The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-10

" 1t is simply a chemical which spcr-
atcs the component parts OF water he
said. There is enough potassium in il or
upon its coating to start combustion. After
that the chemical is sell generating ont
Of the material held in solution in the
water II will 60 on increasing itself and
pushing tho combustion till all the water
in whatever volume holds il at starting is
consumed Then. when there is no more
water, it will subside and die. There is
no more danger after that. But have
you men here in San Francisco any inter
est in San Francisco after all the water
in the bay is burned up( And let me lead
you a step farther. When the water in
the bay-and through the pipes into your
house-is burned, this confagration will
still go on. 1t will pass out by the Golden
Gate and spread to every drop in the
Pacific ocean. Every ship on the ocean,
every warehouse at the docks, every bale
on the pier will be burned to ashes Can
you afford it}'
" 'Whatll you take not to do it} quer-
led the banker
Zone million dollarsp
The big bugs gasped. That was
formidable sum of money thirty years
ago, and its stupendous significance added
largely to the interest in the tale 1t was
before the day of Gould. 1t was when
Vanderbilt was the only really rich man
we heard of commonly in the country. A
million dollars seemed bigger than any
thing else in the world. That one man
could possibly have that much in hard
cash was almost beyond belief.
THEY WANT MORE PROOF.
$50 the rich San Francisco fellows
sked for little time, so they could talk
to others as much interested as them
selves, and see what was the best thing
to do.
"All right, said the chemist. Re
member, gentlemen, you are not to try
any sharp practice with me. At the
first intimatlon of danger I will toss one
one of these pellets into the nearest pool.
And when that happens you are gone But
If you do all | ask you, you shall have the
ingredients with which 1 have made this
preparation, and | will never again at
tempt to make another dram
"They went out from the hotel, paid
the bill for damages and left the chemist
to go his way till the following Wednes-
day, When Wednesday came they called
on him and told him they talked the mat
ter over with other capitalists and all
had agreed they would demand another
and severer test. If he could go to a lake
in the mountains and burn that as he had
the water in the wash bowl and with the
use of single pellet, then the proof of
its generating character would be
established and he would receive better
consideration. In the meantime they
told him they thought he was good deal
of a buffer.
He laughed at them and agreed to
their plans. All went together to a lake
in the Sierra mountains and made sure
the conditions were right. The lake had
no inlet. 1t was fed by springs in the
bottom. 1t had little creek flowing
from it, but that they damned up, and
then they were ready for the trial Don
aldson took them up TO ledge fifty feet
above the level of the lake, unrolled lit
tie strip of oiled paper, took from it one
of his little pills, asked them if they
were ready and tossed it over the brink.
"They all leaned forward and watched
the insignificant pellet drop through the
fathOms of air till it touched the top of
the water. They watched it through
glasses as it danced lightly about for an
instant and then they looked with wider
eyes as they saw a little vapor-like steam
arise from the surface of the lake.
THE next instant the explosion came.
The waters of the lake were parted as
lightning parts hecolumns of the air and
that with report a thousand times louder
than thunder ever evoked From that
point on the surface where the pellet had
dropped, straight toward the bottom, the
fearful chemical pierced its way, sepa-
rating the oxygen from the hydrogen, and
thus separated, consuming them both
From that pitlike center, with almost up
right walls Of rushing water all about it.
the terrible cOnfiagration went on across
the lake, sweeping up this side and up
that, till nothing but the baked and
smoking bottom of the reservoir was left
remaining
"Then it was the men noticed to what
height the flames had risen. Higher than
the tops of the mountains on which they
stood, higher than the peaks that lifted
their heads to the snow, higher than the
clouds that bent to soften the outlines of
the rocks, those flames from the furnace
of Tophet tossed their weird and with
ing arms. The heat all about them was
intolerable. Their faces We're blistering
The skin on their hands peeled and curled
back from the tortured flesh.
Have you proof enoughE asked DON
aldson.
Plenty gasped his terrified auditors
we will raise the money for YOU
They went down to the city again, and
all the way those men were praying that
they might secure the devilish secret of
that man before he should, in moment
of frenzy, destroy all their possessions,
and all the waters on the face of the
earth
But you know it IS a habit of human
nature that a man will do more, promise
more, when he is frightened than he will
do when he is safe.
PLOTTED FOR HIS DEATH
after they had passed good nights
sleep at home, after they had talked
with the other men who were to help
them raise the million, they took a more
hopeful view of the situation. They be-
gan to plan. They told Donaldson they
could not possibly raise 81 coo 900 in the
city, because some of the bankers and
merchants declared New York as much
interested in the matter as was the city
by the bay. They proposed he go with
them to New York and there compel
the raising of the remainder of the
money. They promised him if they could
not get the fasteners to assist them they
would get him all the fund even if they
had to go broke to a man.
They gave him 100000 in cash and he
went with them. He was sure he had
them.
"But here came the proof of their
double dealing. The Union Pacific rail
road runs about a precipice called Cape
Horn. The track clings to the side of the
cliff 700 feet above the bottom of the
ravine. There is not room enough on the
outer edge of the cut for a man to stand
while the train is passing. They hired
an athlete named Samson TO go with
them and told him what they wanted.
The party seemed Ia have made up their
rnindc to h a va a roOd time an tho ir,,,.,,,,-