The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1891-06-13
Select STORY.
THE CHEMISTS STORY.
Hi in Albania Constitution.


this responsible and important position in
the medical college of P.
1t was about l o'clock on stormy
evening that / bade good night to my stu
dent, Tom Richards, at the door OF my
laboratory, at the south end of the college
buildings.
Tom was very anxious to know what
would keep me up after II o'clock, so l
told him | was about to commence analyz-
ing the stomach of a Mrs. johnson, whose
husband lay in P-jail, just across the
road from the college, on suspicion that he
was the murderer.
As Tom was passing out of the college
yard through the gate, his head turned,
and bidding me good night, he brushed
against man standing with his back to
the college and his face to the prison.
The street lamp showed me that the man
was in police uniform.
Re-entering my laboratory | took down
a glass jar from the shelf and sat down
behind my sink to examine it, An hour
had passed since the departure of young
Richards. had labored hard to discover
traces of the poison in all this, but had
been unsuccessful. Joe johnson, the sus-
peeted man, had been a student of mine a
few years before. | thought him good
hearted, intelligent fellow, only a little wild,
and really began to hope that he might
prove innocent, when, among the macerat-
ed food, came upon small, infniteslmal
white grain. By careful manipulation and
the use of my magnifying glass l managed
TO get this upon piece of smoked glass
and examined it.
[ was then certain had discovered ar
senic. but to make assurance doubly sure
| determined to apply well known test
for that poison.
eyes" / exclaimed, as saw the fatal
blazon, "Joe johnson is the murderer OF
his wife! With the evidence of that mark
to back me no power can save him."
"Do ysu really think so ?" said calm
voice behind me.
turned quickly and discovered tall,
lank policeman, having red, watery eyes,
standing at my office door and staring in.
His body looked as if it had been rolled
out long before his hands like molasses
candy stick. He had no expression at all
in bis face, and his policeman's hat was so
large that it threatened to settle down on
his shoulders. His uniform reassured me
and | addressed him with some impatience.
"My friend, l suppose 1 am wanted to
attend an inquest, or what is your pur-
pose ?"
was police ssrgeon as we'll as coroner.
''Don't bother, professor; the man amt
dead yet, but they say be will be before
morning"
"What's the matter with him?"
"Brain disorder, mean something
wrong here"
| touched my forehead, and so did he
as he said: SAY, as thought I'd drop in
and tell you if you were going to the sta
ton tomorrow to take look and see if it
is post mortem or not Besides | wanted
to see where | could always find you in
case of need"
| bowed, and attributed his visit to 9
feeling of curiosity. He sat on the sink,
and while his eyes wandered about like
one who felt himself called upon to say
something, he said
professor, there has been an accident
this afternoon terrible, too"
"What was itY'
"Nitro glycerine explosion up in the
iron mills-a hundred fellow mortal'
busted"
"Sad !"
affecting, very" Here he rubbed his
mouth with the back of his hand. "Pro
fessor, what is that nitro glycerine p
''It's very dangerous article. " I an
swered, happy to display my knowledge
at has nearly twice the destructiveness
of gunpowder, but, unlike it, does not ex
plode on the application of heat. A red
hot coal dropped into it will not explode
it. 1t will freeze. 1t is yellow and grea-
sy."
"You don't mean to say so, said the
officer, interrupting me in disagreeablt
tones in the middle of choice extrac
from one of my lectures "Why, bu
you haven't told me how it goes off. L
the fire won't burst it, what -(hem)- y
will p
I told him if it were pressed, or any
thing fell on it, it would explode.
"Place it under the crusher of eide
mill, strike it with hammer, let a weigh
fall on it from height"
"Yes," said the man, sand that rouse
its volcaner, does it p
81 suppose, professor, that ere can woult
make mighty big noise if allowed to ex
plode here all at once p
SIT would blow the entire building t,
atoms" said |, resuming the analysis o
Mrs Johnson's stomach.
| "No?" l heard the policeman remarl
in deliberate Yankee tones, ''yol don't sa,
so?"
The next moment lay on my back,
gag 10 my mouth, terribly frightened an
sick at heart Over me stood the police
man and the first thing that functionar