The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1873-02-13

paper: ,.s. ,.,-t;n,
back. II suppose, Perfesser, that there can
would make mighty noise If allowed to e1-
plode In here all at once 2" :,
"It would blow the entire buildings TO atoms,
said resutning the analysis of Mrs. Johnson's
stomach.
= sNow,", heard the policeman remark, IN de-
liberate tones, "you don't say so?'
The next moment lay on my back, gag IN
INV mouth, terribly frightened and sick at heart.
Over me stood the policeman, and the first
thing that functionary did was, looking me
stfaieht in the face, to take off his nose. He
then rid himself of his red eyebrows, hair, cap,
and opercoat, and became q determined looking
fellow, with the eyes of fiend and the nose OF
q Roman.
$50, you think" said metamorphosed, in the
tones ofa gentleman, "that nothing can save Joe
Johnson from the rope? Poor fellow 1t does
look like it. But, 10y dear Professor, Joe john
son is fortunate enough to have in me devo-
ted friend, as well as brother. / have under
taken to save him, and he shall be saved. In
order to attain this end, it will be necessary to
remove from the face of the earth the stomach
of his miserable wife yonder, but also, my dear
Professor-Pm sorry to be obliged to say 1T, for
1 believe you were my brothers teacner ana
friend-yourselfa as we'll"
4 saw that he was in deadly earnest, and
began to think that 1 was in q tight place.
SYour death must apparently result from ac-
cident-at least, so it will seem to the authorl-
ties Ny brother ia in Jail; they certainly will
not suspect me-" -.
He took me in his arms, placed me in chair,
and bound me to it and then from side pocket
he produced another rope.
Was it myself. who was to hang instead OF
Joe johnson? -. :, -,
Moves. He placed the line pully-like,
over an arm of the hanging chandelier. This
was too slight support even for one OF my
slender frame. 1t was not to be hanging, then.
To the end of the rope he attached weight,
and raised it by pulling the other end six or
eight feet from the floor. The loose end ne
secured to the sink. Was he mad? Did ne
mean TO draw me under this weight and send
me out of the world in novel way, by letting
it fall, and dashing my brains out?
To the sink end he attached long yellow
string.
can of nitro glycerine. l recognized the yellow
string-it was fuse, and would burn sixty
minutes. 1t would burn across the marble slab
there was no hope of its igniting any sub
stance that might warn my friends.
"Do you begin to see through it I" asked Joe
y
I believe cursed him with my eyes. / could
only breathe through my nostrils, and the great
veins were swelling and growing hot in my
forehead.
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
q man the second he was to die, if fright and
horror spared him. Slowly the flame crept,
snake-like around the twine .,7
"In one hour" said the prisoners brother,
"you will be IN eternity will watch with you
for half an hour-the other half you will spend
alone."3 ~ a.
He sat down some minutes in chair, watch
ing the flame. Then he arose and took the
piece of porcelain, with the murderer's mark
! thereon, from the table, and shook his head
'.aI am chemist enough to know it is arsenic"
he said. eyes, these bright metallic eyes, be-
trayer of the guilty Science thou would'st
kill my brother. Thou shalt save him.. Let
US see in whose hands thou art most powerful.
Let the good Professor use his chemicals; the
bad brother only asks-a little can OF nitro
glycerine." t4i
!" 1 heard this speech indeed; but great heay-
ems! my eyes and not my ears we're busiest
then; from beneath the table, covered by the
crimson cloth of which I have before spoken,
and which faced, appeared the head OF
child. The hair was rumpled, and the blue
ewes were Just open from sleep. The intelli-
gent forehead was wrinkled strangely. II was
NV, boy Billy. I was afraid he would cry
"Papa I" If he did, the implacable man would
add the murder of the child to the murder of
the father. .ea 81. ~
But nv boy did none of this. 3 He had, I
suppose, crept under the table unknown to me,
and fell asleep there. tried to tell the little
fellow to hide again, and wait for the final half
hour when my tormentor would be gone.
| Whether he understood me or not, aided by
what he hal heard, did not know; but be
quickly withdrew his little curly head, first
Kissing his hand lightly ct me, and then sha-
king his fist at the schemer watching so bellig-
erently his dumb fire agents.
The half hour wore slowly away. Oh, heav-
| ems what agony did suffer not for myself
but for my child. A slight noise might discov-
er his presence the match might run its tether
sooner than was expected. he might be MUIR
dered or blown to atoms.
The fuse burned on--.onl The half hour is
The brother of the murderer rises to go
Joyl ,.o, .oo,;,r b.
said. "You who hold the evidence of my
brothers. guilt-uothing can save you now."
With that he turned to take his hat from off
the table covered with the crimson cloth, be-
meath which hid my precious boy. Something
attracted his attention. He held up his hands
and leaned forward. thought he had discov-
cred my boy No; he was lifting something in
either hand-the wires of the electric battery.
In another instant my boy had leaped from un-
der the table and was turning the crank fast
and furiously.
The murderer's brother was in the power of
my boy. He could not drop the wires; he was
helpless and motionless. How my boy cried
for help. The old college rung again. The
prisoners brother added his voice TO my boys
in his agony. He begged, he beseeched-all
his nerves racked-great waves of galvan-.
;,n, Ieoned and surped and trembled, and