St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-08-23

\do'illtN oi lllt three ttttllIIlt tUlilIt>
and won orIr hearts for Professor En-
manuel Carl Paul had no power to
quiet my wild wandering thoughts.
w lnlr | WIS turning liStlcSSlN y over the
leaves. the stiffness Was startled lay til"
sharp. quick changing of the electric
bell. the usual signal Ia prepare to read
on = message With SliVcr of alarm.
turned quickly to the instrument. hut
soon perceived that the bell had been
rung 10y no earthly power. tnr the vi
hlatimg needles made no intclliYihlr
sign. and knew that the sound Iad
been produced 10y IL current of ltmu>-
phcIic electricity acting upon the wires.
Smiling ut the nervousness which
caused me To start at So ordinary an
occurrence. | turned from my desk and
SIT down 10y the fire. But smile a> |
would. and reason aS might. felt that
| WIS fast ,,IIccumhing to vague ioun
dali"nlc>S fears. Thinking that the at
muSphcrc of the room, which | felt
close and hot. might have something to
do with my peculiar condition of mind.
| flung open the door. and stepped out
side. in the hope that the cool air might
scare away the plIantum> of my brain.
As | crossed the Threshold. the midnight
express crashed past with Il speed and
force which shook every timber i'll the
building and uttcIing Il loud shrek
disappeared in the tunnel at the end "t
the steep gradient. on the summit ot
which my station was placed. When
it WAS gone. there WAS stiffness. Stiffness
broken if can call il broken only
10y the peculiar signing of The air PISS
ing across the wires. which l. heard
even i'll the c;ilmr>t nights. stood
and listened I" the strange, mrlamchnl}.
.Eoliam- -harp-lillc sound. NOW :" faint
as t" br almost imaudililc. and anon
swelling int" Il Wild low wailimg.
looked up and SIM Orion and the
Plciadc>. and Thought how often on
nights. not lou" ago. when had watch
cd for Maggie in The wood. | had yLz,,d
ap through the tall >"mhrr pines and
Watched their trembling fires. From
that my mind reverted To the earnest
ness With which my wife had asked me /"
remain at home that night. and the
unusual pcii>lNcnr>~ of her manner " hrn
she hadr me good bye. What could hc
the meaning of il all , ~ Il general
rule. | had Il most profound disbelief III
nmcu>. pIt>cmtimcnt~. and all sorts "t
superstition hui III spite "t il. felt
that | would have given Il good deal.
at that time. tu Ice transported Just tur
one moment to my home. to See " neither
all WAS we'll there. might have called
upon my assistant. VIII" lodged III Il
farmhouse not tar distant. and gone
home: hur a> could give II" good r,a-
son for going away. resolved to STAY
l.. 4
a> best | could '.lt this goes un much
longer" said to mN>rlt' a~ | turned in
side again. and p"kcd up the Goals With
rather more moist and Nlg"r than Na>
absolutely necessary If this ""t~ ON
much longer. shall have /" consult Il
doctor. thar'> plain. For knrW that
the cIu>clc>> apprchcu>l"m~ which ! "\-
p,Ii,mcrd we've often only the y upr"mi>
"t an um~"!tnd state Of h"dill health
filled my pip, and lit it. huu the weed
had lost it> usual tinuquili/ing power.
~ the Wrcnth> curlrd slowly upwards.
| SIM my Witr'> face looking at me
ttaItmlN H. " hen had lcft her. Again
the bell rang sharply bat a> before. u"
imtcIIiwiblr >igm WAS made 10y the
needles. leaned my elbows on the
desk. and. with my head between my
hands. watched their unrndiu" motions.
Au hour might have passed thus. when
once moIc was startled hN the claug
"i the bell. This time il WAS louder
and more urgent. and il seemed {" me.
though perhaps may err here. with Il
peculiar and uncalthll sound. such ~ /
had IIcN cr heard lciorc. | am utterly
unable T." tell in NLal manner thc i'm
preston WIS plu'lurcd. hut II ~ccIurd
a> if there mingled with the metallic
rim. The tome "i human voice and it
Was he voice ut one knew. The nee
dies. NOW observed. hogan Ia MAKE.
signs " hiclI under stood and slow i .
H. if some novice were working the in
. ~tIumcmt. the letters ''t-o-In-r. were
>ignnIcd. No sooner had | read of the.
final ''c. than. /" my amaIcmcnt and
terror. | distinctly SIN the hamdlc of
my instrument. although WIS not
touching it at tn" time. ~ II %iH~prd lay
some visible hand. move rapidly and
make the, signal Il mlrr~tn"d' which
the receiver of Il message tIan>mitS at
the end "fcNcIN WoId.
\ cold chill ram through me. and
felt H. if every drop of blood were lraN-
in. my hraIt Could have been the
subject of an optical dcluSi"n knew
that such WIS not the case. fnr | had
plainly heard the quick click OF the
handle ;S it turned. and now could
perceive that another word WAS being
slowly >pclt out. hut 50 hcWildcrrd and
terrified was |. that failed to catch
the signs. Again my handle moved.
and this time made the signal Not
understood" With an overwhelming
feeling of awe. watched the dialS in
tcntly while the letters were again sig
nailed. and this time ] read "ll-o-m-c.
Then there WAS Il cessation of all motion
for Il second or two. and once more the
needles resumed their ncohcrcnt Nihla-
tiomS. stood pctriticd with fear aud
amI;IZcmcnt. half hclicN ing that | WIS
in IL dream. for Reason refused To accept
the evidence of >,.nsc. Could that hc Il
message for me ! If 81. whence came
it What hand had sent it Could il
he that some power higher than that oi
nature thus warned me of impending
danger! should obey the my >tcrioIl>
summons
While thus delihcratcd the bel
again sounded with Il clangor still more
loud. imperative and unearthlN. and
after Il few uncertain movements. the
magnets repeated the words. 'C"m,
homc-comc home the handles moN-
inc as before could remain at my
post no longer. Come what might.
felt that had no alternative hui I,
obey. ran to the house where tn,
clerk lived. and on rousimg the inmate,
and gaining admission. told him tina
he must take my place Immediately. IL
| had been suddenly called away. Tn,
man seemed somewhat surprised at my
excited and startled manner. but wha
h, said or did cannot recnllect ca