, rushing forward to give Isis a hug.
“I missed you too, Suki,” Isis said. “And it’ll be good to sleep in my own bed again.”
“It’s good to see you all back safe and sound,” Tam said.
Gesturing to all the fish laid out on boards, Cisco said, “It looks like you guys have been busy.”
“Darn right we have,” Kikki said. “And you arrived at just the right time. We weren’t sure how to season the fish before we started smoking them.”
“Give us a chance to put our stuff away, and I’ll give you a hand,” Isis said.
“It’s been a long trip from Sunny Meadows,” Baxter said, “and I, for one, wouldn’t mind a meal of raw fish. It looks like you could spare a fish or two.”
“Absolutely,” Shaun said. “Put your stuff away, get cleaned up, and help yourselves.”
“That does sound good,” Cisco said. “Count me in,” Isis said.
Looking around at his friends, Tam said, “Why don’t we join them? We’ll call it a ‘Welcome Home’ party.”
“Sure,” Kikki said. “And if there’s any fish left, Isis can show how to season them.”
“That’s a heck of a lot of fish you have there. I don’t think even Baxter could eat all that, not in one setting anyway,” Cisco said with a laugh.
A short while later, they all gathered around for a wonderful meal of fresh fish. The three travelers told all about their trip to see Cassandra and how they met Olaf. Cisco showed off his copper ax and showed them the copper nuggets that they’d found.
After the stories, Cisco raised a finger and said, “I do have a question for you guys, though. What is that big wooden box sitting in our cabin?”
“Wooden box?” Tam asked, looking around at the other three young cats. “No, I don’t know anything about a box that it took all four of us to carry down from the Hidden village.”
“You mean to tell me that you four young cats found a mysterious wooden box,” Cisco asked, “and weren’t curious about what was inside?”
“Oh, we were curious, alright,” Shaun said. “But it’s sealed shut, and we didn’t know how to get it open without breaking something.”
“Yeah, we decided to let *you* be the one to break it,” Kikki said with an innocent look.
“Such consideration in ones so young,” Cisco said with a laugh.
“The box can wait a little while longer,” Isis said. “We need to take care of the fish that are left. If we can get Baxter to leave a few.”
“Hey, it takes a lot of food to keep this mighty body fueled up,” Baxter said, striking a pose, flexing his muscles.
“Oh, Baxter, please stop,” Suki and Kikki cried, acting faint. “It’s just too much for our delicate sensibilities.”
“You two are sure good at deflating a guy’s ego,” Baxter huffed.
“I just remembered,” Tam said, “we need to check on the snares we set this morning.”
“It shouldn’t take long,” Shaun said, getting up. “I’ll take care of it. You stay and help get those fish over the fire.”
The group spent the rest of the evening with small chores and then turned in early. It had been another long day.
The next morning started with the usual routine. Then, after breakfast, it was time to make plans for the day.
Suki related how Star had made very little progress on duplicating the cave paintings. “She needed more blue light minerals,” Suki said, “and she realized she was going to need help if she was going to get the job done in any reasonable amount of time.”
“So, with the job on hold,” Suki continued, “she and Piper decided it was a good time to see if they could recruit Star’s mother.”
“They left the day after you guys did,” she told Isis, “but I’m not sure how far Star’s village is from here, so I couldn’t even guess when they’ll get back.”
“Jax should be back with some more Rangers in a day or two,” Shaun added.
“That pretty well accounts for everyone,” Baxter stated.
“So, what do you think we should do next?”
Cisco stood up and said, “I think it’s time to get a closer look at the mystery box.”
They all agreed and soon had the box sitting out in the common area in front of Isis’s cabin.
After removing the tied-on handles, Cisco got down to get a closer look. “The box is certainly in good condition,” he said. “You say it was buried inside a stone box?”
“That’s right,” Kikki said. “The stone box had a very heavy lid, but it wasn’t sealed.”
“From the looks of how shiny this box is, I think the whole thing was sealed with Moonglow resin,” Cisco said, rubbing his hand across the top of the box. “It takes quite a bit of heat to cure that resin.”
He added, “I wonder how they managed that without damaging the wood.”
“However they did it,” Baxter said, “now that we know it can be done, we should be able to figure it out.”
“Well, we can save that for later,” Cisco said. “Right now, I’d like to see what’s inside. We’re going to need some way to break the lid’s seal.”
Then a smile crossed his face. “I might have just the thing.” He reached back and brought out his copper ax.
“Whoa there, isn’t that a bit extreme?” Baxter said.
Cisco had to laugh. “I wasn’t planning on making firewood out of it.”
“I think if I place the edge of the ax in the seam where the lid meets the side and rap the back of the ax with a mallet, moving carefully around the box, I can break the seal.”
“That might work,” Isis said. “Try not to damage the box though.”
“There’s a mallet with our other tools,” Tam said. “I’ll go get it for you.”
It took a couple of trips around the box with the ax and mallet, but finally the lid came loose.
With a cat on each end, they carefully lifted the lid and set it on a nearby bench. They found that the box was completely filled with a wide assortment of objects.
There were items that looked like tools and others that were devices of unknown use. The strange thing was, they were all too small to actually be used.
“I think they must be models of the real thing,” Isis stated. “Showing us what was possible and leaving it up to us to build our own.”
At the bottom of the box, they found another, smaller box. This box wasn’t sealed, and when they opened it, they found it was completely full of neatly stacked papers.
“Look here,” Isis said. “They left some sort of writings. And here are drawings and sketches of devices, tools, and who knows what else.”
Looking at one of the sheets, Cisco said, “I think I can read this. The words are spelled a little strangely, but I think I can understand what they’re saying.”
“There’s no telling what knowledge is contained in these papers,” Isis said. “I think, between this and the cave paintings, we’ve discovered something very important.”
“I agree,” Cisco said. “I think we need to apply all our efforts to understand what all this means.”
“I have a feeling that until we get a better handle on all of this, we should keep it to ourselves,” Baxter said.
“I agree,” Isis said. “But we’re going to eventually need help understanding this and how best to use that knowledge.”
“I think, though, for now, we should proceed quietly until we figure out just what we’re dealing with here.”
“It couldn’t hurt to mention to everyone here that we’d like to keep this under wraps for now,” Cisco suggested.
“Another question,” Shaun said. “What else is waiting to be found at the Hidden Village?”
“That, my boy, is a good question,” Cisco replied.
“I suggest that for now, we put everything back in the box except for the box of papers and move both back into the cabin.”
Between Baxter and Cisco, they were able to carry the box without reattaching the handles.
With that done, Cisco stated, “And now I have a project I’d like to work on. I could use some help with it if any of you aren’t busy for a few hours.”
Shaun and Suki spoke up at the same time. “We can help.”
“That is unless it’s lifting boulders or something like that,” Suki said with a grin. “Then I think we’re busy.”
“Oh, I think we’ll save the boulder lifting for another day,” Cisco laughed. “I think you’ll find this interesting.”
“I’ve got some ideas on how to refine Isis’s blue light source,” Cisco replied. “I want to put one of those ideas to the test.”
“That does sound interesting,” Suki said. “Is there anything you need me for today?” she asked Isis.
“Cisco’s project sounds as important as anything I have for you,” Isis answered. “Besides, you might have your own ideas that could help.”
“Count me in then,” Suki said.
“Me too,” Shaun added.
“Good,” Cisco said, “let’s get started.”
Cisco led Suki and Shaun downstream a short ways to a meadow of wildflowers. At the upper edge of the meadow were large patches of Moonglow flowers.
“Aren’t those the flowers that only bloom in moonlight?” Shaun asked.
“Yes, they are.” Cisco replied. “When did you get so smart?”
“I heard Suki and Isis talking about them,” Shaun said.
“And do you know what we’re going to use them for today?” Cisco asked.
“Not a clue,” Shaun replied.
“Does it have anything to do with resin filled pods that they produce?” Suki asked.
“Exactly,” Cisco said. “I’d like you to collect a couple dozen of those pods.”
“While you’re doing that, Shaun and I will go find some bamboo. Then we’ll meet you back at the village,”
Shaun said. “I know where there’s a big cluster of bamboo on a hillside not far from here.”
“Good, lead the way,” Cisco said, then turning to Suki he asked, “You do have a bag to carry the pods in, don’t you?”
“Sure do,” Suki answered. “Let me get busy. You guys go find your bamboo.”
“Okay, we’re going,” Shaun replied with a laugh. “See you back at the village.”
Shaun led the way to a hillside with clusters of bamboo. Cisco examined the stalks and said, “You know, I can think of quite a few things we can do with these stalks. Why don’t we cut a bunch of different sizes to take back with us?”
“Okay,” Shaun said. “What size of stalks do you want?”
“I’d say from an inch up to maybe three inches in diameter should do,” Cisco replied.
Bamboo is pretty tough stuff, but it wasn’t too long before they had a good-sized bundle to take back to the village.
Back at the village, Suki was waiting when the boys arrived.
Shaun put down the bundle he’d been carrying and stretched, working out some kinks.
Suki got up and walked over. “Now that we’re all here, what’s next?”
“First of all,” Cisco said, “Shaun, I need you to build a fire, but not just any fire. You’ll need to arrange rocks in two lines, about six inches apart. We’re going to place a piece of slate over the fire so the rocks have to be level.”
“It’s going to take a while to set up the fire how you want it,” Shaun said.
“No problem,” Cisco replied. “Suki and I have a lot to do before we’re ready for the fire.”
“Suki, I need you to find me a few things,” Cisco said. “First, find a nice flat piece of slate about ten inches wide. It doesn’t have to be all that thick. Then we’ll need a little bit of oil or grease and some soft clay.”
“I can’t imagine what we’re making, but I am intrigued,” Suki said, her whiskers twitching.
“And what are you going to be doing?” Shaun asked Cisco.
“I’m going to sort through the bamboo we brought back and cut off the piece I want to work with,” Cisco replied.
While Suki and Shaun were busy, Cisco went over to the bundle of bamboo. Sorting through the pile, he found what he was looking for. Selecting a stalk about three inches across, he chose a segmented section about six inches long. He removed that section by making cuts an inch above and below the closed ends.
Taking the cylinder he’d created, he sliced off a section top to bottom. He ended up with a tube that had a two inch wide window in the side.
“Suki,” he said, walking over to where she was waiting, “are you ready for your stuff?”
“All set,” she replied.
“And you, Shaun, have you got the fire set up and going?” Cisco asked.
“As per orders, two rows of stones with a fire in between,” Shaun responded.
“Okay, now things get interesting,” Cisco said with a grin.
“Suki, set your piece of slate on a level piece of ground. Then take the clay and roll it into a long rope and stick it to the slate, forming a box about four inches wide by eight inches long. Make the walls of the box about half an inch high. Make sure the clay is sealed to the slate all the way around.”
“When you’re done with that,” Cisco continued, “coat the slate inside the box with a thin layer of oil.”
Turning to Shaun, Cisco said, “While Suki is getting the slate ready, you can bring the Moonglow pods over and lay them out so they’ll be handy when we’re ready for them.”
“Okay,” Shaun replied, “but I do want to watch what Suki is doing.”
Shaun brought over the bag of pods that Suki had gathered. He found a flat piece of wood and laid out the pods in neat rows. Then he went to watch what Suki was doing.
Moving the piece of slate around to get it level, Suki grabbed the clay and rolled it into a long rope. Arranging it on the slate and pressing it down, she asked Cisco, “Is that how you wanted it?”
In answer, Cisco picked up the tube and placed it inside the clay shape. It fit with clearance on all sides.
“That’s just what I wanted,” he told her. “Go ahead and give everything a light coating of oil.”
“We don’t want the Moonglow resin sticking to the slate or the clay.”
“And now it’s time for the Moonglow pods,” Cisco said. “Shaun, would you bring them over here?”
Shaun set the Moonglow pods next to Cisco and stood back to watch.
Picking up one of the pods, Cisco said, “Now watch, this is how you extract the resin.”
“Holding the pod gently in one hand, place the bottom tip against the wooden slab and cut off about a quarter inch.”
“Then, holding the pod over the area on the slab surrounded by the clay, close your fingers around the pod, starting with the top finger and working your way down.”
“That way you milk all the resin out of the pod,” he said.
“Now each one of you give it a try,” Cisco said, moving out of the way.
“I’ll go first,” Suki said. “Hand me the knife.”
“Okay, I’m holding the pod like you showed us. Do I cut it about here?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Cisco told her.
She cut the tip and moved the pod over the slate, dribbling a line of resin all the way.
“Oops,” Suki said. “I must have squeezed it on the way over.”
“Go ahead and milk it to get out the rest of the resin,” Cisco told her.
“Try a few more,” he instructed, “and then let Shaun have a try. We’re going to need a pool of the resin about a quarter inch deep.”
Suki’s next attempts went well, so it was Shaun’s turn to try.
“Alright,” Shaun said. “I can make quick work of this.”
Holding a pod in one hand and the knife in the other, he leaned down to cut off the tip, but the pod burst, sending resin in all directions, mainly covering his entire hand.
“Well, I didn’t expect that,” Shaun said, shaking the clear resin off his hand.
“Must have been a faulty pod,” Cisco said with a grin.
“Lucky for you,” Cisco added, “fresh from the pod, that goo will wash right off. Go wash up and you can try again.”
While Shaun was at the stream washing the Moonglow resin off his fur, Cisco continued milking pods onto the slate.
Shaun got back in time to try a few more and managed to get all the resin into the pool on the slate. The clay outline on the slate now contained about a quarter inch of Moonglow resin.
“I think we’ve got enough now,” Cisco stated.
“Now we need to carefully move the slate over the fire,” he said. “Hopefully without spilling anything.”
Cisco carefully positioned the slate on the twin rows of stones where Shaun had kept the fire going at a low level.
“Okay, now we wait,” Cisco said, settling back while the slate heated up.
“Are you going to tell us what we’re waiting for?” Shaun asked, sitting where he could tend the fire while they waited.
“Moonglow resin is an unusual material,” Cisco replied.
“As it heats up, it takes on different characteristics but always stays transparent.”
“When we moderately increase its temperature, as we’re doing now,” he continued, “it will start to thicken and take on a glue-like consistency.”
“That’s one of its main uses,” he added. “It works well for gluing things together, and when it’s completely cured after a day or so, it makes a strong bond. It can also be used to waterproof seams or entire items, such as water skins. It bonds well to the skin yet remains flexible.”
“We’re not using it for glue,” Cisco said, “but that is the first stage of our process.”
“Is there anything we can do while we wait?” Suki asked.
“Well, you could sort through the bamboo stalks and find some about an inch and a half in diameter,” Cisco told her. “Cut some closed sections off for later. If what we’re doing here works out, we might want to try a smaller version.”
“Okay, Shaun, come help me,” Suki said. “It’s easier to cut those stalks with one of us holding and the other cutting.”
“Sure,” Shaun replied.
“Give us a shout when the goo is glue.” He added with a chuckle.
“When the goo is glue, that’s a good one.” Cisco laughed.
It wasn’t too long before Cisco called the two back over to see how the resin had thickened. Picking up the tube, Cisco carefully lowered it into the sticky resin, the open side facing down.
“Notice,” he said, “that I can push the tube into the resin, but it doesn’t sink all the way down. I want it to stay a little bit above the slate’s surface.”
“Now, when the Moonglow resin continues to heat up,” Cisco explained, “it will reach its next state. It will start to stiffen. At that stage, it will be easy to mold or cut. If heated no further, it will set up but will still be somewhat soft and bendable.”
“Or, you could mold it into whatever shape you wanted,” he said, “and then heat it to a higher temperature to make it hard and rigid. That’s the stage we’ll get to eventually.”
Shaun and Suki managed to cut a dozen of the smaller cylinders before Cisco called them back again. The resin had reached the pliable state.
Cisco picked up the tube with the resin still attached. He poked and squeezed the edge of the resin to show the two how it could be shaped. He then trimmed off the unwanted resin, leaving only the part covering the opening in the tube with a small extra margin. He placed the tube back where it was on the slate, along with several pieces of the resin trimmings.
“We’re going to heat it some more,” Cisco explained, “to get the resin to the rigid stage. We can use the small pieces to test for the proper hardness.”
“Would one of you throw a few more sticks on the fire?” he asked. “We need to get the temperature up even more, and we don’t want to be here all day.”
After a while, Cisco used a couple of small sticks to pick up one of the test pieces. He blew on it to cool it down and then tried to bend it. When it wouldn’t bend, he tried to cut it. His knife didn’t leave a mark.
Satisfied, he used a cloth to pick up the tube and set it aside to cool.
“We’re almost done,” Cisco said. “Let’s relax a bit while that thing cools off.”
“I’m a little stiff from sitting for so long, I need to walk around a little,” Suki said.
“One more thing while I’m thinking about it,” Cisco said, “we’re going to need a stopper for the hole I’m going to carve in the top of the tube. Let’s see if I can make one out of the trimmings that we didn’t heat up again. They should still be pliable.”
Taking a piece of the trimmings, he rolled it between his hands, making a tapering cylindrical shape about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. He cut off the top and bottom to make them flat. Then, he sharpened a small round stick and pushed it through the shape near the top.
“The hole is so I can pin this plug in place,” Cisco explained. “I’m going to let this one cure for a day so it won’t change shape again.”
“I’ll make a second one that we can use for our test today, though it might kind of mush out of shape.”
After finishing the plugs, he stood up and stretched, then picked up the tube. He carefully cut a hole in the top and trimmed it to match the plugs he’d molded.
“Okay, so we have a tube with a window on the side and a hole in the top,” Cisco said. “Shall we go inside and give this thing a test?”
“Sure, what could possibly go wrong?” Suki and Shaun said together, laughing.
Inside the cabin, Cisco went to the workbench where there were two jars of minerals. One jar contained Lustralite, and the other contained Stellarite. There was also a bowl of rounded pebbles.
“As you already know,” Cisco explained, “when you grind Lustralite and Stellarite together, you get a nice blue light.”
“What we’re trying to do is make a portable device that uses these two minerals but is easier to use than grinding minerals in a bowl.”
Cisco opened the first jar and scooped up a measure of Lustralite. He poured it into the opening in the top of the windowed tube. He did the same with the Stellarite. Then, he took a few of the pebbles and dropped them in with the minerals.
“I’m hoping the pebbles will do the grinding for us,” he said.
Next, he inserted the plug and pinned it in place.
“Okay,” Cisco said, holding out the tube, “Who wants to do the honors?”
Suki and Shaun looked at each other. Then Suki nudged Shaun in the ribs.
“Go ahead, I know you’re dying to try it,” she said with a grin.
Cisco added, “The light probably won’t be all that bright.”
“Suki, why don’t you close the curtains?”
In the now darkened cabin, Shaun took the tube and asked, “So what do I do?”
“Just shake it up and down a few times,” Cisco replied.
Shaun shook the tube once, twice, three times. Suddenly, a bright blue light lanced out of the tube’s window.
A startled Shaun yelped and dropped the tube, which rolled under the workbench, radiating beams of blue light around the room.
Cisco laughed and said, “Yes, what could possibly go wrong?”
Then everyone was laughing as he retrieved the tube from where it had rolled.
Cisco said, “That light is way brighter than I expected.”
“Let me try something,” he said, unpinning the plug and pulling it out. Then he covered the tube’s window with a cloth.
“Look at this,” he said, holding out the tube, “the light coming out of the top hole is the nice blue light that I expected.” He then uncovered the window.
“See, the light coming out of the hole stays the same while the light coming through the window is many times brighter.”
“It’s like something in the Moonglow resin is making the blue light brighter,” he said. “I think that’s something we’ll have to leave for Isis to figure out.”
“At any rate, the device certainly works,” Cisco said with a satisfied grin.
“We’ll want to do some tests to see how often we need to shake it and how much of each mineral it will take to last for a reasonable length of time,” he added.
“I’m thinking we can make a smaller version that each of us can carry in our basic kit.”
“While we have all the stuff gathered together, why don’t we try some different ideas?”
“I have an idea for making the smaller versions,” Suki said.
“Okay, let’s go see what you’ve got,” Cisco said.
They left the blue light device lighting up the cabin and went back outside.
Back at the fire, they gathered around to hear Suki’s idea.
“First of all, we need to clean off the slate and start fresh,” Suki stated.
Picking up the slate, Shaun said, “I can do that.” He headed for the stream.
When he came back, he set the slate over the fire long enough to let it dry. Then he set it flat on the ground.
“Next, we need to cut open one end of the small sections that we cut earlier,” Suki continued. “Then I’ll form a clay wall on the slate, like I did before, making it big enough to contain all the sections standing on end.”
When she was done applying the clay to the slate, she said, “I’ll oil up the slate, and then we get to milk some more Moonglow pods.”
When they had a pool of Moonglow resin on the slate, Suki had Shaun carefully set the slate over the fire.
“Now we wait for the resin to turn to glue,” she said.
“While we’re waiting for that to happen, I’ve got an idea of my own,” Cisco said.
“I’ll be right back.” Cisco went into the cabin and found one of Isis’s soapstone bowls. It was shallow with a slightly curved inside shape.
He took it outside and found Suki standing the sections on end in the sticky resin.
Suki was saying, “And now we wait until it gets to the pliable stage.”
After a time, all the sections were firmly stuck in the pliable resin.
“Now we’ll see if this will work. Help me lift the resin and the sections off the slate,” Suki said.
Shaun helped her lift the resin and set it on a bench.
“Now,” Suki said. “We need to cut and trim the resin around each tube end. Then we’ll stand them back on the slate again, resin end down.”
“We’ll need to add some more wood to the fire to cook the resin to a solid state.”
“While we’re waiting, we can make stoppers from the resin trimmings,” she concluded.
Thinking of what he wanted to try, Cisco went over to the bundle of bamboo stalks and picked one out. He found a section that was about eight inches long and two inches across. He cut off that section and cut out the closure in one end, leaving a slight edge around the sides to give the resin something to hold onto.
Suki and Shaun were still waiting for their resin to harden, so Cisco went to find his own piece of slate.
Returning, he said, “I hope we’ve got enough resin pods to do this.” He rubbed some oil inside the bowl and set it on the ground.
“This shouldn’t take all that much,” he said, squeezing the resin into the bowl.
“Is there enough room on the rocks to add my piece of slate next to yours?” Cisco asked Suki.
“Let me scoot mine over a little, then there should be room,” Suki replied.
Cisco placed his slate next to Suki’s and put his bowl on the slate.
When the resin in the bowl reached the gooey stage, he stood his section of bamboo in the center of the bowl, the open end sinking into the resin.
It was taking longer to heat up the slate and the bowl, so he settled back to watch Suki finish her project.
“I think this resin is rock hard. It’s time to let these things cool down,” Suki said.
With a cloth, Shaun helped Suki move her sections off the slate.
When they were cool, Suki and Shaun cut holes in the end of the sections, sized for the stoppers they made.
Cisco went through the same steps that they had and ended up with a slightly larger version of what Suki had produced.
The main difference was that his method didn’t require forming the clay wall, but he could only make one device at a time.
There was another difference that Cisco noticed. The clear resin ends of Suki’s sections were flat, where the end of Cisco’s was curved from the shape of the bowl.
“Do you think that’s going to make any difference?” Suki asked.
“Well, if it does, I’m going to let Cisco do the testing this time,” Shaun said.
“Why don’t you two grab a couple of yours, and I’ll bring mine,” Cisco said.
“Let’s go back inside and see what we’ve got this time.”
Back inside, they added the minerals and pebbles to the devices, then closed the curtains.
“Okay, let’s let Suki go first.” Cisco said.
“Go ahead, give it a shake.”
“Okay, here goes,” Suki said, shaking her device a couple of times.
As expected, a bright blue light illuminated the room wherever she pointed it.
“This is great! I think everyone will want one of these.”
“Shaun, fire yours up.” Cisco said.
“Play around with it and see what you two think of it, and if you think it can be improved.”
Suki and Shaun tried all sorts of things, from shining the light off the ceiling to light the room, to searching for little things under the furniture and in dark corners.
They were all smiles when their lights finally started to fade.
“Alright, shake them again to see if there’s any light left,” Cisco instructed.
The minerals were capable of producing light time and time again, though obviously the minerals wouldn’t last forever.
“Okay, Cisco, it’s your turn, shake it up,” Shaun said.
Holding his larger device in front of him, Cisco gave it a few shakes.
A narrow beam shot out, lighting a small area on the wall.
“That’s interesting—a bigger tube but a smaller beam,” Cisco mused.
“The beam does seem brighter than the others, though.”
“The smaller ones that you two made would be ideal for the Rangers to add to their standard kit,” Cisco said.
“I’ll make that your project. Hand out a few to the Rangers and see if they have any ideas about the design.”
“We’ll make a few with the bowl-shaped window like yours and see which they prefer,” Suki said.
“Thanks, Cisco, for letting us do this,” Shaun said.
“I’m just glad you are here to help,” Cisco replied.
“I have a feeling there’s going to be more of these types of projects.”