The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-11-26

udvST2S them Ugntly IN tnat position,
80 az to obviate any risk of breaking
the connection. Then l took Wilhelm
around to the right side of the bed
and connected his left arm in the same
manner with Wycherly's right. A
complete and perfect connection had
now been formed with the circulatory
organs of the three men-they formed,
in fact, one circulatory system.
No perceptible effect was noticeable
upon Wycherly for half an hour. 1t
is true he wa being supplied with the
life-giving fluid from two sources, but
they were by no means abundant ones,
and besides out of thirty-odd pounds
of blood which a healthy man pos
sesSes, | am afraid to say how much
he had lost. In the case of the youths,
however, a critical observer would have
detected very appreciate diminution
in the color of their faces, and in order
that they might not become alarmed
at any feeling of weakness, | ordered
| some bottles of the best wine the es-
| Establishment afforded to be brought,
and administered it to them freely, at
the same time diverting their thoughts
as much as possible. Soon | noticed
that the color was returning to Wycher-
| Tvs cheeks. 1t was evident that his
life was saved, and that the measures
| had employed had been the means Of
| doing it. About half an hour afser-
| ward Fritz and Wilhelm became FESTIVE.
I aOrlaina1 70 than, hot tn 1ror
| the position they were in, much less
| to have the bandaGes taken from their
arms would entail the death of the sick
man. that their meals would be brought
| to them there, and that they would
even have to sleep just where they were;
also that l could not tell exactly how
| long this condition of things would
last, but that while it did they would
| get $50 day apiece for their services
after that day, for which they would
ret 500 apiece. The sight of the
gold which | counted to each of them
having received a supply that morning
from Wycherly's bankers-removed the
last trace of discomfort.
From that day on Wycherly's recov-
cry was steady and rapid. Within a week
his appetite returned, and he was
strong enough to have been up and
| about.
Up to this time, at my friends re
quest, forebore to send any intimation
to his friends at home regarding TIE
serious accident that had befallen him.
as he feared to cause them unnecessary
| alarm. Now, however, he requested me
| to write them a full account of the
matter. and also of his rapid CON
valescence There were, he told me,
only three members of his household
| proper now that himself and son were
| absent, namely, his aged mother, his
sister, and young lady-a distant re
| latiye-who was betrothed to his son.
Before this letter was dispatched, the
| China mail brought news from his son.
who wrote to say that he found Japan
so interesting that he did not propose
to leave it for month to come.
From this time on, most remarkable
| physiological change began to take
| place in the three beings who were So
curiously linked together by their
| circulatory system. They were evil
IDENTIFY fast becoming assimilated in
physical features and conditions.
! Wycherly was indeed growing younger
while his companions were growing
| proportionately older. Once | was able
to grasp and recognize this dominant
| fact, | found myself wondering, not so
much at the fact per Sc, as at the rapid
| tY with which the change was being
accomplished. ! could only account for
this last feature of the strange meta
morphosis by remembering that the
blood now coursing in the veins of this
| strange partnership was, in the first in
stance, almost wholly that of the young
| Germans, as Wycherly's vessels were
well-nigh drained ut the commence
ment of the trial. He, therefore, took
a fresh start in life, SO to speak, with a
| large capital of new blood. and since
then he had been contributing only one
third of the supply to the common stock
or partnership circulation. According
| ly, only one-third of the common blood
was being assimilated by old organs.
while two-thirds were being assimilated
by young and robust ones. In addition
to this Wycherly's assimilative organs
We're being fed and their waste carried
off by blood which was day by day be-
coming younger as the process went on.
1t was, therefore, impossible to escape
| the mathematical conclusion that
| Wycherly would grow younger, while
| Fritz and Wilhelm would grow older.
till a stable equilibrium in the physical
condition of the trio was reached. |
confidently looked forward to the time.
and that at no distant date, when !
should have the satisfaction of seeing
before me three robust young men of
IS; at which time there would no longer
! be any occasion to maintain their en-
! forced union. | further calculated that
the state of equilibrium in age would be
| reached in about q month from then.
so that by The time my friends son ar
rived from Japan. there would be but
the slight disparity between % and 2S
in their respective ages.
Two days before the China steamer
was due, carefully separated the three
men. The altered appearance of
Wycherly, though in the highest degree
/ CT ,,,a nUn;+oI