The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1897-01-15


going 30 town, and turning tho handle
Of tho door / saw 10 had not been
locked 90 ALL This was really Of lit
tic consequence, as "tho ranch" was
not near the road, and ! had often
boosted that q lock meant nothing
there anyway, though IN the dark.
room II bad probably saved q negative
or two on occasion.
] went Ia, aud, from puro force Of
habit, turned tho key, leaving IL in
the lock- Then / struck o match,
found my lamp, lighted Il, and poured
my chemicals out into my graduate
and tray. Then, with the lamp GOV.
cred aud only the thin stream Of red
light coming duly forth, I opened a
double back and pulled out q plate. II
was Ariadno and the Panther, Tor
which / hoped great things Az / put
the plato into the developing tray and
picked up my graduate to pour forth
the developer, ] was startled by q
rustling that seemed 10 come from the
corner where / kept my printing stun.
II sounded like a movement Of the
stiff curtain that hung there, but It
occurred 10 me that tho strange sound
could have come from a wind puff
among the leaves outside. SO /
poured the developer upon tho light
yellow plate and began to rock the
tray gently.
Nowhere, except probably on your
wedding morning or on getting a
wrapped copy of your first book does
the charm Of expectancy get such q
hold upon you as it does on watching
for the image Of an exposed object TO
appear upon Photographic plate.
Out OF the yellow blank before me
came, softly and silently, the figure Of
the smooth limbed Ariadne, sitting
her panther with the majesty l had
seen in the marble. But she was
coming on rather too quickly because
Of over timing, and / rapidly reached
back for the bottle of bromide. As
I measured of four crystal drops that
fell splashing into the developer, l
heard a slight grating sound, as of a
key being taken from a lock. Surely
tho charm Of Ariadne must have been
strong upon me, for the incident did
not excite so much alarm as it did
mere annoyance.
"Must have been in rather loose and
| just dropped out, was my illogical
thought; but who can be logical con-
corning things external when snug in
his own tight little world of pho.
tographyP
Ariadne came on beautifully, and ]
laid her in the water near my right
hand to gain detail before fixing.
Then took out Venus and began to
develop her She came on we'll
enough, and dipped her into the
water, too. Everything was going
well, and / should have a fine set ii
this kept on. Being my first trial
with such hard lot of subjects, / was
rather proud of myself.
Then my fingers CROPPED for Ariadne,
who was now ready for the fixing bath.
But though 1 felt all about in the
water, my fnger-tips never touched
the glass 1t was a hard situation to
sense, but Ariadne was gone.
leaned back in my chair in a state
bordering on utter collapse. Water
doesn't melt solid glass, and an eight
by-ten negative doesn't get up and
walk out of the tray. What in the
name of the great Daguerre did this
thing mean?
Looking at the tray in vague dis
tress, saw great black hand stea
silently into the circle of the dim red
light, grasp the Venus negative, and
as silently dart back into the thick,
impenetrable gloom of the dark room.
l would have jumped up if / could
but the ugly circumstance weighed
me down. Then 1 heard the negative
strike the floor and SILVER into little
bits. This started me ur. l graspel
the cover of the red light, and was
about to lift it when the whole con
trivance was wrenched from the table
and the ruby glow was turned full
upon my face. Behind it I could set
nothing, but the handle at the bottom
was clutched by the same black hand,
The lamp was raised high, and ther
down it came, crashing against tn,
floor, the light blotting out in thu
heavy blackness.
Isprang for the door, and, missing
it, grasped something soft and slip
perry that slid from my grasp. 1t wal
like a clothed arm, but it was so COLI
and Shiny that seemed hardly human
At the same time, form full of burl,
strength knocked harshly against me
whether accidentally or not I coulC
not tell. A slight mass of cold slim
that reeked horribly came off the form
and adhered to my face and the side
of my neck. This was more than
could stand. My clogged throa
opened, and yelled like a demon.
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