Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1872-01-25

Ii,
g that nothing can save Joe johnson
from the ropel Poor fellow it does
| look like it. But, my dear professor,
Joe Johnson is fortunate enough to
have in me devoted friend, as well as
brother. l have undertaken to save
him, and he shall be saved In order
to accomplish this end it will be neces-
sary to remove from the face of the
earth, not only the stomach of his mis-
cradle wife yonder, but also, my dear
professor, I'm sorry to be obliged to
say it, for / believe you were my broth
er's teacher and friend, yourself as
we'll"
l saw that he was in deadly earne est.
6 Your death must apparently result
from accident at least, so it must seem
to the authorities. My brother is in
jail and they will not suspect him, and
they certainly will not suspect me-"
What terrible deed was in his brain
hatching-was he going to murder me
The hard earned knowledge of score
of years l would have gwen for power
to utter one single cry.
He took me in his arms and placed
me in chair, and bound me to it, and
then, from a side pocket, he produced
another rope
Was it myself who was to hang in
stead of Johnsonl
No; yes. He placed the line pully-
like over an arm of hanging chandel-
ier This was altogether too slight
support even for one of my slender
frame 1t was not to be hanging, then.
n Of ha no -,
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 out2
To the sink end he attached long,
yellow string.
Under the weight, on the floor, he
placed the can of nitro glycerine. /
recognized the yellow string it was a
fuse, and it would burn sixty minutes
1t would burn across the marble slab
there was no hope of its igniting any
substance that would warn my friends.
" Do you begin to see through it 2"
asked Joe Johnson's brother
/ believe l cursed him with my eyes.
| could only breath through my nos
trils, and great veins, were swelling and
growing hot in my forehead.
Drawing a match from his pocket, he
! lighted and applied it to the fuse; that
little tyrant that gave a man an hour
to live, and kill him at the end of it
that little irresponsible terror that, less
than merciful Providence, told man
the second he was to die, if fright and
horror spared him to itself
Slowly the flames crept, snake-like
around the Irvine
6" In one hour" SAID the prisoners
brother, "you will bein heaven or hell.
l 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 MUIR
derer's mark thereon, from. the table
and shook his head gloomily.
L" | am chemist enough to know it is
arsenic" he said. Yes, those bright,
metallic eyes, betrayal of the guilty !
Science, thou wouldst kill my brother
thou shalt save him. Let us see in
whose hands thou art most powerful.
Here is a man who, by thy aid, bids the
poison sprite uprise and write in bril-
liant characters foul confession on
this piece of porcelain. But behold, O
science 1t is no sooner written than
by the word the whole confession and
thy chosen servant are annihilated.
| heard this speech, indeed but good
heavens it was my eyes and not my
ears that were busiest then for, be-
meath the table, covered by crimson
cloth, and which faced, appeared the
face of child. The hair was rumpled,
and the blue eyes were just opening
from sleep. The intelligent forehead
was wrinkled strangely. 1t was my boy
Billy. / was afraid he would cry pa
pa Ii he did, the implacable man
would add the murder of the child to
the murder of the father.
But my boy did none of this. He
had, l suppose, crept under the table
unknown to me, and had fallen asleep
there. | tried to tell the little fellow
to hide again and wait for the final half
hour when my tormentor would be /
cone Whether he understood me or .
not, aided by what he heard, | did not .
know, but he quickly withdrew his lit
tie head, first kissing his hand lightly I
at me, and then shaking his fist at the .
schemer watching so belligerently his /
dumb fire agents.
The half hour wore slowly away. Oh,
heavens what agony did | suffer Not
for myself but for my child, A slight
noise might discover his presence: the
match might run its tether sooner than
was expected; he might be murdered
or blown TO atoms.