The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-05-22

regard 10 a mrtter Of such vital iInpOr
ance. 1t is so with them all.
After this he relapSed into silence. bu
seemed ill at ease, looking hither all
thither, and frequently half rising in hi
seat.
Finally, as an excuse to leave hi
presence, | said | believed | would tax
Il little fresh air, and stepped out on tn
platform of the car. This proved to b
IL most unfortunate move The trail
was moving rapidly, and. yielding to tn
fascination of gazing at the swiftly shift
! ing scenery, illumined by the pale beam
of the moon, lit a cigar and remainet
i'll my position for some time.
Suddenly became aware that some
body was standing behind Inc. turne,
and beheld, with some CONSERVATION
my experimentation friend. He mus
have opened and closed the car-doo
very silently, for had not heard his ap
prOach.
Il thought would take the fresh air
too" he said with peculiar smile. .
can circumvent anybody who stand
in my way; yes, anybody-no matte
whO.7 This was with considerable We
hemence. Then, with an air of suavity
he remarked: There is something verl
exhilarating in standing here in tht
breeze, in listening to the rumbling o
the noisy wheels, almost under one.
feet, and gazing at the flying landscape
and moving lights in distant houses. Dc
you not think sol'
| replied that l did. He came closer
and bent over Inc, his strange black eyes
glittering in the moonlight. Ny position
| l,,,@ g.
was ON one of the steps, and lie imme-
diately above me, so that l could not
ascend to the car-doOr without request
ing him to move. This | did not wish
to do abruptly, for, if he was of unsound
mind, any appearance of uneasiness or
( distrust on my part might cause him to
indulge in some violent freak there
| fore feigned to welcome his presence,
though in fact heartily wished myself
back in the car
He drew closer to me, and said:
81 have concluded to give you a de-
scription of my perpetual-mOtion ma
chine; for somehow have taken sin
gular fancy to you, and believe l can
trust you"
Don't be too sure of that, " rejOined,
jOcOsely; 'Imay prove Il wolf in sleeps
clothing. and betray your confidence"
Il am not afraid" he replied; Il am
too good physiognomist to be thus i'm
posed upon. But we trille To come at
once to the point, my workshop is not
great distance from here. \ road Just
on the outskirts of the next station leads
TO it. As soon as the train arrives with
in Il mile of its stopping place | shall
jump off and repair directly to the spot
| have already lost most time by an un-
avoidable absence and must make all
haste to resume my task.
''IOu would not jump OF while tine
train is in notion
''Yes; there is no danger"
Pardon me; the practice is very dan
gerOus one, and has frequently in loss
of life"
do not contradict me! shall jump
off and 50 must you
Il shall not, j replied. and beg of
yOu not to risk your own life"
''Bah, It's no risk at all, | tell you.
I'd willingly risk it now, fast as wer,. go
ing"
did not reply to his last remark. but
started To rise, saying: Il believe will
go i'll the car again"
shoulder with Il nervous strength. against
which resistance would have been futile.
My strange acquaintance said:
No you don't-I'm not through with
you yet"
Let me pass!" | exclaimed angrily
81 shall not, you are the man"
Il shall call on the brakeman the next
time he steps out You are taking an
unwarrantable liberty"
IF you say IL word to the brakeman
will push you off. "
''Come-this is no time or place for
jesting wish to enter the ear"
And wish you to remain here As
for jesting, nothing was ever further from
my thoughts"
was now fairly alarmed. The man
was undoubtedly lunatic. And he had
me at an advantage, for, in our relative
positions, he could easily launch me in
to eternity by an energetic push. | saw
that the assumption of defiance was of
no avail, and abandoned it at once for
fear of provoking him to an immediate
fullillment of his threat. He still re-
tained his hold on my shoulder with un-
relaxed vigor-
"Oh, well, | said, Tin not particu-
lar But please finish your business
with me, and then allow me TO return"
My business with you cannot be fin
ished here, " ne said, gr,tveIy. Il was
about TO repeat that you are the man
destined to assist Inc in the great con-
summation of my life-wOrk. And |
must not lose sight of you, nor permit
YOU to escape | remarked. as YOU will
h.t Il 4
full to complete my invention. / will
now tell you what il is. To begin with,
my perpetual motion machine is appar-
emily nothing more nor less that an or
dinary looking wheel. But the hub and
other portions are hollow, and herein
lies the secret The wheel is filled with
a fluid so closely resembling blood that
nothing but the most sEillful and ex-
haustive chemical tests can descry any
difference. This fluid circulates through
the wheel in such manner as TO keep
it revolving for Il long time, through the
agencies of momentum and gravity; but
at the end of Il certain period the revo-
luton slackens, and finally stops alto
gether.
Now all that is necessary TO keep it
going perpetually is 1cGrm, HriBy hU-
man heart rifhin the h0lI0lr Init" "
''HOrriblel" exclaimed. with a shud-
der. for he hissed his words out sharply
and eagerly. But in what way can
supply such n WANT
lis it difficult to imagine" He stared
down upon Inc with deadly purpose
cleaning from his eyes.
\ frightfuI suspicion dawned upon
me. Can it be possible
Yes. yes he interrupted. You di-
vine my purpose readily. ! want 10 cut
your heart out, and, while it Is still
throbbing. seize it and thrust il into the
hollow hub of the wheel"
But that would be murder" / cy.
claimed ''cold-blooded, premeditated
murder
There, again, is where you jump at
conclusions. he said. with an air of
blank superiority. There would be no
murder about it, | would replace yours
instantly with one taken from living
sheep. and 50 quickly and skillfully
would perform the operation that YOU
would lose less than Il pint of blood.
But YOU would not do this without
my CONSENT
with yOsr consent # possible; with
out it if necessary"
| offer no apology for being alarmed
for arguing with him seriously. was
in his power He eyed me vigilantly,
and,Ievity or defiance on my part would
probably have exasperated his poor dis
ordered brain. made a suggestion:
why not place the Sleeps heart in
the hub! Would not that do a. WELL
NO; it must be a human heart. Brutes
have instinct. as you know. but human