The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1895-03-07


for. The only thing that he still
feared was his own want of courage
and determination.
To get away from his anvil and
tools, with the chance they still
offered him of changing his mind and
breaking the chain around his waist,
as well as to save the empty house
from needless injury, the inventor
put on his hat and walked out into
the country road that stretched in
front of his lonely dwelling.
He walked along rapidly, anxious,
while his determination remained
firm, to place as great a distance be-
tween himself and any chance of un-
doing his handiwork. There was not
soul abroad, of course. at such an
hour. and Carbon had no fear of in
juring anybody but himself by the
explosion that now he was expecting
every moment. When the road took
him near any habitation he made a
wide circuit, to keep it outside the
range of the dynamite bomb round
his waist. With the same thought
fulness for others he stopped when,
after about half an hours walk, he
caught sight of the figure of a woman
approaching him. He was like man
with the plague, whom it was dan
gerous to approach, and Ralph was
about to turn precipitately, and get
out of the woman's way, when some
thing in her figure struck him as
familiar. The night was a moonlight
one, and in the middle of the road,
where she was walking, it was as
clear as MONDAY. A second glance
told him that his suspicion was right;
it was Deborah Dene hurrying along
the road.
In the complete surprise of seeing
her in such a spot at such an hour the
thought of his invention went Gle ar
out of his head. 1t was due to go off
at any moment now. but Ralph was
so astonished that he actually forgot
it's existence.
He hurried forward.
Deb" he said, what are you doinA
here?"
For answer the girl flung her arms
round his neck and burst into tears.
She had hurried as fast as the train
would bring her to him Immediately
on receiving his letter with it's hint of
suicide, and walked from the nearest
station, three miles further up the
road, expecting to reach the house
only to find him corpse. She sobbed
for FIVE minutes on his breast without
being able to speak a word, in the re-
lief of finding him alive. The letter
which he had received, and which she
was supposed to have written, she
had never heard OF except through
his reproaches. It was forgery, no
doubt, concocted by some spiteful &C
quaintance Of his or hers to ruin their
happiness She loved him with her
whole heart and soul, she sobbed and
could never dream of giving him up.
1t seemed to poor Ralph Carbon,
who loved her more than his life, that
the gates of paradise had opened. To
find that all the mental agony through
which he had passed had been with
out cause or basis made him feel the
happiest man in the world
It was actually not until he clasped
his sweetheart in his arms. with
every doubt and suspicion removed,
that the consequent pressure of the
bomb against his flesh reminded him
how in a few more minutes at most it
would blow him to atoms.
X 4 r X
This story was told me as true by a
friend of mine, who knew the inter-
est take in the subject of suicide.
He stopped when he had reached this
point of his narrative, as if it was
concluded.
''And were they both killed." 1
asked with interest.
"Oh, no! they were married shortly
afterward. Carbon gave up trying to
invent from that night, and became
pretty successful when he found his
real forte, tale-writing.'
But the bomb" I asked. I was
not Interested in the mans subse-
quent career. My friend pretended
to look surprised.
MY dear fellow, you don't think a
machine could possibly work when
Ralph Carbon had invented and
made it!''