Setting: The story takes place in Duston Heights, Massachusetts in the 1950's.
Johnny Dixon is a thirteen-year old boy. He lives with his grandparents because his mom died and his dad is a pilot in the war. Johnny is shy and brainy. Johnny doesn't have many friends. His best friends are Fergie Ferguson and Professor Childermass.
Professor Childermass is a short elderly man in his seventies with a big mustache. The professor has a bad temper but can also be kind and generous. He is like a foster father to Johnny.
Fergie Ferguson is Johnny's best friend. He is a smart aleck and a wisecracker. Johnny and Fergie met at Boy Scout camp. .
Evaristus Sloane is the evil scientist in the story. He is about eighty-nine years old and is very tall with a large wart on his nose. He does black magic and built the robots in the story. Evaristus Sloane lives in New Hampshire.
The Story:.
The story is about an evil scientist who uses black magic to make his robots come alive. He uses real eyes that he takes from people. When he puts these in his robots they come alive and do whatever he tells them to do. Years ago the evil scientist made a robot that could be used by baseball teams for batting practice. He tried to sell this robot to the baseball team in Duston Heights but they didn't like it and decided not to buy the robot. This made the scientist very mad so he hated the people of Duston Heights, especially Johnny's grandfather who was the leader of the baseball team.
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The professor remembered the robot from the old days. One day the professor learns that he has lost a lot of money in the stock market. There is a contest where you can win $10,000 by striking out a famous baseball player. The professor thinks if he can find the old robot he can win this contest and replace the money he lost. He and the boys go to where the evil scientist lived to see if they can find the old robot. The professor and Johnny find the old robot and a set of eyes.