The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-12-20

| rill dropping plaintiveiy into some rocky
| pool: You mus; know that nothing can
| come Of this. Dear Gerald Bernis. II is
| hopeless. 1 am pledged 1 am bound 10
some one else. 1 am what they call a
/ Child 81 the State. and the government
/ has promised NE TO another man
Who is heS~ l asked. thrilled with a
| sudden. fierce defiance of the State and OF
| the man.
| As I spoke. HamTnerfeet came up behind
Us. over the crest OF Auditorium Hill
| Electra moved one hand. indicating HIM
| silently.
| "Youe" I exclaimed. turning savageiy
10 Hammerfieet.
! "He Is the man" Electra whispered.
II have heard your conversation I'M
willingly" Hammer11eet observed to me,
| unmoved "But We viii not discuss 1T l
/ came up here 20 look for you, and 10 say
4 that 1t has been arranged that You and L
/ shall start tonight by train for New YORK.
| and make some little side excursions on
the way-so that you may see more OF the
country
This announcement / recognized as n
! challenge and a threat. united, but 1 was
/ resolved TO meet whatever Il might I'M
ply unfsinchingIy Very well, / an
! swsred; III Graenantls approves. / will
accept his decision"
We three then went down the hillside.
not speaking further. and Joined the rest
| of our party. Whether Graemante sas-
| pected ANYTHING sinister in Haznmefaeet ;
| plan. or not. / could not guess: but was
treasured by his approving il, since II
was certain that he could not wish me
any I'll.
set out that night with Hammerheet.
as a sort OF advance guard. Our hrst stop,
early in the morning, was somewhere near
Buffalo when We got out and walked Tor
a while along the highways. Here l no.
Z. -. l.. .s,zFr - nd ~
trains. The cars never stopped. spring
platform bounced passengers from the
station on TO the end platform OF the cars,
where they were received on spring cush-
ions. In the case of quick express trains
a parallel train was run at a swifter rate
along a neighboring track for a short dis
tance, and the passengers were hurled
from this, lightly. and upright. into the
express.
Bicycles. / found. were no longer a fad
or a nuisance. Separate paths were pro-
vided for them. and. on these. electric bi-
cycles. tricycles and carriages We're run,
with power supplied from stations at regu-
lar intervals. and at all hotels, by recharg-
ing the storage batteries. Horses were bat
little used for travel. and existed mainly
as a form of preserved life. like deer in
parks. or for racing purposes. although.
even in racing their speed was so great
ly surpassed by that OF fiotation sails and
rubber-oared boats and various mech2ni-
cal four-legged machines for running, that
they were now not much more than do
nestle pets, like cats ana dogs. However,
although moving was done chiefly by
electric trolley mowers. we saw some
draught horses and carriage horses in use
on farms or on the road We were travel
ing afoot. In sandy regions, the wheels
of the horse-wagons had outward curvtng
fanges which prevented the sinking of
tr,fz. flasa rH.az rYss a nd "a
with friction and the loss of power by dis
placemenr of the sand. Many wagon
wheels. also were coated with napthaline,
10 counterfeit the friction and the retard-
ing effect of mud in the roads.
Part OF the way we Travelled in horse
less electric carriages, after We grew tired
of walking. Then again we took 10 our
feet and after time halted before vast
expanse of machinery Installed under
seemingly Illimitable shed. IL looked like
an enormous jungle OF metal mechanism.
What is thssr' / asked of Hammer
fleet. 1T resembles forest, but forest
of iron and STEEL
That's precisely what 1t is" he answer
ed. And we're now going TO stroll through
it,"
We passed in, and were soon lost in the
shadows OF this wilderness, where the
mighty trunks and the waving branches of
huge trees were represented by the up
rights, beams, levers Crdnks ana FouS OF
vast machinery.
"All our factory WORK is done in this
way now Hammerfeet courteously ex-
planned TO me. This tangle of mechanism
runs for the most part automatically, and
, - governed by one man. 1t covers many
acres."
Wheels were spinning round in the most
bewilder.ng manner. luge trip-hammers
were thudding down, with tons of force,
| In various place; and at intervals some
great overwhelming bar of metal weigh
ing thousands Of pounds would come
swinging down from the roof and almost
touch the ground. with heavy sweep
, that meant death 70 any man who got N
its way.
why" l exclaimed, 1T Is like the maze
of life Any one who should pass under
one Of those swinging beams al the wrong
moment would be crushed out as though
by a blow of doom They seem to exem-
| pllfy fate
quite So he agreed.
Let us go back" I proposed.
NO" he objected; that would be cow
ardly Besides. you cannot find your way
back safely now. The same sort of steel
beams are swinging low behind us. as in
front. II you were 10 turn back you would
have TO run the risk Of being crushed.
am your only guide. You must go for
ward with me and take your chances"
Yet" l returned, you say that this
whole forest of moving machinery Is reg
ulated by one man? Suppose anything
should happen to him; thai ne should die