Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1895-01-31

ne DleW out the candle ana drew MS
chair to my side. Peering into my face
he said: "Oh, yes, I will, and society
shall pay dearly for my discovery"
There was something uncanny in his
manner that affected me unpleasantly. I
pushed my chair back and gazed out into
the night. The street had grown quiet,
and a white, soft noon was just peeping
with calm Indifference above the homes of
poverty. Across the way l could see a
workman in his shirt sleeves sitting at an
open window, while a slatternly woman
leaned over his brawny shoulder. Why
is it that such people are forever peering
into the street? Do they hope to catch a
glimpse of Fortune making toward their
doorway?
After a while I turned to Rodney and
asked:
what do you mean?"
Il mean Ampere," he answered CURLY.
"Ampere, Ampere," / repeated. ''Why
the deuce don't you talk English?"
He smiled con~descendingly. "Can it be
that l i have a Philistihe here" he asked,
musingly. "You come from your home of
wealth to the east side to ask who Ampere
was!"
"Ah! he was a a then?"
"1es he was a man and a great one.
But he only paved the way for me-" Elk
citedly he arose and paced the room
again. / shall never forget the weird pic
ture he presented. His long, tousled hair
hung about his enormous head as though
it had been flung there by a mischievous
sprlte. His gray eyes had turned black
with excitement, and his face, unsymmet-
rical as a piece of gnarled oak, was al
most CHASTITY in its pallor. His gigantic
and clumsy figure seemed to fill the small
room. His flannel shirt was open at the
neck. and as he shuf1ed about in his
loose slippers l could hardly believe that
l saw before me q man possessing the
culture of the schools and the breeding of
a gentleman.
He sat down by my side again.
"Ampere," he explained in a cold, hard
voice, as though lecturing to a class of
s~choolboys, established the hypothesis
upon which we explain the phenomena
of electromagnetic"
"Yes?" / returned rather bored. I
don't care much for that sort of thing,
don't you know.
but he and his followers" went on
Rodney, pedantically, shave confined
their researches and discoveries to a very
limited sphere. You are fond of me, old
mani"
His question was so unexpected that I
looked up in astonishment. What had
my liking for him to do with Ampere? I
began to fear that constant failure had
affected my friends brain.
You know l nm or / wouldn't be here"
That's so," he said, looking around
the little room with a sad smile on his
face. You are the only visitor / ever
entertain. 1t seems almost too bad that
it is only q case of currents"
1 was more than ever convinced. that he
was losing his mind. / did not dare to
speak, for fear of agitating him still fur
Their. "A fine place to be caught with n
mad man" l reflected, as I peered through
the darkness toward the door. He OBJ
served my emotion and went on:
Come, come, my boy, I will tease you
no longer, but the fact is 1 have made a
tremendous discovery. The world is at
my feet. In another month / shall be
wealthy, courted, happy. And it's all ow-
ing to Ampere- and Hamerton. Strange
combination that! It's seldom you can
make q compound of q Frenchman and
an E~nglishman and obtain as a result
riches, glory and all the good things of
the earth. 1 tell you it's the greatest feat
ever performed by what one might call
mental chemistry"
l let him have his say, and then asked
calmly:
"And what is the discovery"
Let the results answer your question.
1t may be that / am over sanguine in this
matter. Heaven knows / have had bold
hopes before, and they have always turn
ed to DUST
us that all you will say to satisfy my
curiosity? ;" / remarked, rising to 60. I
had not wholly laid aside the fear that
the man might at any moment become
dangerous.
"No, sit down. I will go a step further
with you. Do you know why you and I
have always been friends? Sympathy
says Hamerton. 'Bosh,' say l. The fact
is, our respective electric currents have
always flowed in the same direction. Re-
sult-attraction. Unfortunately for me
the electric currents of other men flow in
the opposite direction from mine. Re-
sult-repulsion. Why, then, are you not
as unpopular as / am? you ask. Therein
lies a mystery. Let us put it, for the
sake of argument, that the electric cur
rent pertaining to your sensitive individ-
uality is more adaptable than that which
dominates my unyielding self. Do YOU
follow me? You acknowledge that some
men attract you and others repel you.
You further assert that sometimes you
like a certain man and again detest him.
That is, your electric current sometimes
flows in n direction, sometimes in an
other. If you will be honest with O
self you will admit that your liking for
me not only has degrees of intensity, but
sometimes charges into almost aversion.
Fluctuation in the currents, sir. Just
think of my theory for a moment. Does
it not explain a vast number of social
phenomena? Take matrimony, for in
stance. Two young people are drawn ir-
resistibly toward each other. They mar
~. After q time the currents become
disturbed. Perhaps some night the hus-
band comes home with his electricity
flowing from his feet and his head. 1t is
the first time that this has occurred. His
gentle wife has calmly maintained q cur
rent, which flows from her head to her
feet, and greets him as usual. Ultimate
r..sult-divorce. Do you follow me?'
"Whew! Well. / cannot honestly say
that I do. But I'm not a scientific man.
Perhaps If l knew more about the subject
I might grasp your meaning more readily.
Even admitting, however. that you IRE
right in the main, | really can't see how
your discovery will do o the slightest
good. It ID interesting. and, II you could