The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1897-12-28
FACING DEATH.

from comparatively small grievances,
had, thanks to the influence of few Of
the leaders, reached state where salts
factory settlement seemed impossible.
The men had expected to be out week
or ten days at the most, but nearly two
months had elapsed, and their position
was almost desperate. Several deputa-
lions had waited on old Mr.. Vice, the
proprietor, but had been invariably re-
ferred back to the manager, with the
understanding that he had full author
ity to deal with them.
The manager, Shotwell, young man
of intelligent sympathies, from the first
had been willing, even eager, to discuss
the mems grievances and help them to
an understanding. But when he found
that the leaders, to whom the men had
intrusted their cause, not only were
disposed to take advantage of his JUS
tice, but were seeking their own ends
at the expense of the men, he suddenly
changed his attitude and refused to lis
ten to any proposals other than absolute
surrender. He gave the three leaders to
understand in the plainest language
that under no consideration would he
tolerate their presence in the shops
again.
The result of this understanding and
the contemptuous way in which the
manager had expressed his opinion of
the leaders and their scheming reused
these men from sullen spite to hatred.
They could not keep the men out or get
back themselves unless-well, unless
Shotwell changed his mind, and they
knew him too well to hope for that.
Shotwell's obstinacy had surprised
even old Mr.. Vice, who had known him
from boyhood-known him SO well, in
fact, that he had sanctioned the young
mans engagement to Dorothy, his
daughter. 1t was possibly the thought
of future partnership that made him
SO determined to stand to his guns now
and show the old man and his sweet
heart that he was capable of holding
the reins.
Even Dorothy's lover hardly under
stood her. She had strange ideas of
"soul communion" that made the mat
ter of fact young man gasp, and she had
an uncanny knack of demonstrating the
proof of her beliefs by reading his un-
spoken thoughts with an accuracy that
to less healthy, wholesome young fell
low might have been embarrassing.
But withal she was SO womanly and
tender and her fancies so pretty that
gradually he grew used to them and
found himself often lingering over them
and almost wishing they could be true
To one Of these fancies he had readily
yielded. Each evening both sat wher-
ever they might be in silence for little
time and let their thoughts 60 out free
ly to each other; "soul talks Dorothy
called them, and, whatever they were,
the result was that his love for the girl
grew more tender and he knew that in
some subtle manner he was coming to
understand her better and better each
day. These times had been inexpressibly
dear to him of late. They were his mo-
ments of absolute rest from the worry
of the strike, and he always felt his
brain refreshed and afterward was bet
ter able to cope with his growing diff
culties.
The pulse of the strike was growing
feverish, and night after night Shotwell
had slept at the Office, fearing some kind
of attack ON the premises. By the end
of the week worry and lack Of sleep had
told heavily upon him, and as he sat
smoking in the mysterious shadows of
the early evening he determined that
this must be his last night alone; he
would get Waterman to aid him. His
thoughts grew vague and mixed. His
pipe fell to the floor and made him
jump, then his eyes closed for mo-
ment. opened sluggishly, dropped again,
and he was fast asleep.
With a start and fearful sense of
oppression he awoke, struggling wildly
in his chair; tried to cry out, and real
lied that he was tied down. A cloth
was wound tightly over his mouth,
while the room was filed with a subtle,
sickly odor of chloroform. He heard a
sneering laugh behind his chair and,
well, yer took purity good nap that
time, didn't yer?' There was an an
swering growl from another throat, and
the two men came round in front, both
muffled in heavy coats and pieces of
cloth covering the upper half of their
faces. One of them carried small black
box somewhat gingerly to the desk and
set it down in front of Shotwell. He
turned little brass key in it, and hid
den machinery began to tick tack, tick
koo 1ilyn olOolz IL b1
around, and Shotwell saw small dial,
with the hands pointed to 8 80 o'clock.
One of the men attached one end of a
string to lever on the box and with
the greatest precaution tied the other
end to Arthur's left wrist, then fixed
another string to the same lever and to
the other wrist.
Now, see here, Mr.. Shotwell, you've
got Just 46 minutes, and then that thing
goes off, and God have mercy on your
soul. If you should want the thing to go
quicker, just struggle hard, and If you
manage to pull either of them strings
well, l guess it'll oblige you"
Now, Bill, we've got no time to
waste. Here's the keys; you go for the
safe, and I'll fix the desk y
Inside of 15 minutes Shotwell's
guests had gone, leaving little trace of
their visit except faint odor of chloro-
form and that strange looking black
box, with it's monotonous ticlP tack, tick
tack.
The whole thing had happened so
suddenly and his brain was SO heavy
with the drug that the men were gone
before he fully realized the horror of
his position. AS it dawned on him he
could not believe it was true; it was
some terrible nightmare. He strove to
shake himself, but the tightening of the
strings ON his wrists and half jar in
the tones Of that ceaseless tick tack
brought him back to his senses with
chill of horror. He glared terror strick-
en- at the little clock that was ticking
off the moments of his life-a second
each time. A few minutes and then
he broke out into cold sweat; an I'M
manning fear of this unknown, cruel
thing crept over him, and for awhile
he sat, huddled in abject terror; then
slowly the soul of the man steadied
itself. He closed his eyes to pray, and
the word that came was Dorothy"
With fierce mental effort he pulled
together his shaken faculties for her
sake. For her he would die like man.
Perhaps she would know he had been
no coward.
Tick tack, tick tack, 90 minutes past
10. All, it was time to sit and talk to
lslnrria ,, Well he xunnld do ih-runr1ld