Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-05-14

down upon me with deadly purpose
cleaning from his eyes.
A frightful suspicion dawned upon me
" Can it be possible -"
YES, yes!" he interrupted. "You
! divine my purpose readily. I want to
! cut your heart out, and, while it is still
! throbbing, seize it and thrust it in the
hollow hub Of the WHEEL"
But that would be MURDER ]
| exclaimed" cold-blooded, premeditated
murder"
There, again, is where you Jump al
! conclusions" he said, with an air of bland
| superiority. "There would be no muir.
| de- about it. l should replace your heart
! instantly with one taken from living
sheep, and so quickly and skilfully would
| perform the operation that you would
lose less than a pint of blood"
But you would not do this without
my consent?"
With your consent if possible; with
out It If necessary"
1 offer no apology for being alarmed
for arguing with him seriously. l was in
| his power. He eyed me vigilantlv, and
levity or defiance on my part would
probably have eXasperated his poor, dis
ordered brain. l made a suggestion:
Why not place the sleeps heart in
the hub? Would not that do as well?"
No; 1t must be a human heart.
Brutes have instinct, as you know, but
human beings only have reason and
creative desires. The motive principle
which we call mind permeates the blood
and endUes the human heart with a GER
tain propelling energy that is necessary
for my purpose. Do you KNOXVILLE
lowered his voice to a solemn whisper
| that [ sometimes think my machine
will possess conscience and will? Does
it not look reasonable? But of course
that is only matter of conjecture as yet
There will be time enough to consider it
when the first object is accomplished"
There was no Disgusting the fact that
some desperate resOrt-sOme stroke Of
strategy-was necessary to defeat my de-
mented companion His whole manner
proclaimed that he was terribly in earnest,
and the CLEAN of his eye revealed unmis-
takably that he would execute immediate
vengeance should attempt to force my
way into the car or summon assistance.
Of course he was incapable Of consider
ing the consequences to himself. | en-
deavOred in vain to hit upon some plan
to Outwit him or divert his mind from its
purpose. We were both silent for short
time, when suddenly an idea struck me.
Said [:
"Why not have your own heart cut out
instead of mine and placed in the whee- :?
Its supply of nerve power must be much
greater and all its energies tend in the
right direction. Surely it would be much
more effective for your purpose than
mine"
8" Yes, you are right" he conceded !;
"but there are difficulties in the way.
First, it would be almost impossible to
find skilled surgeon willing to perform
the operation. And again, I was once
betrayed by one who made the same
proposition that you have. l lay down
with my breast barred, ready for him to
remove my heart, when he suddenly
slipped a pair of handouts on my wrists
and bound my legs together. He then
carried me off, and from him and his hire
lings | suffered from indignities. How
ever, that is neither here nor there. | an
out of his clutches now, and am not to be
imposed upon again in the same way.
Pardon me for doubling your sincerity,
but [ have learned to be on my guard.
No; you must be the victim this time,
ana the operator. All! we are almost
there. | think it best that we jump off
dUOOG d u1lI6 ILLS S1liS VI JllC SbdUlOIl, IL
is necessary that our operations be carried
on you see a large haystack close by the
side of the road Just this side of it we
will make the leap, and then we will
have walk of three CT four miles across
the country"
81 tell you do not wish to jump off.
Wait till we get to the station and 1 will
walk hack with Won -
mo; there are spies there whom l
wish to avoid. Get ready"
Wait! You jump off, and l will ride
on and walk back to join you"
"No; that would be wasting time, and
we've none to lose. Are you ready? We
are almost there!"
made no reply, but turned suddenly
and endeayored to grasp one of his legs
and throw him down. But he was too
quick for me. He seized me by the col
lar, lifted me up with apparent ease. and
then clasped me around the body, firmly
holding both of my arms to my sides.
His strength was prodigious.
The engine whistled before the train
began to slacken its speed. A brakeman
came out of the car. | shouted for help.
But my captor made the leap, carrying
me with him. There was a violent con-
CUSTOM fearful rebound, and then un-
utterable confusion Was I hurt? Was
l killed? Was the awful tumult in my
brain caused by the flight Of the spirit
from the body? How long would the
struggle last? What would [ see next?
These and flood of other wild ques-
tionings darted through my brain with in
conceivable rapidity, then a swift numb
ness settled upon me, and all became
blank.
[ awoke and heard low-spoken words
After an instant's effort [ recOllected
everything. Two men were seated near
me. | was lying on a couch and could
see faces peering in at a window and hear
the hum of voices outside.
AS [ opened my eyes two n. en- arose and
regarded me intently. [ concluded that
they were physicians.
Amy bones broken?" I asked.
mo-" one of them replied.
"Any other iniuries?"
GA few bruises"
"Shall try to arise?"
"Not just yet"
Here, take this" said the other doc
| tor, extending a glass Of wine.
[ drank it and sat up. Beyond slight
dizziness | experienced no uncomfortable
feeling. 1 expressed the opinion that l
was all right, in which the doctors were
| disposed to concur.
GLOW about the other one?" 1 asked
"Was he friend of yours?"
"NO, not even an acquaintance.
How did you happen to be with
him?"