open-mouthed, listening, and I, from my vantage point high on the ceiling, had been taking it all in too.

"Can you think of any way to run the experiment over?" The professor asked. "Do you think you can remember the formula for the plastic plate?"

Jim thought a moment, snapped his fingers and said, "By golly, I believe I've got another piece of that plastic around here somewhere. I made it up at school and had to cut a little piece off so I could get it in my suitcase. I'll see if I can find it." And stepping gingerly around the plate in the hall he came back into the room and started rummaging around in his luggage.

The professor looked at me. "Mr. Wilson, what sort of sensation did you have when you stepped on the plate?"

"Well, as near as I can remember, I don't remember," I said. "I started to reach up and pull Duchess down, and the next thing I knew my head hit the ceiling. Still got a bump big as an Easter egg."

"Did you have a giddy, light sensation?"

"No, as I say, I don't remember anything but the whack on the head."

About that time, Jim hollered, "Hey! I found it! Now maybe we can find out what goes on here."

Jim and the professor very carefully disconnected the transformer from the plate in the hall, made sure the dial settings were the same, then hooked up the new plate. It was a lot smaller than the first one, being only about six inches wide and two feet long.

"I wonder if shape has anything to do with it?" the professor mused.

"We'll find out in a minute," said Jim. "Everybody stand back now, and I'll plug in the transformer."

He plugged it in and in a few seconds the plate began to glow the same as the other one. "We'll give it a few more seconds," Jim said, "then we'll see if it works."

The professor fumbled around in his pockets, started to toss his pipe onto the plate, thought better of it and put it back in his pocket. Johnny, who had been watching the whole proceedings, pulled out his Boy Scout knife. "You can use this, Professor."

Professor Jordan took the knife, got up close to the plate, gave it a toss, and plunk! It flew over the plate and went straight to the ceiling! And stuck!

"Well, thank goodness, we know it's the present combination of voltage and frequency, and not a series of changes," Jim said, relieved.

"Yes, and size and shape apparently have little to do with it too," the professor answered. "Now all we have to do is find out why. That's our problem."

"And how long it lasts too," said Jim, glancing up at me. Then turning to the professor; "Sir, I've been wondering what you think of the idea that maybe these plates change the electrical charge of whatever object is placed on them, or over them."

"I had that thought too, Jim, when I found out we couldn't turn that plate off. Any ideas how we might go about grounding or dissipating the charge?"

"Or getting me down from here? I don't know if you or Jim realize it, but old Mother Nature is going to make things rather uncomfortable for me pretty soon. I've been up here for almost eight hours already, and I'm getting a bit uneasy, to say the least."

For the first time the professor's eyes crinkled a bit at the corners, and looking up at me, he chuckled, "Mr. Wilson, you've brought up a rather touchy subject, and we'll hurry as fast as we can."

Mary came in then with some more sandwiches and coffee, and I went through the same routine with the straw, only this time I got choked. Thank Heaven I did! That sounds funny, but while I was coughing and sputtering, spewing coffee all over the place, Jim had walked over so that he was right under me. He stood for a moment watching me sputter, then let out a whoop and hollered.

"Hey! Dad! Professor! Mom! I've got it! I've got it." He paused a second, then, "I hope...."

I was still sputtering, but Mary and Professor Jordan both grabbed him and started asking questions.... "What are you talking about? What's