 
1. They went on into another room. Here there were boys again! And what 2. When they were all strung together, they looked like a long tooth-comb. The heads were in the middle, and the points lay on either side. 3. The boys took them to some of the workmen, and these men made the middle part quite smooth. Rough edges had been left along the tiny dents, and had to be rubbed down. 4. When this was done, a man made a line along the middle of the 'comb,' and then gently bent it backwards and forwards till it broke right in the middle. 5. Harry and Dora were glad to see this. Each bit of wire looked like a needle now. It had a head of its own, and an eye, and a point. 6. The next thing was to make the needles hard. Dora and Harry thought they looked quite hard already, but they did not know. 7. How were they hardened? They 'This is the second baking they have had,' said Harry. They were kept in till they were white-hot. 8. When the needles came out, they were put into cold water! What a hissing and steaming they made! But they had to lie there till they were quite cool. 9. Then they were taken out and dried. The man said they were hard enough now, but something else must be done to them to make them able to bend well without breaking. 10. They were put on an iron plate over a fire, and gently moved about. Some of them curled up, and had to be taken off. 11. They were given to a woman, who was sitting on a bench with a little hammer in her hand and a small steel block in front of her. She laid a curly needle on the block, and hammered it till it was straight, and then another, and another. |
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