Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1871-11-30
right up to mo, and see what he rrall

right up to mo, and see what ne really
wanted"
looked al the professor with invol-
untary admiration. TO hear this little,
delicate, bcpcvolent-lookiny old gen
tlcman talking coo]ly of deliberately al
lowing robbcr (prrhaps more than
Dnc) to march right into his room at
night, without stirring step to give
the alarm simply hccause he "th"ught
it better to sec What he w;,ntcu,' n;,u !;
really heroic flavor about it; and bent
eagerly forward to hear the sequel oi
the adventure.
"Ih2 door opcncl,' pursued my
friend, "a'l in came il tail, burly fcl.
low, with Il black mask on his face, and
ii pistol in his hand The moment he
was in, he locked the door, put TIE key
in his pocket, and then came forward
TO tn" table where [ WAS sitting.
"Now, my old 'un,' said he, with Il
chuckle, 'wr'cvc got the house all to
ourselves. Your servant is lying fast
asleep under the :l'1b-room table at the
Thirsty Fox. Druggcd beers a fine
thing to make a man sleep sound, and
he won't wake much before tomorrow
l1Olt LII l1lC nCtluUllllC, OtlO W llI
your money, or you're u dead man."
He cooked his pistol as he spoke,
and lcvellcd it at NY forehead.
"You will think, mcin Herr, that 1
must have been frightened; but, strange
as it may seem, I WAS not. Had I met
this man iii the street, or out in the
open country, he would have been on
his own groun,l; but hc,c, within tue
walls of my laboratory, hc was on mine.
He came to mc in the guiSc OF a new
experiment, and I felt him in my pow,
or. Before he had done speaking,
had tried him in my own mind, con
lemncl him, and sentenced linn to
denth'
Soft and pleasant as the old mans
voice was, there was hard metallic
ring in it just then, and an ominous
expression Of the small delicate mouth,
which showed me, for the first time,
what this quiet good. natured scholar
might be capable ot doing. In truth,
the cruelty Of passion or revenge IS as
nothing to that of science. Parrhasius
crucitied his slave in order to obtain Il
more vivid idea eff the sut1crings which
he painted,-Michael Angelo stud. ing
with cool ana]y tical keenness the ]Outh-
some minutiie of the plague hospitals,
DR.. LIE Cat keeping horses and dogs
alive for weeks under lis sca}pel, only
to infiict upon them more varirl and
complicated tortures,-s,1ch example ;
are terribly suggestive; and / could
not help thinking that, had been IL
robber, ] should have been very 10th
to entrust myself to tho tender mcrcics
of my friend the professor, sllpposing
his pnv"r of destruction to be commcn-
surntt. with his will. Aftct pause, he
resumed:
"Wcl], [ can't resist you," said I to
the robhr, assuming look of terror
snch as had rot worn since I went up
for my first cA.l1llnation us a candidate
at Jena. "Ell give you all have, and
when yon have taken it, hope you'll
be satisfied and do me no further in
jury.'
"Oh, I'll be satisfied when I touch
the money, mover fear, old boy" an.
swered he with a. laugh. "Comc, out
with it, quick"
"' It's in that bureau yondcr,' re-
piled l, throwing a key on tho table =;
help yourself"
81 need not tell you, 1nein Herr
that in the whole bureau there was not
single 2,tsnnir, but he went towards
1t to unlock il, which vas AL l wanted. "
"Ah, yo1l wanted to get chance Of
sticking him from behind, supposcI'
said [, secretly nlarvclllng ut the
strategic ability Of this pacific man of
letters.
"AIcin lichcr Herr" returned the
tempt, suggestive of Socrates "setting
DOWN Irotayoras, "scicncc docs not
fight with such coarse material means
as those. ! have told you that regard
ell this ,nan in the light OF an expert
ment, and acted accordingly If You
wish to know what VAS my real Object
in sending him to the bureau, step for
ward and press your heel upon that lit
tie knob in The !loor.'
l obcyed, and was not little start
led when ;s good square yard of the
flooring Immediately in front of the
bureau gave way with Il loud whlrring
noise, disclosing black ciasm of
unkno~n uc,!th, from which rose the
AA''''0'' AA;AS Va ii!llulISo hdtcl
"Why, you don't mean to say
faltered I, glanclng from the CHASTITY
abyss below to the benevolent face Of
the servant, which looked mildcr and
more benevolent than ever.
Precisely So" answered the pro-
lessor with a genial smllc, and rubbing
his little fat hands glecfully. "That's
the Ncckar which you hear gr,lmbling
down yonder; but there was q good
yard OF dry pavement beside him TO
fall upon, and it sufficc1 Unhappily,
the fill necessarily occasioned certain
injuries to his anatomical structure,
which, however, my humble knowledge
OF surgery has, as you see, enabled me
to repair" (And he printed to the ri,-
tol-bcaring skeleton with complaccnt
air. "Why do you look so shocked, my
friend? it was fair trial of skill against
strength. He, the man If brute force,
attempted to entrap me, the man of
scicnce-and he was caught in his own
trap. Fill your glass, my fricnd,"
cried the pr >fessor cnth,lsiastically
"fll your glass, and let us drink to
the great scientific movement which
has made Europe the first quarter of
the world, ami Germany the first coun-
try in Europe!"
[ filled my glass, though 1 did not
drink. but made some excuse, and
gladly left the house.