The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-05-01

sell seated IN his horrible chair
strapped in.
tried to free myself, but was firm
~ held; my hands were each fixed in a
kind of wise, leather outside and metal
within, as could tell by the feel. These
things were hollow and like large nit
tens, and within them and incIosino.
my hands was some liquid-mercury,
| afterward discovered. AS 7 took in
these details the door opened and CHS
by appeared.
"Ha! ha! my fine bird, you're Gagged
at last, are you?"
Don't stand fooling there" 1 NUT
tered. ''Your Internal chair is break
ing my back"
"Oh, is it? Well soon alter that" .
He stepped to my side, but instead of
releasing me he simply loosened the
straps at my back. This was too much
for me; simply yelled at him that UNI
less he freed me instantly would SIM
ply smash him when did get free.
when you have finished your abuse
L will favor you with my intentions"
and continuing: "You fancy am your
friend, don't you? Iamn not. am your
enemy. l hate you. You thought to
win Madge Cameron from me, and so
far you have succeeded.
Perhaps you did not know loved
her, but all the same you tried to win
her. and l hate you for it. might have
killed you awhile ago, before 1 turned
on the oxygen and you revived; 1 had
my hand on the switch, but no. 1 let YOU
revive to tell you this, to torture you the
more, for have you not stolen my
Madge's love from me? Oh, Madge.
Madge!" he cried. ooh, why will you
not love me?''
DO you think 1 am going to be an
outcast from society for nothing ?" he
Missed. think you 1 have spent
whole year in making this thing for
nothing? l have waited long for II
subject, but at last l can operate, and
on you. No! No! 1 don't invent things
for nothing; not L!
"You have just half an hour to live;
it is 1880 now; on the stroke of 12 |
complete the circuit and you will fizzle
up"
He left me, prey to horrible thoughts.
Was there no way of escape? Would
no one come in time? And the time
passed on.
The time was almost up, and Clisby
returned. He Was all smiles. He
asked me if l had any wish he might
carry out for me. 1 shook my head.
He offered me brandy, and gulpcd it
down, and more, and 1 drank that also.
"One minute more" he yelled, land
I send you to Jericho"
He walked toward the switch-to
kill me-and I sat there looking at
him. / could not remove my eyes: /
was fascinated.
And then saw saw his feet catch
in the Wires that led from the switch
to my hands, and he fell. AS he did
so he clutched the air, and both his
hands came down on the switch con-
facts.
A dreadful scream broke from his
lips, and he bounded up quite six feet
in the air, and then fell backward
right in the middle of a large, fiat dis
tribution table. Then l saw q quick
succession of blue flashes, and imme-
diately after this the band came off
the dynamo pulley and the humming
ceased.
A grating sound drew my eyes in the
direction of the turbines. Something
was wrong evidently, for the offside
bearing of one of them was literally
red hot; the governor was wrecked and
the wheel was racing away and in
creasing in speed every moment.
1t was not long before something
happened. There was loud snap, and,
then crash, and saw the steel cas-
ing ripped up like paper and the water
came pouring into the room, thousands
of gallons per minute.
Slowly the water rose, until, when it
was about six feet deep, the light went
out. 1 was floating about in the chair,
but 1 was anchored to the switchboard
by the wires.
Beneath me L could still hear the I'M
damaged turbine thrashing away, and
rose until my head, or rather the top
of the chair, was scraping the roof,
when suddenly felt that was falling,
and 1 was rapidly carried toward the
door.
The wires held for a moment, but the
jerk snapped them, and sailed along
the passage, through the battery -room
and out into the open, where, after
being whrled around few times, l
was left high and dry till the morning.
The weight of the water had burst
open the outer door, hence my sudden
exit.
l was rescued from my unpleasant
position by Cameron himself, who had
come to look for me. We found poor,
mad Clisby quite close to where he had
died, tangled up in some wire, and the
same CHASTITY smile was on his face.
No one but Cameron ever knew what
had really happened on that awful
night. We told the girls that an acci-
dent had happened and that the hermit
was dead.
For week l lost the proper use of
nv limbs, owing to my cramped-up
state when in that chair of his, but be-
fore left Clinton Madge and 1 found
time to finish our picture and to ar
range a little matter that is to come OBJ
in the sulnmer.-Strand Magazine.
A Materialist.
Chatterly Don't you believe that
travel broadens man?