davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-03-19
REoRETs FROM Mr.. GAMMELL.
TALLxApaE, o., March 18Th. 1890.

TALLMADaE, o., March 18th. 1890.
DEAR FATHER PERRY:-My wife and
l, yes. and the children. too, would be glad
to take you by the hand and congratulate
you. because each year Of life has brought
new mercies, and every day has been an
other opportunity for prayer and thanks
giving 10 the Author Of all good.
I. too. had birthday just two weeks be-
fore yours, making somewhat less than
half as many as you have enjoyed; and
when some friends attempted to congratu-
late me, rather cynically asked them.
ION what. because I'm growing old ~ and
then l added, perhaps, however, ycu
think l grow wiser and better, and so may
we'll be felicitated." Then shrewd old
gentleman turned the tables on me by
quietly observing. Perhaps we ought TO
congratulate ourselves" whereon an omin-
GUS silence pervaded the group; and I sus-
pect that all were saying, THE older and
wiser our minister gets, so much the bet
ter for us, and we shall receive the more
for our money"
Il Ia not our years that We may rejoice
In. but what they have brought Of ex-
perience and knowledge and wisdom. and
that man Is TO be congratulated who can
say with the Roman Cato, II grow old
learning something every day" / think
you would say, dear friend, that you have
learned something new every day Of Gods
mercy and kindness and loving favor
towards you. I like TO think that We grow
old in order to become young again. The
fountain Of perpetual youth sought by that
old Spanish explorer--ws know where Il
10 and the way that leads 10 II; and not
The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-03-19
DESCRIPTION.

Mr.. Perry is Of medium size, weight,
sandy complexion and at present very
feeble. But when fifiy.six years of age
he attempted to shorten a Iouts little
by springing over ahigh fence and In so
doing broke one Of his limbs, infiams-
tion very soon set in and 1t had 10 be am-
putated.
The evening world., 1890-07-18

One side of the little room was occupied
by an ordinary iron bel. over which and fiat
against the ceiling was II mirror, extending
from the head of the couch to nearly the
middle. At the left OF the door was a small
stand, on which lay, face up. a large clock.
tiaking slowly away. the second hand re-
spending to the ticks. and showing that
there were sixty beats to the minute.
Dut what WAS most remarkable about the
clock was 9 series Of brass upriPhts. that
marked the figures on the dial; and of these
/ saw that there were twenty-four. glanced
at my watch. IL Was inst . O'Clock. by the
clock il was FL O'Clock. Ii evidently ran
from midnight to midnight. | stepped
closer to examine this remarkable time
piece, when | saw Its dial reflected III a
mirror near by; this in turn reflected the
image into another mirror. and this into
another until a final reflection WAS cast into
the glass over the head OF the bed.
And by the series Of reflections the image
in the last mirror was not distorted or re-
versed, but appeared as il one were looking
directly at the face OF the clock, as l saw 10y
stepping to the side of the bed and looking
up. ..E
Lake watched me in silence as | pursued
iA9 AhNNbtAh 49, 80
them.
Returning 10 the clock l sAW that the up
rights | have mentioned were shaped like
an inverted L-thus:T. At the base of each
upright. where II rested on the dial. was .
huge. The hour hand. in sweeping around
the twenty-four-hour circle. as it came TO
each succeeding figure on the face, touched
the upright and tip il over, the limb Of the
IL" falling with a slight click on a small
steel pin liked to receive II. discovered
further than what had mistaken for brass
in the uprtghts was some composition that
ressmbled that metal, but Was not metal
1t all.
The minute hand of the clock, ! may add,
was raised so high from the face that it
passed over the uprights without touching
them. | tipped them over. one after the
other. and then replaced them. What their
use WAS. what the whole arrangement WAS
intended for ! could not even guess. and l
The evening world., 1890-07-18

looked at Lake. who TODD in the door.
smiling cynically.
well. "he said. in response to my glance.
"Well? ?" asked. in reply to his utter
ance.
What 10 you make OF itF"
- can make nothing of II. i suppose II
has some bearing on capital punishment,
but what cannot imagine"
Then lie down on the bed and l will ex-
plain"
Without hesitation, thoroughly interested
now in this strange machine. 1 complied.
As | stretched myself out on the iron
couch, something encircled my body like an
iron hoop. | stToye 10 Iise, to leap away
from the embrace that held me, but without
avail. Lake had me in lis power by some
Internal mechanism which he controlled,
and in a moment more 1 lay, bound hand
and foot, my head resting OF something
roft aud wet, while my right foot was
tightly incased in a sort OF iron boot that
was fastened near the foot OF the bed.
Now" continued Lake, eoOlly, IL will
assume the role of instructor. | turn on
this one hight. aud you see overhead, re-
fected IN the mirror, the dial of the clock.
iuu will see, as the minutes spcel by. the
hour nAnd on US tourney; Aon VIII see ~
ttuCh al upright. press aga NIT " push IL
oyer-you may hear the c4ick.
For TO one of those uIrlghts and 10 one
Z OF those pins there are tWtuty-iour OF each
val now attach the wires; but | Will not
tell you TO when nne.
Ara then i Viii turn on my current II
! e!ectr city. The seconds will tick hy. the
minutes will ass on, the houTs be married.
by the falling upTlghts, and when one of
them falls-I do not say which one-the cir
chit vii! iC competed spd . current Of a.tc-
+ n cltg suf|cleut tn ELL ten men will pass
thr ash your nudy.
% Yuu ssy I am mad, We'll. ! am NAL to
rec tire result ~ NV rst e=I eriment; but I
wall not uG the wires 10 Auy lour that II near
az hand. want e. sep you e there with
staring eyes and ~qulcRening pulse, watching
the hand approach the UPRIGHT wAnt YOU
t. hear the click : II tails aud your nswcr-
ing sigh OF relief as You realize that you
have sixty minutes more OF lite lett. And
soon As tie baud approaches the insulated
wright will e1tlnguish the one light that
enables you to rer the reflection OF the dial
IN the mirror over your head, and your
agony will be multiplied an hundred. fold.
y on will count the ticks and become
confused When Il aants forty minutes of
The evening world., 1890-07-18

the hou-. you will think the remorseleas
hand IL lust touching tie upright. You ,"ill
live 1000 years in 3 minute and an
Now will attach the wires-in three,
four, iivo, six. eight, ten, a dozen., a score
Of hours. the fatal Que will arrive, the hand
will touch the upright. and u will fall over
but this time you vii not hear the click.
"STifter than heArlng,, faster than
sound can travel. the deadly current will
correct. life will be eXtinRulshed before hve
seconds of the succee ling hour have beOn
licked on by the CLOCK ,
lie went tn the dock, turned il over, and
fixed the wires, all OF his movements being
made painfully visible to me by the deyIlIsh
coutrivanoe over the heisleAd..
lie turned the cloca back, raised all OF the
uprlghts and then paced his hand on =
switch by the door.
The clock e ready, aud now turn on
the cuTrent-tOt'
lie threw the switch up, and a hlne spark
and a slGiht click denoted the presence Of
the deadly fluid.
1.-The serpent is now coilsd and ready to
spring, % Ire added, bringing, a chair from
the adjoining room, seating himself and re-
rArhing me critically. One touch. aud he
spurtS his venom.
believing that | Was Lending myself to a stint
pie eNperlment, ami really interested IN
NatursIIg had been Affected by my posi-
ton. but M to that moment | hat felt no
fear. But noW-l ~ not know why, whether
II Was q certain lonk IA Lakes eyes or the
result OF nervous trnslOu-l went all TO
pieces. An uncomfortable and sickening
horror seized me and chilled ms very mar
ron.
Lake, II said. aud my voice sounded
far OH aud unnatural. do you not think
this has gouc lar enough ??
Tar enough. ms dean. fellow p he re-
piled. laughing again. Why tie experl-
mrut IA. scarcely begun, lou are only be-
glnning 10 feel the pAngs OF anticipation.
NI:h = -urTeme effort | mastered mysslt
for . moment.
We4l,"Tsaid ami thank Heaven. my
voice MAS as natural ami as >teady as ever,
7" have four or five hours 10 live yet. !
know. tor yoa A. much as told me %, and Il
this nasty. wet sIonge VAS not my only pill
low. 1 think Ia take a nap. The ticking OF
that clock Las q most uneommonly dTowsy
effect"
-Four or FIVE houTs!' cried Lake. losing
al! control OF himgs.f as he saw that he Was
losing. or had lost. his mastery over me,
-Four or five houTss No. One and little
over. 1t ia now quarter OF TWENTY-FIVE. ]
will change the sltes to tWenty-three
o'clock. and IS surely as yoH lie there, a.
surely a. | am speaking 70 you. a. twenty
The evening world., 1890-07-18

You hear him. In defense of wife and chill
dren and property you oppose him. He kills
You. What should no his punishment
Something as remorseless, as cruel, as vim
dictIye as his own act. And to this end |
have turned my energies, my inventive fac
ulties and what Door genius | have
Lake" l said. with a freedom born OF
long Acquaintance. close compsnionship and
long mountaineering. :" have often told
you that you were a tete mO'tee; hat you
were cracked on this one subject. if on no
I other, and l AN more thAn ever convinced
of it this evening"
lyon are? Well. come upstairs and see
what a crazy invention / have there. Per-
haps You will admit, then, that it is better
to have some added brains than more at
all. You see, you can't make me augryI'
='Nothing in the world could possibly be
further from my thoughts, or my wishes,
old man, - | replied. as VIC rose and left the
room, II was only Joking, as you well
know"
"Of course / know it, " he broke in, pick
ing up a lamp and leading the way. $50
come on. / am all alone here tonight; old
Clara las gone to town to see a sick sister,
and is not coming back until morning.
AfNA - AeANAg CAN ~
miles and a half from the ciiy, on a little
used road. III house had COM to him with
his fortune. which was large, and the top
floor he had fitted mp q laboratory and a
''mAchine shop. - as he called it, where he
was forever tinkering at inventions that
were OF no practical value. So it was with a
feeling of no very great expectancy that
followed him and entered the room.
nna Nhfpu he rad tlaPa in ali nf aaa anua-
pleteness, and that was . dynamo OF no
small rover. and electricity was as common
IN his house as water aud gas in most modern
city residences So in > moment after We
entered the laboratory the place was aglow
with light. while Lake. blowing out the
lamp he held. set it down on 3 bench near At
hand.
Here, he said. lis my latest and my
pet, Com in!'
followed him into = small chambeF-6 by
o feet, VerhGps; not more.
The evening world., 1890-07-18
A TURTLE As PEACEMAEER.
Two Bulls Were About to Fight
When the Snapper Interfered.
IL Caught One OF the Combatants by
the Tail and Hung On.

e. FL Al. uu ~
~ H'"hy r"t'' Oh Nv s'''N gu ~
charles Bn'hmah. TWO liotstelh ouitS
were pasturinr in different fields, ono on
.,l ,ho \N,Isiu s;,or and ana IN
- w Vi ~ ''A ~ ~ :
tue other siue' writes Il uoShen W. ~
correspondent.
1liole bnl been n bittcr fond betwean
-. -. H..
'ne '"o "io' 'ou ""i'i'lS " iohS '"n''
nnd a few days ago ono OF the bulls TOOK n
u~os,tion on the river bank n his pasture
ami boIlowod II ch,lloucn, I'm his .n.mv
"" 80, " ''
the DINER huI.
This was quickly answered by the Hol-
s,,in mud ho lost mn TINA in GETTING tn
Al, - - A. u.-,l.ui M
'ho o'iiN oh H'S s'''e y. III ""'N'i. i"o
two bulls stool in that way, believing
aud mutiCring and paving dirt Tor q ,oIg
time, each working himself into deeper
rage, unti' al last u bull could contain
himself no longer and plunged into the
river md swan towards his rivals
domain.
The rival did not wait for him to get
there, but jumped into the river and
mails, their tempers nncooled ly their
bath, met iii miustream aud attempted t,I
have the matter II r Rht there. Inc mex
OF footing ana TIE strengthen the current
prevented either bull from making any
telling assault, but each tried his best to
do battle.
While the bulls were bntting mud bel
lowing II, iutiie rage IN the stream ,he
The evening world., 1890-07-18

three O'Clock Won diet"
He turned the switch down, seized the
clock, reversed It, and after changing the
wires. placed II in position again. and then.
r~e.arrAnging the uprights, he switched on
Vow listen for the click of twenty-five
while the clock ticks ont =, 600 times. Be
fore the thlrty-slG hundred anu ,irst TICK
falls on yOnr ear, y0u VIII have become q
thing of naught. q house VI clay without an
inmate. . nothing. while | will have proven
To myEelf and to the " rid that my plan Is a
practical one, aud my name Will 90 down 20
posterlty IS the inventor OF the ANenGer OF
"T.ake!' | whispered. huskily. while the
clock tickei so rapidly to ms excited ears
thai il make a continuous burning sound.
Lake By our friendship. by the love
We have borne each other -
lie moved. he came towards me. he was
7 about To sci me free!
Yam hone.
lie came close ana drew down over nay
head some cOntrIvsnce that enabled me 20
breathe anu see, but cut of all power OF
And then he turned of the light that i!lu-
mined the mirror into which 1 va staring
with anguish stricken eyes, g.,
Oh. tile hendishness OF this act! There l
Jay, unable TO speak, wish that damnabie
ticking growing louder aud louder. IN my
ears. faster and faster, until II sounded Ike
the whlrrin{ OF some great steamer : shItt
as the propeller, lifted ont Of the water by
the plunGiug ct the vessel, races as II II
would crash into a thousand fragments.
Tick Tick Tick Tick -Four Five,
Ten. Twelve, Twenty
dol. Could a man lie there and listen to
those sounds aud rot go mad?
ltmust be nearly eleven II | had only
I cluptel the ticks from the beginning OF the
darkness.
Mat vas that9 A binding Hash Of daz-
cling light shot across my eyes las the PIN
/ fallen AMI i this the electric shock
for = l6vmtnt ] could 'ee nothing then l
realized that LAEe had TUNED on the electric
light. and again the rejection OF the dial
va lniTruTrd above me.
len minutes past twenty-five I had been
IN darkness not more than three minutes At
the utmOst, and those minutes had seemed
an hour.
lneed not say more OF the horror Of that
vigil. as the seconds grew into minutes as
the long hand swept around the dial, over
the uprIghts. and the boCT-hand RAPIDLY
gAllopsd towards the fatal figures.
IL wanted ten minutes OF the hour when =
bel in the adjoining room rang, causing me
70 leap with such : nervous bound that the
bouds that held me fairly started.
Clara. NO doubt muttered Lake.
The evening world., 1890-07-18

well, Rlancing at the CLOCK, !" have am
pie time to let her in and to return ior the
deHOrf ntsht.
room. taxing the lamp. and went dow
And the clock tickle ! on md the hAAd
drew near the fatal upright.
Suddenly / heard the sound Of loud voices
and 8 shot. then the noise of feet hurryine
upstairs.
whose tones | recognized, and in 3 lev SEQ
onds he burst into the room.
ar Won hurt?" he cried. as he hurried
tore on the gag that stihed me and lifted ~
The revulsiou vas too great I tried 70
speak, but could NOT utter . word
And tine clock licked on!
There are oertsin instanIs when one c4a
centre all the power contained In ones oody
at a given point, temporarily pSraiyzing Ior
the moment all the rest OF ones funetionss
and this VAS what | did nov. verify be-
lieve that my heart stopped beating and ny
blood towlng as huskily screeehed;
''1uFn the switch Z"
Lonis looked at the wall and i less than .
second had sprung to the handle And pulled
And as he did SO l heard the click oil. ths
upright falling. as the hands marked %
Then / tainted.
how Aunt Cara. hearing her master muttsr-
ing tn himself and he having acted Quesrly
for some DAYS, had invented the story OIL
sick sister in order to go into own and Sc
his physician.
Ny brother was calling there At the time
and spoke OF my being at Lakes, and A. soon
as they could secure assistance they had
come n Clara had gone hrst 70 see
friends. not knowing that haste Has I'M
portant. hence their delay. Lake had nrsd
at one of the men, but missed him. and hAd
escaped in the darkness
We ven ont there the next 9ay, and ltng
on what had nearly been my death bed ~
found the body ofmy friend. He was dad
and cold. and the switch was turned, On
After cutting Of the current examined The
clock and found the wires attached 70 l
O'Clock. where IL had stopped.
Lying on its lace vas 3 hastily serioe1sa
note;
"FRIEsp LEoS, AsySa failed -. A.ss -
myself 1 die a. 1oslock. And have 80 aIsd Tie
clock that - the aprisht fsns It Hin saep; klszfs
verify tina LAzA
did q. The clock had not licked oaao ns
second after the upright had fallen LAKES
invention Eas. beyond doubt = peIlsc4
success. Thomas H0TtAiagtOa kias "a Ia
EpOeh.
The evening world., 1890-07-18
PERSUADED THE DOCTOR.

Argument That Prevailed on q
Patent Medicine Man in Arisone.
In tho Detroit Free Press Ia reproduced
the following account of an episode in
which the kind heart OF the arizona
Kicker's editor is distinctly outlined:
Apply TO THE CoBoNER. Just as our
outside pages were going to press, Judge
Knight called Mt the Etcker Office and in
WED us to ride out to Lone Tree with
him in his horse and Juggy, and half an
hour later we were there.
The uoys had preceded MS sand we found
them in q circle around DIR. Ii. b.
Relinger, late of the ROYAL College of
Medicine. of London-the only discoverer
of n sure cure of consumption
The doctor has been with us about q
mouth, claiming to- cure almost every
thing on earth hut after his remedies had
Knocked put half n dozen citizens the
boys concluded 1t was time for him to
drop ont.
He refused to drop. Hence a commit
tee called and asked him to take a walk.
He hui taken the walk and stood on o
barrel when we caught sight of linn.
There was a connection between the doc
tors neck and 4 stout limb and he was
making q speech.
The doctor recognized us at once and
besoucht us to explain 10 the crowd that
lie was / u hurry to leave the county.
lie wouldn't fly. but he would do the
next lest Thug.
Although he Ind not advertised with
Us. and lie had given oil his iob-work to
our contemporary, we could not refuse
his request. As n personal favor to us,
the boys. after letting him hang long
enough TO insure n good case Of sore
throat. cut him down, gave him a nip Of
whiskey and advised him TO go East.
lie went. The last we saw Of him he
wal making such tune MS no jack-rabbit
in this country can hope to equal.
Any one having any legal claim on 1906
bottles of consumption cure. together
with n machine for making pills, two
packs If cards and Office furniture. valued
at 81. 25, will please apply to our worthy
CorOnar-
The evening world., 1890-07-18

what do l want with you - asked Lake,
s%tufing. with chemical-stained fingers, Vir-
giniA tobacco into q German pipe. well,
that 10 polite. | Invite YOU to come and see
me, and you pay me the very poo compli-
ment OF thinking that some motive undsrlies
the summons"
But your note was so imperative, " / ex-
planned.
II know it. You will acknowledge that
you and | possess one trait in common"
lone? Many"
lone in particular. The trait OF not be-
ing willing to defer the execution Of 3 con-
eelyed project one moment longer than Is
absolutely necessary"
Then your note to me was the o~utgroWth
OF some plan, some idea that you wish to
perfect ?"
mo; my plAn-idea-is complete. Iii to
show you it in all of its perfection that !
have requested your presence here to-
night"
And what Is it ?"
"A discovery or rather invention Of some
value, | hope and think; an application OF
certain ideas to one purpose, one which is
the outgrOwth OF some Of our talks"
"Csll them conversations
mo, 10. laughed Lake, they are not
worthy Of so dignihed : title. Drifting
from ono subject to another, our talks have
held no particular direction for any great
length of time. Yet one topic more than
another engrossed our attention at each OF
onF neutrality-suspicious. without any great
mental effort you can recall which ore
: mean. 4"
Certainly ! can. l replied. Capita
The evening world., 1890-07-18
EMPLOYEES AT A FESTIVAL.

Bloomingdale Brothers Clerks Make
Merry at Their Annual Reception.
Members Of the Bloomingdale Brothers
Employees Mutual ALL society are jnbilant
to-day over the success of their annualSum'
meningitis festival at the Lexington Ave,
nue. Opera Honse last night.
Before the festival proper the Amberg
Opera Company gave a splendid presenta-
tion of Mlllocker's opera, The BeGgaI
student. " assisted by Arnold kiralfy aud a
ballet oil nix.
Carl Streitmann was enthusiastically re-
ceiyed as simon, and Mrs. koenIg az the
Countess and Caroin E%nglaenGcr AZ Laura.
her daughter. made a Eplendid impression.
The festival that followed was under the
direction of the Executive Committee. of
which j. stern IL chairman. Frederick
Massbach WA foor manager and |. Mas
Charm III OF the Reception COMMITTEE,
Among those present were: L.. Saulson.
u. G%reeublat. l.. Arnold, ilr. aud Mrs. A.
Wagner, sheriff Daniel +. SickIes and Mrs.
SlcElc1. MIR, aud Mrs. J. j. bower. Mr., and
Mrs. A. l.. nrandenbnrg,, f. Hirshteld.
Jarecky, Mr.. and Mrs. a. .Elll-
Non. Charles We'll, Carrie We'll. Addie
We'll, Sarah Friedenburg. +, o.. Balck, Mr..
Gompert, Miss Mas. MIR. Schlllinger, Miss
Sc%hillInRur, VI. J. Schannessy. J. Wachtel.
Sig. Samutls. Abe Phillips, :. Adams, Mr..
Isrl, Miss Abrahams. MIR. Hess and MISS
Hess.
The evening world., 1890-07-18
THE AvENGER OF MURDER.
One Hour of Peril in the POaCer of a
Maniac InVe1tOr.

punishment and the best means OF innicting
it," "
Exactly" calculated Lake. between
puffs. ~ have AlW avs held that as death
came TO the victim in a totally unexpected
and unlooked-for manncr, and at a moment
when he least expected the final summons.
so to his assassin should come the punish
ment when-it Is tTue-he expected it, but
when its exact moment should be anticipated
and dreaded but not known"
"You advocate l know the French
method. in which the condemned never
knows, When he lies own at night. whether
he will see another evening, He is roused
at daylight to prepare for the guillotine,
and has always the dread before him that
each nights sleep may be his last earthly
one,
Precisely. Yet would improve on that.
/ would so arrange matters that the con-
demned man would never be flee from that
dread. The FTenchmAu BAkens from his
nights sleep with the consciousness that he
has at least tWenty-four hours to live. and
hope remains with him during each minute
OF that tizss. This hope / would take from
him. would reduce the twsnty-four hours
To sixty minutes. and with the beginning of
each hou / would set him to wondering II
that hour we're his last in this world"
And humanity 2"
Humanity leave that to the human
itarians-to Ihose who protest against Pas
tours efforts to save human life because a
lew rabbits are sacrificed TO his ends- / am
1~itiless towards those whose hands are wet
WITH a brothers blood. An eye for an eye:
tn,tb for tooth. that il my GRAD A
man steals into your home 81 dead Of night.
The evening world., 1890-07-18

astern. Sharks being in these
waters, all crowded to the stern, and
few yards of the rudder. We were all
deeply engrosSed in the sight when AL at
once we heard u stifed cry and realized
the horrible fact that young Allan had
been thrown of the mizzen RIGGING into
the sea by a sudden lurch of the vessel.
/ shall never forget the picture pre-
scented by TOMS features, as with n yell
he grasped his knife and took n running
shark.
The vessel was quickly brought to, and
a boat manned with all possible despatch.
Allan was rescued un%scathed. hut poor
Toms body bore the marks of an awful
struggle with the ~fiercest of all fishes.
He died within half an hour.
JOIN MACKENZIE.