Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-12-07
IN THE DARK ROOM.


tiyes
OF course II never occurred TO the ID,
srructor Of amateurs 10 add: ana
always take q good look about you De
fore shutring the door md STIR '''
in front Of your ruby light That aa-
monitor wOuIu be IUOKeu upon a. ~
side the book. and no amateur WouiG
see in IL sense or relevancy. lie.
never 20 into my darkroom now VIII
out letting in a food OF hglt IAa'
searches out every corner.
When l bought my camera ana De-
gan 10 turn out foggy negatives. from
which sickly. spectral prints came on
I had no decently appointed darkroom
using a small closet in my house for
the purpose. Now. not being a social
list or a shoemaker, like good air, ana
81. sit i'm that stufy hole in the wall
for the better part OF an hour at a tlIhe
mad lie result Of eating up some OF my
enthusiasm for dabblins in solutions VI
eikonogen. carbonate Of soda and SUM-
ing ether Ny ill-smellIng lamp seem
cd to exhaust as much oxygen aS ny
Good pair OF lungs. and l sometimes
bore a negative out of my closet Win
such a pale face that, in spite OF NY
-riurnrhgnt air in exhibiting IL 70 III!
wife she declared that ! was surely III
and that she had always neaTd IIiaI
nhotographers were short-liyed. She
did not like the smell Of my cheElicais'
either. and declared they were NUS
ance OF the first order.
That was why had my new and care
fullv ventilated dark room built TOT
me. II was a house all by ltseH anu
stood down in a little hollow, a good
stones throw from cur dwelling. we
were living in the country alone lneu'
in a very pretty bit OF woodland lhdt
had a wilderness Of brown PLAIN al
about it.
Nv new dark room was quite spa
cicus affair. and / gloried in its com
nleteress of detail and hardness Oh
tho annofntments. ! used 10 spend
Good deal of time in there, and, as
learned how much bromide TO nse ana
hit upon the happy moment Oh taxing
q plate ont of the developing bath, ny
Urogress was swift and sweet.
IL so haUpened in the autumn that
we went 10 the city for a month 10 ave,
leaving our country place shut up
took my camera 10 town and exposed d
dozen or so Of dry plates on lot OF
marble e4atuarv. Whenever, al odd
times. I thought Of these, / became rev
erish 10 know whether Ariadne naa
ever overturned or whether Venus Aau
been ight struck.
NV wife smiled when ! told her !
intended to run down 10 the ranch
TO look after things hit.
Il was too diaphanOus. When sne
saw me pacnlu- .-s p-a,ea she .-'-
But she was indulgent and said good?
hive with her own little pleasantly
about my not being so very deep after
walking up to the house from the
station / saw that the autumn winds
had been making very free with the
trees while we had been away. ana lae
brown leaves strewed the gravel walk
e-d ve~e scu~rving along c. their IN
edges like little hoops driven by chill
smoky haze lay over the Wood
and along the plain, and the nils ne
vond were deep in it. The loW-.Yins
sun was blood-red. and sent a sickly
yellow glow over the place. DRIVING
rather koenly. the wind set me a shlV-
erirg. / had never known the ranch
when it showed so bleak and torpiddlns
- e.- r-~+ e--fr~ -~ or' ~ -'rr -.9ca"t
house. I strobe quickly down the path
.r-C.i1e hollow rliCL lay Udi b.! al ne
shadow. and. buIrying on to NY little
srGio. pulled ont my KEYS before the
door. Not finding jhe right key II came
10 me Of g Sudden tb2t / lad .eit IL IN
tie lock inside on going 10 town, ana
on turning the handle Of the door j
saw II had not been locked at all. inns
was really Of little consequence, as
the ranch was not near the road ana
had often boosted that a lock meant
rorripg there anyway, though IN the
darkroom it had probably saved neg
Give or two or Gee sion.
went in and from pure force OF habit
m "a the key. leaving it in the lock.
Then l struck match. found my lamp
1f.nted it. and poured my chemicals out
INFO my graduate and tray. Then with
the larnp covered and only the thin stream
nj red light coming duly forth. / opened
the double-back and pulled out a plate.
II was "Ariadne and the Panther, Tor
which I hoped great things. As l put the
uIate into the developing tray and picked
mn ms graduate 10 pour forth the devel-
ou.r was startled by a rustllng that
seemed TO come from the corner where 1
Kept my pI'"'i-- 80 -, .i,.,+
the movement OF the s'l" cu' ''i'I '.'''
hung there but IL ooeui'eu W 'il0 VIC. '''1
strange sound coulo nave eoii'1 d, 0'.' 81
wind puff among the '7"'e O'',.-,'.
poured the "e'e .oisi - -.
low plate ana began ~ 'o~" VIC
gently. .-..--.,
Nowhere. except pFo"iD'S u" ''"'