The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-16

saying, he opened a drawer, and TAX
ing out what looked like a thick sheet
of glue, he laid it on the table beside
me. That is it, he said, though of
course it has to be softened before be-
ing used
"Just then the dentist excused HIM
self for a moment, and went into the
other office to speak with a newly ar
rived patient, and | improved the OPP
portunity by stealing a bit of the ce-
ment. You see 1 did it in the cause of
science, and everybody knows that a
man has right to do anything in the
cause of science, from vivisecting
dog to writing books On political
economy.
when I got home 1 made powder
of that cement, and / mixed very lit.
tie of it with very little chlorate of
potash. Then 1 looked around for
something to try it on. My landlady
was out of cats just then, and there
was no available dog to be had. How
ever, / thought / knew where | could
borrow cat, so L took small covered
basket and a bit Of dried herring and
l went to a neighbours where 1 had seen
half a dozen cats in the front yard, and
didn't have much trouble in stealing
one-in the interests of science, you
understand.
II took the cat to my room, and
when she had agreed to overlook my
conduct in putting her into basket L
gave a meat pill, compounded of chlor-
ate of potash and the cement 1 had Dor
rowed of the dentist She swallowed
It and asked for more, but didn't get it,
Then l hung a string from the corner
of the table and advised her to play
with it, which she accordingly did. You
know how excited a young cat will get
over a string. Well, that cat got so
excited after a little while that she
took to throwing herself around on the
floor and against the leg of the table
in a mighty reckless way, considering
she was making a delicate chemical ex-
pertinent Suddenly I heard a little
faint puff, as you might say, for you
could hardly call it report, much less
an explosion, and, gentleman, as true
as l am sitting here, there WASH so
much as a hair of that cat to be seen.
And, what's more, nobody ever found
| the least trace of that animal, not even
| so much as a particle of dust or SCOT.
1 needn't say that the doors and Win
doWS of the room were locked, and that
nothing is more certain than that the
cat wasn't in hiding under the furniture.
No, sir; that cat had disappeared the
same as my two friends had disap-
peared, and L had solved the mystery
of their disappearance at last.
"Why haven't 1 published this dis
covery? Because it would do more
harm than good. Brincherhoff was
right in trying to keep me in the dark
as to the way of making such ire
mendous and silent explosive. If l had
published my facts anybody could have
made that explosive, and by this time
/ the anarchists would have blown nine
people out of ten into the other world.
wouldn't tell what 1 know even now,
were it not that the cement of which
speak has gone out of use, and there
probably isn't a dentist living who
knows how it is made. All L know OF
the matter is that if you have ever had
a tooth filled with cement of any kind
you had better keep clear of chlorate
of potash. You might make the com
bination by accident, just as my friends
did. and then we should hear of another
mysterious disappearance. Very likely
you don't altogether believe what I've
been telling you, but you can't deny
that it does explain how people mys
teriously disappear, and that there ISM
any other explanation that meets the
case. That is sufficient reason for be
lieving the theory, as every scientific
man will tell you. If you disbelieve 1t
you might just as we'll disbelieve the
theory of gravttation. You can't prove
the existence of gravitation as uni
versal law, but you believe it because
it explains all the facts, and it is tht
only theory which does explain Them