102 Ltistory of Gutta-Percha Willie,
spinning round and round all night for nothing,
like the useless thing it was before.

That afternoon he set poles up for guides, along
the top of which the thread might run, and so keep
clear of the bushes. But he fared no better the
next night, for he never waked until the morning,
when he found that the wheel stood stocik: still, for
the thread, having filled the reel, had slipped off,
and so wound itself about the wheel that it was
choked in its many windings.. Indeed, the thread
was in a wonderful tangle about the whole machine,
and it took him a long time to unwind—turning
the wheel backwards, so as not to break the thread.

In order to remove the cause of this fresh failure,
he went to the turner, whose name was William
Burt, and asked him to turn for him a large reel or
spool, with deep ends, and small cylinder between.
William told him he was very busy just then, but
he would fix a suitable piece of wood for him on
his old lathe, with which, as he knew him to bea
handy boy, he might turn what he wanted for
himself. This was his first attempt at the use
of the turning-lathe ; but he had often watched
William at work, and was familiar with the way in
which he held his tool Hence the result was
tolerably satisfactory. Long before he had reached
the depth of which he wished to make the spool,
he had learned to manage his chisel with some
nicety. Burt finished it off for him with just a few