Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-10-10

CAUGHT In HIS OWN TRAP.
CONCLUDED FROM YESTERDAY.

pose myself, laughed till was fairly ex-
hausted; and Herr Weissenbart very
good-humoredly joined in the merriment,
though evidently without the least suspi-
cion of having given any cause for it.
"Well, mein lieber Herr" he continued,
''you will doubtless have remarked as
singular law of nature that whenever
man lives all by himself, in particularly
old and shabby-looking house, he invari-
ably acquires the reputation of being i'm
mensely rich. Perhaps my paying so
high for fossils and skeletons gave some
color to the myth in my case; but at any
rate was soon known in Heidelberg as
the rich Professor Weissenbart,' and my
friends began to warn me that If did not
take care might chance some day to get
robbed ~
"Now, at that time had but one SER
want, who had been with me many years,
and was beginning to get old and feeble.
Everyone said that he was not enough to
take care of the house by himself, and
that I'd better have a younger man to
help him; but didn't like to vex poor
old Johann by seeming to think him past
work, SO just let things go on as they
were. He was capital servant, and did
| his work as well as man could do; but he
when the chance offered, he would"-a
significant gesture of the professors hand,
as if lifting the glass to his lips, completed
the sentence.
.'H'm rather bad fault in a man upon
whom the safety of the house depended"
observed l.
$50 thought, answered the professor; ;
''and more than once I doubted, whether
it might not be as well to take my friends
advice after all, and engage another SER
want. But kept putting it off and putting
it off, till at last l got punished for my
hesitation, as you shall hear.
Zone night | had sent Johann out to do
some marketing, and was expecting him
back every minute. AS rule, whenever
he went abroad he took the house key
of which had duplicate-along with
him; so that nobody could get in till he
came back, unless chose to let them. He
was very punctual on the whole but this
| time en-tifteen-twenty minutes passed,
and there was no signs of elm. | began
to fear that he might havh taken glass
| too much, as he sometimes did, and was
just thinking of going to look after him,
when, all at once, heard far down below
| a noise as if the house door had been sud-
denly opened and shut again. and then
step coming up the stairs right toward my
door. l have quick ear of my own, and
it struck me directly that the tread was
firmer and heavier than old Johann's, /
guessed at once that there had been foul
play somewhere, and for moment
thought of locking my door and calling
for help through the window; but on
second thought decided tha. it would be
better to let the whoever he
might become rightup to me and to see
what he really wanted"
looked at the professor with involun-
tary admiration. To hear this little, deli
cate, benevolent looking old gentleman
talking so, coolly of deliberately allowing
a robber-perhaps more than one--to
march right into his room at night without
stirring a step to give the alarm, simply
because he Thought it better to see what
| he wanted'-had really heroic flavor
about it; and bent eagerly forward to
hear the sequel of the adventure
1.-The door opened" pursued my friend
~and in came tall, burly fellow, with
black mask on his tace and pistol in his
hand. The moment he was in he locked
the door behind him, put the key in his
pocket, and came forward to the table
where was sitting.
"Now my old 'un," said he, with a
chuckle, we've got the house all to our
selves. Your servant is lying fast asleep
under the club room table at the Thirsty
Fox. Drugged beer'sa fine thing to make
man sleep sound, and he won't wake
much before tomorrow morning. In the
meantime out with your money, or you're
dead man.
He cooked his pistol as he spoke and
levelled it at my forehead,
"You will think, mein Herr, that |
must have been frightened but strange as
it may seem, l was not Had met this
man in the street, or out in the open coun-
try, he would have been on his own
ground, but here, within the walls of my
laboratory, he was on mine. He came to
me in the guise of new experiment, and
l felt him in my power. Before he had
done speaking, | had tried him in my
mind, condemned him, and sentenced him
to death"
Soft and pleasant as the old mans voice
Was, there was hard metallic ring in it
just then, and an ominous compression of
the small delicate mouth, which showed
me for the first time, what this quiet good
humOred scholar might be capable of do
ing. In truth, the cruelty of passion or
revenge is as nothing to that of science.
Parrhasius crucifying his slave in order to
gain more vivid idea of the sufferings
which he painted Michael Augelo study
ing with cool analytical keenness the loath-
some minuti@ of the plague hospitals
DR.. lie Cat keeping dogs and horses alive
for weeks under his scalpel, only to in
tlict udon them more varied and compli-
Gated tortures,-such examples are terri
bly, suggestive; and could not help think
ing that had | been robber, l should
have been very 10th to entrust myself to
the tender mercies of my friend the pro-
tessor, supposing his power of destruction
to be commensurate with his will. After
a pause. he resumed:
"Well, I can't resist you," said too
the robber, assuming look of terror,
such as had not worn since went up
for my first examination as a candidate at
Jena. IN give you all have, and when
you have taken it hope you'll be satisfied
and do me no further INJURY 7 s