San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-05-01

| / was startled by loud cries coming from
| some point in the darkness ahead of me- l
| stopped, and then there came to my ears:
"Cabl cab! Hold! For God s sake, cabp'
could see the light from the cab l had
| just discharged about a block down the
dark avenue, and peering again through
the blackness l could discover that the
drivers attention had been attracted by the
call, and that ne had refined in his horse.
Only some one wanting to go down town
| | thought, and yet the peculiarly pleading
character and evident fright of those tones
| did not leave me.
| / went on, however, but had only GOV.
cred few steps when heard some one run
rapidly along on the opposite side of the
| street.
The person was manifestly very much
| frightened, for | could hear the quick,
startling cries he gave out as he sped over
| the wet walk.
For some reason or other l felt strangely
| and strongly influenced by this occurrence,
| and instead of passing on-as | would have
done, upon almost any other occasion-I
| stood there in the drilling rain watching
and listening to the teeting figure, though
| l could hear much better than could see.
Looking back and following the cries I
| soon saw, by the rays from a dim street
lamp and the light from the drug store
| windows, man dash across the street,
right through the mud, and plunge madly
| into the drug store.
When saw this | felt satisfied that it
was ali explained quite as well as if | was
| TO return and ask questions.
'Some person in the neigh borhood is GER
| tainly sic!l::, and this man is after medicine
or after a doctor"
With such a thought 1 tried to throw
| aside the incident. Such occurrences are
| so frequent in the city that one comes to
| give them very little more than passing
| notice.
| l therefore continued on to my house,
| and betook myself at once 20 my room, yet
| somehow al irresistible force seemed to be
| holding me moved slowly and with an
| apparent spirit of irresolution.
4 threw of my wet coat, and then realiz-
| irkconsiderable distress in my stomach I
| concluded to take some medicine forth
| with.
Turning a little water into a glass and
| taking out of my pocket the small vial |
had received from the drug clerk counted
out just All even five drops.
| l remember this distinctly, for some
| thing prompted me to caution, and l count
| ed the drops three times from bottle to
| glass.
| And yet, notwithstanding this careful
| ness, and that never before in my life do
believe myself to have been guilty of
taking dose of medicine without first,
| and thoughtfully, looking at the label,
still on this occasion | clearly have it in
mind that did not take this precaution.
| Well, stood beside my table slowly
stirring the acid mixture with lead pencil
| preparatory to taking it down." when l
heard rapid footballs approaching the
street door, and second later the bell was
| violently and continuously rung
| My first impulse was to quietly swallow
the draught and then go down to the door,
but the same unseen hand that had re-
strained me since the affrighted cries in the
street still held its power, and the glass
was not raised to my lips.
Ding ling ling ling-ling echoed the
bell without interruption, and when
opened the door wild eyed, mud bespat-
tered, and generally disheveled man gasped
| out:
"Have-have -you-t aken-it? For
| God's-sake-wh-what -have-you-dOne
| observation-disclosures
|
person was, though at first took him to
be an escaped lunatic
SIS that you, Charlie? What's the mat
teri" | asked, still not quite understanding
what he meant-for did not think of the
| medicine.
TEL me, quick" he answered, clutch
| ing me by the arm and looking wildly into
my eyes. "Have-you-taken-
cine-I-gave-you-w hen-you-were- at
| -the-store"
| NO" said /, now comprehending fully.
81 was just going to take 1t when you
| pulled my bell"
Thank Godr' he said, and then collapsed
in heap at my feet
| picked the poor fellow up and was about
| to call for some of the people in the house
when he recovered himself, and with my
assistance he crawled slowly up to my
warm and comfortable room.
After a rest from the terrible strain he
had undergone he gave me his experience
something like this
You had not left the store very long be-
| fore commenced to feel agitsted and ner-
| vous over something. For some little pc
| Rod l Could not think what it was that so
| annoyed me, until finally my thoughts
| drifted toward you and the medicine had
| put up at your request. The more ponder
| ed this over in my mind just that much
more did feel convinced that had made
| a mistake / then remembered of hearing
| you say that few drops of the acid helped
| you more than anything else, and it at
| ence came upon me that you had called for
| hydrochloric acid instead of hydrocyanic
| acid-the medicine l gave you.
II knew that hydrocyanic acid was a
u M 4 6 . l.
| ing, and almost lost my senses when the
fuIl reality of nv error became evident