New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1878-10-09

one of the shelves that ran across the parti-.
ton was smoking. discovered that large
condenser or lens which was fixed in brass
frame had been left on the projection of the
window sash, and it brought the focus of the
SUMS rays upon the dry edge Of the pine shelf.
In an instant my mind had formulated q
scheme.
= looked at my watch: It was four o'clock
and nineteen minutes. Imoved the lens, and
found that could throw the focus into the
middle OF the shelf. Ellingher would probab-
| ~ never notice it. Then examined the bot
ties on the shelves. There were two large
vessels containing absolute ALCOHOL one that
was half full OF oleuna oti0p, and another Of
te''ebiaa uaiaaa. These jars were against the
partition OF my room. The phosphorus was
Kept IN the cellar, under water, but there was
rosln, Burgundy pitch, and benzine under the
shelves on the floor
Now that difnite plan Of action was
formed had became new man. All my
old activity and skill revived. had received
the money, tardily enough, from my mother,
and resolved to devote the whole of it to car
rying out my revenge. And to the accom-
plishment OF my purpose bent all my intel
ligence and subordinated all my feelings
Ut took me three months. Do you know
sible. First Of all / dissembled and won a,
subordinate place in Mays employ He
thought he could trust me, and that knoWl-
edge gave me JOY, for I felt I was fooling
destiny. Learned his habits, studied his weak
nesses: and waited. On Thursdays Ellingher
had q. half holiday, and was left in POSSESS
on of the store. BY degrees I made Just the
indammable materials in the laboratory that
| answered my purpose. Tie arrangement was
most ingenious one, and i knew that if a
flame igntted one end Of my train no human
power could prevent it from reaching the
motion south ward day by day. experiment
ed with duplicate lens of the same power in
my room. 1had diagram of the partition.
and could tell to the sixteenth of an inch
where the sunlight would fall at any hour in
the afternoon" " " 49,
Here interrupted Urquehardt. ''It seems
to me, my friend" said, 'that you were tax
ing extraordinary pains to become an incen.
diary, and might have set fire to the store
more directly and surely"
eyes" he replied, "but it was no part of
my object though itmight be of unavoidable
consequence-to burn his store" 80
"Ah, what then was your object?'
"You shall learn. Immediately over my
room was the chamber occupied by Miss
Addie. She was in the habit Of sewing there
| in the afternoons. could hear the treadle
of her sewing machine for an hour at the time.
On the floor above that there was storeroom,
seldom entered, and, as found, well packed
with refuse. Among other thikg it contained
an oil cask, which at some time had been
brought up from the cellar of the store to put
under leak in the roof Such was the
structure of the building that there was a
space of four inches between the plaster and
the bricks, reaching from that storeroom to
the ground floor on three sides of Adde'S
room. I calculated that with rubber tube
drawn up through the space to the barrel /
could pump from my room nOiselessly at least
forty gallons of benzine in one night, and that
when was ready lcould upset the cask so
| that the intlammable fluid would flow down
| the aperture on three sides of her room, sat-
urating the lath and timbers, and, caug int at
my floor, would run across the boards to the
partition, and thus complete the circuit of
nze." - 1sEs
"Youdo not mean to say that it was your
! purpose to-"
| ut was my purpose to roast that woman
alive, to surround her with a quick and mex
| tinsuishable flame, and to haye her lover
where could point it out to him, and tell
him it was my work I was willing to die
for the satisfaction of bringing discontinue
to him; Of enjoying for one instant my
power over him.
Well" said, Ego on with your narrative"
Everything happened fortuitously. The
|
and one maid servant, who slept in the base
ment, presented few obstacles to the accomp-
lishment OF my purpose. When Addie was
out could roam all over it without disturb
ing Mrs. Prescott. I succeeded in pumping
fifty gallons Of benzine into the upper room,
and to prevent it's evaporation and the con-
| sequent odor, fitted paper head to the cask,
/ which covered with an impervious coat Of
| glue. fixed upon day and made my ar
rangements.
| II told May that / had come suddenly into
a large fortune, and he had the effrontery to
ask me to loan him quite large sum of
money. told him that would let him have
it next Friday. That was the day had fixed
for my bonfire, for Ellingher would be away
on Thursday, and Addia took her French les
sons on that day. would, therefore have the
place to myself to complete everything. The
my purpose at o'clock and nine minutes. It
would fire the. phosphorus on the third shelf,
and that would in four seconds ignate the tur-
pentine and explode the oil jar, which, in
turn, would set fire to the floor saturated with
benzlne and shoot column of flame up three
sides of the girls room. need not bother
you with all the minute details of my scheme
In order to show you its ingenious perfect
ton should have to make number of draw
1gs and mathematical diagrams
Suffice to say that told May he could have
the money if he would come with me to Brook
lyn on Friday and get it, and at o. clock OH
that fated day, nervous and pale, set out
with him from the store, every thing being in
train for an explosion at 8 o. clock and nine
minutes. he noticed my strange manner. Il
told him with forced laugh that would ex-
plain it to him when we crossed the river.
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