Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1872-11-14

"No |" 1 heard the policeman remark
in deliberate Yankee tones; "you don't
say So r'
The next moment 1 lay on my back,
the gag in my mouth, terribly frightened
and sick at heart. Over me stood the
policeman, and the first thing that func-
tionary did was-looking me straight in
the face-to take off his nose. He then
rid himself of his red eyebrows, hair and
cap, and became a determined looking
fellow with the eyes of a fiend and the
nose of Roman.
$50 you think" said the metamor-
phosed in the tones ofa gentleman, "that
nothing can save Joe johnson from the
ropeI Poor fellowI 1t does look like
it. But, my dear Professor, Joe John
son is fortunate enough to have in me a
devoted friend, as we'll as brother. 1
have undertaken to save him, and he
shall be saved. In order to accomplish
this end it will be necessary to remove
from the earth not only the stomach of
his miserable wife yonder-but also, my
dear Professor, am sorry to be obliged
to say it, for 1 believe you were nay
brothers teacher and friend-yourself
as WE'LL" / saw that he was in deadly
earnest.
"Your death must apparently result
from accidental least, so it must seem
to the authorities. My brother is in Jail,
and they will not suspect him, and they
cert ainly will not suspect me-"
What terrible deed was in his brain,
hatching2 Was he going to murder
me? The hard-earned knowledge of a
score of years 1 would have given for
power to utter one single cry. He took
me in his arms and placed me on a
chair. and bound me to it. and then
from side pocket he produced another
rope.
Was it myself who was to hang in
stead of johnson? No; yes. He placed
the line pulley-llke over an arm of a
hanging chandelier. This was altogether
too slight a support, even for one OF
my slender frame. 1t was not to be
hanging then. To one end of the rope
he attached weight, and raised it, by
pulling the other, six or eight feet from
the floor. The loose end he secured to
the sink. Was he mad? Did he mean
to draw me under this weight and send
me out of the world in a novel way by
letting it fall and dash my brains out?
To the sink end he attached long, yel-
low string. Under the weight, on the
floor, he placed the can of nitro-glyce-
rine. recognized the yellow string; it
was fuse, and it would burn in sixty
minutes. It would run across the mar
BILE slab-there was no hope of igniting
any substance that would warn my
friends.
"Do you begin to see through it?''
asked Joe Johnson's brother.
believe l cursed him with my eyes.
1 could only breathe through my nos
trils, and great veins were swelling and
growing hot in my forehehead.
Drawing match from his pocket, he
lighted and applied it to the fuse; that
little tyrant that gave man an hour to
live, and killed him at the end of it
that little irresponsible terror, that, less
merciful than Providence, told the man
the second he was to die, if fright and
horror spared it to himyelf. Slowly
the flames crept, snake-ike, around the
twine.
sIn an hour" said the prisoners
brother, "you will be in heaven or hell.
I will watch with you for half an
hour, and the other half you will spend
alone"
He sat down some minutes in chair
watching the flame. Then he arose
and took piece of porcelain, with
the murderer's name thereon, from
the table and shook his head gloom
lily.
81 am chemist enough to know it is
arsenic" he said. "Yes, those bright
metallic eyes, a betrayal of the guilty
Science, thou would'st kill my brother
thou shalt save him. Let us see
in whose hand thou art most powerful.
Here is man who, by thy aid, bids the
poison sprite uprise and write in bril-
liant characters a foul confession on
this piece of porcelain. But behold
o, sciencel it is no sooner written than
by the word the whole confession, and
thy chosen servant annihilated. Lei
the good Professor use his chemicals; the
bad brother only asks little can o.
nitro-glycerine."
! heard this speech indeed; but il
was my eyes, and not my ears, thai
were busiest then; for beneath the ia
BILE, covered with crimson cloth, ano
which / faced, appeared the face of {
child. The hair was rumpled, and the
blue eyes were just opening from sleep
The intelligent forehead was wrinklec
strangely. 1t was my boy, Billy. Iva.
afraid he would cry "papa." If he die
the implaca5le man would add the muir
der of the child to the murder of tn,
father.
But my boy did none of this. II,
had, suppose, crept under the tabl'
unknown to mo and had fallen asleel
there. 1 tried to tell the little fellow t.
hide again and wait for the final hal
hour, when my to1mentor would b.
gone. Whether he understood me O
not, aided by what he had heard, I d.
not know, but he quietly withdrew hi
little head, first kissing his little hanc
lightly at me, and then shaking his fir
| at the schemer, watching SO belliger
emily his dumb fire agents.
The half hour wore slowly away. O
heavensI what agony did sufferl No
for myself, but for my child. A sligh
noise might discover his presence; tn
match might run its tether quicker thai
was expected; he might be murdered o
blown to atoms.
The fuse burned on-on. The broth
er of the murderer rises to go. Joy.
| sCommit your soul to Gods keeI
ing" he said. "You hold the evidenc
of my brothers. guilt-nothing can saw
you now"
With that he turned to take his ha
from off the table covered with tn
crimson cloth, beneath which hid m
| priceless boy. Something attracted hi
attentionl 1 thought he had disco,
| cred my boy-No; he was lifting some