The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-14


Azuma-zi was not fond of labor He
would sit about and watch the lord Of
the DynamOs, while Holroyd went away
TO persuade the yard porter TO get whisky,
although his proper place was not in the
dynamo shed, but behind the engines,
and. moreover. If Holroyd caught him
skulking he got hit for it with rod Of
stout copper wire. He would go and
stand close to the colossus and look up
at the great leather band running over
head. There was a black patch on the
band that came round, and * pleased him
somehow among all the Clatter TO watch
this return again and again odd
thoughts spun with the whIrl Of It. Scien-
tihc people tell us that sRvages give
souls to rocks and trees-and a machine
Is a thousand times more alive than a
rock or a tree. And AZuma-Zi was prac-
tically a savage still; the veneer of civiliz-
alton lay no deeper than his slop suit, his
bruises and the coal CRIME on his face
and hand His father before him had
worshiped a meteoric stone; it may be kin
bred blood had splashed the broad wheels
of Juggernaut.
He took every opportunity Hoiroyd gave
him of touching and handling the great
dynamo that was fascinating him. He
polished and cleaned 1t until the metal
parts were binding in the sun. He felt
mysterious sense OF service in doing this.
-
ming coils gently. The gods he had wor-
SHIPPED were all far away. The people in
London hid their gods.
At last his dim feelings grew more dts
tinCt, and took shape in thoughts and
acts. When he came into the shed one
morning he salaamed to the Lord of the
Dynamos, and then, when Holroyd was
away, he went and whispered to the ma
chine that he was it's servant, and prayed
it to have pity on him and save him from
Holroyd. AS he did SO a rare CLEAN of
light came in through the open archway
of the throbbing machine shed, and the
Lord of the Dynamos, as he whirled and
reared, was radiant with pale gold.
Then Azuma-zi knew that his service
was acceptable to his lord. After that he
did not feel so lonely as he had done. and
he had indeed been very much alone in
London. And even when his work time
was over, which was rare, he loitered
about the shed.
Then, the next time Holroyd maltreated
him, Azuma-zi went presently to the Lord
of the Dynamos and whispered, Thou
seest, o my Lord! and the angry whirr
of the machinery seemed to answer him.
Thereafter it appeared to him that when
ever Holroyd came into the shed a differ
ent note came into the sounds Of the
great dynamo. my Lord bides his time, /"
said Azuma-zi to himself. THE iniquity
of the fool is not yet ripe" And he
waited and watched for the day of reck-
oning, and Holroyd, making an unwary
examination-it was in the afteTnoon-got
a rather severe electric shock. Azuma-zi
from behind the engine, saw him jump. off
and curse at the peccant coil.
He Is warned" said Azuma-Zi to him
self. Surely my Lord is very patient"
Holroyd at first initiated his niger"
into such elementary conceptions of the
dynamo's working as would enable him
TO take temporary charge of the shed in
his absence. But when he noticed the
manner in which Azuma-zi hung about
the monster. he became suspicious. He
dimly perceived his assistant was "up to
something" and connecting him with the
amounting of the coils with Oil that had
rotted the varnish in one place, he issued
an edict, shouted above the confusion of
the machinery: Don't zee go nigh that
big dynamo any more, Pooh bah, or all
take thy skin OFF, Besides, il II pleased
Azuma-zi to be near the big machine, it
was plain sense and 6ecency TO keep
away from it.
Azuma-zi obeyed at the time, but later
he was caught bowling before the Lord of
Dynamos. At which HolroSd twisted his
arm and kicked him as he turned to go
away. AS Azuma-zi presently stood be-
hind the engine and glaFed at the hated
Holroyd, the noises of the machinery
took a new rhythm and sounded like four
words in his native tongue.
1t is hard to say exactly what madness
is. l fancy Azuma-zi was mad. The in
cessant din and whiTl of the dynamo
shed may have churned up his little store
of knowledge and big store of supersti-
tious fancy at last, into something akin
to frenzy. At any rate, when the idea
of making Holroyd a sacrifice to the
dynamo fetch was thus suggested to
him. 1t filled him with a strange tumult of
exultant emotion,
That night the two men and their black
shadows were alone in the shed together.
The shed was lit with one big arc light
that Winked and hiclSered purple. The
shadows lay black behind the dynamos,
the ball valves whirIed from light to
darkness and the engines beat loud and
steady. The world outside seen through
the one end of the shed seemed incredibly
dim and remote. It seemed absolutely
silent, too, since the riot of the machinery
drowned every external sound. Far away
was the black fence of the yard with
gray, shadowy houses behind, and above
was the deep blue sky and the pale little
stars. Azuma-zi suddenly walked across
the center of the She'd above which the
leather bands were running, and went
into the shadow by the big dynamo. Hol-
royd heard a click and the spin of the ar
mature changed.
What are you dewin' with that
SWITCH" he bawled in surprise Haven t
l told you
Then he saw the set expression Of
Azuma-zis eyes as the Asiatic came out
of the shadow toward him. s-'
in another moment the two men were
graphing hercely In front OF the great
dynamo.
"You coffee-headed foolp' gasped Hol-
royd, with a brown hand at his throat
Keep off thos" contact rings" III an
other moment he was tripped and Keeling
back upon the Lord of the Dyndmos He
instinctively loosened his grip upon his
antagonist to save himself from the ma
chine.
The messenger, sent in furious haste
from the station to find out what had
happened in the dynamo shed, met
Azuma-zi at the porters lodge by the
gate Azuma-zi tried to explain, but the
messenger could make nothing Of the
blacks incoherent English, and hurried
on to the shed. The machines were all
noisily at work, and nothing seemed to
ha dlrorranqpd There vvng hoWeVpr