The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-14

1 nave you worried III SnOOJ Tue CEIbbcf
! right here, an risk the police interferin
with a citizen of the United States for
| carryin' arms contrary 10 reg lations."
| As he spoke he looked over the WALL but
the cat. on seeing him, retreated, with
| growl, into a bed of tall flowers, and was
! hidden. He went on; ''Blest if that ar
| critter amt got more sense of what's
| good for her than most Christians. 1
| guess We've seen the last of her. You
/ bet, she'll go back now to that busted
| kitten and have private funeral of it,
all to herself
We went on and crossed the bridge
| leading to the Torture Tower. AS we
| crossed the bridge we saw the cat again
| down below US. When she saw US her
| fury seemed 10 return, and she made fran
| tic efforts to get up the steep wall
| Hutchinson laughed as he looked down at
| her, and said:
"Good-by, old girl Sorry I injured
| your feelins but you'll get over it in
time. So long"
| We were the only visitors who had en-
! tered the Torture Tower that morning
| so at least said the old custodian-and as
we had the place all to ourselves, were
| able to make minute and more satisfac-
! tory survey than would have otherwise
| been possible.
| The central object of this chamber of
| horrors was the engine known as the
| Iron Virgin. 1t was a rudely shaped fig
ure of woman, the figure of Mrs. Noah
| In the children's ark, but without that
sllmness of waist and perfect rondeur of
| hip which marks the aesthetic type of the
| Noah family One would hardly have
| recognized it as intended for human fig
| ure at all had not the founder shaped on
the forehead a rude semblance of wo-
| mans face. This machine was coated
:,
| rope was fastened to ring in front of
| the figure, about where the waist should
| have been, and was drawn through a
! pulley fastened on the wooden pillar
which sustained the flooring above. The
| custodian, pulling this rope, showed
| that a section of the front was
hinged like a door at one side; we then
saw that the engine was of considerable
| thickness, leaving Just room enough inside
! for man to be placed. The door was of
! equal thickness and Of great weight, for
| 1t took the custodian all his strength,
aided though he was by the contrivance
| OF the pulley, to open it. This weight
was partly due to the fact that the door
| was of manifest purpose hung so as to
throw its weight downward, so that it
| might shut of its own accord when the
| strain was released. The inside was
| honeycOmbed with rust-nay, more the
rust alone that comes through time would
! hardly have eaten so deep into the iron
| walls; the rust of the cruel stains was
| deep, indeed. 1t was only however,
when we came to look at the inside of the
door that the diabolical intention was
! manifest to the full. Here were several
long spikes, square and massive broad at
| the base and sharp at the points, placed
| in such a position that when the door
should close the upper ones would pierce
the eyes of the victim, and the lower one
his heart and vitals The sight was too
much for poor Amelia, and this time she
tainted dead off, and had to carry her
down the stairs and place her on bench
outside until she recovered.
| When we got back to the chamber we
found Hutchinson still opposite the Iron
Virgin; he had been evidently philoso-
! phiziDg
"Wall, guess I've been .learnin' some
thin here while madam has been gettin'
over her faint. Pears to me that we're
a long way behind the times on our side
of the big drink. We lister think out on
the plains thst the InJun could give US
points in tryin' to make a man oncom-
Portable, but guess your old medieval law
| and-order party could raise him every
time. Splinters was pretty good in his
bluff on the squaw, but this here Young
miss held straight flush on him. The
points of them spikes air sharp enough
still, though even the edges air eaten out
by what ulster be on them. Guess but I'll
get in that box minute jest to see how
it feels"
"Oh, no. mol" said Amelia. ''It is too
terrible!"
Guess. ma am, nothin's too terrible to
the explorin' mind. I've been in some
queer places in my time Spent night
inside dead horse while a prairie fire
swept over me in Montana territOry-an'
another time slept inside dead butler
| when the Comanches was on the war
path an didn't keer to leave my kyard
on them, an I've been two days in a
/ caved-in tunnel in,the Billy Broncho gold
mine in New Mexico. I've not funked an
odd experience yet, an don't propose to
begin now"
We saw that he was set on the expert
ment, so L said: ''Well, hurry up, old
man, and get through it quick!'
IAN right general, i" said he, "but L cal
culate we amt quite readyyet. The gen
! tlemen, my predecessors, what stood in
that thar canister, didn't volunteer for
the ofice-not much! And guess there
was some ornamental tyin' up before the
! big stroke was made. 1 want to go into
| this thing fair and square, so / must get
| fixed up proper first. dare say this old
+ galoot canfrise some string and tie me up
! Accordin' to sampler
| This was said interrogatiyely 10 the
custodian, but the latter, who understood
| the drift of his speech, shook his head.
| His protest was, however, only formal
The American thrust gold piece into his
hand, saying, Take it, pard it's your
pot; and don't be skeer'd." He produced
some thin frayed rope and proceeded to
bind our companion with sufficient strict
ness for the purpose. When the upper
part of his body was bound, Hutchinson
said
Hold on moment, judge. Guess Pm
too heavy for you to tote into the CAMS
ter. You jest let me walk in, and then
you can wash up re-gardin' my legs -. n
Whilst speaking he had backed him
self into the opening which was lust
enough to hold him. 1t was a close.ft
and no mistake. Then the custodian
completed his task by tying the Ameri-
cans feet together so that he was now
absolutely helpless and fixed in his volun-
tary prison. He seemed to really enjoy
it, and the incipient smile which was
| habitual to his face blossomed into actu-
atty as he said: a
"Guess this here Eve was made out of
the rib of a dwarf There amt much
room for full grown citizen of the United
States to hustle. We ulster make our
collins more roomier in Idaho Territory.
Now, judge, you jest begin to let this
door down, slow, on to me. l want to feel
the same pleasure as the other laws had
when those spikes began tomove toward
their eyeSn'