The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-10

closed with a grip of steel on my wrist
and without needing my approximations
he hurried me through the wood and out
onto little rocky platform from which
there was a sheer drop of a couple of
hundred feet. Here he paused a moment
and glared at me as if debating whether
to throw me off or to convince me first
Now see, here's good place, fine
place, the force Of gravitatlon will be ter
rife but we will overcome it; we win step
off and float TO those hills over yonder,
you and ] together. Surely" he added,
with whitening glance of scorn, you,
man OF science, are not afraid"
I inwardly cursed my scientific mania
that had led me to such a fearful pass,
and was quite ready to confess that l
was afraid, horribly So but ] knew that
Ii would do no good, he would only be the
more intent on conquering my fear; my
only hope was 10 get him to talk, any
thing to gain time; for surely help would
come, there must be keepers somewhere,
| must be saved; the other thought, a dive
through space in the arms of a mailman.
was too awful to be tolerated. l would
fight it out inch by inch, but first 1 must
sain time to breathe, so l said, with as
near approach to nonchalanee as possible.
frightened. ~ Oh. no. Pm not afraid
only your proposition was 80 sudden that
I was a little startled, but now that I'm
used 10 it confess that I'm ashamed Of
myself; there is nothing really startling
about 1t, in fact it seems rather-you'H
pardon me-well-er a-er-common place
idea for so fine a brain as yours to have
evolved"
"E,h, what-what do you mean?" said he.
looking puzzled, and l saw that as the
beginning of a new thought impulse touch
ed him. he grew quieter and seeing this an
idea struck me, and trusting to the warp
in his brain TO help me, l proceeded to
develop 1t.
"Well. you know, It doesn't seem to me
a scientific test
Not scientific? Isn't it high enough?"
Eyes that's the trouble that's why Il
isn't fair; don't you see that when we
step off this rock, it's quite easy to float
to yonder hills-even / understand that
because we don't have TO conquer the true
force Of gravitation at ALL surely you. a
man of science" said I, repeating him,
understand the well-kuown fact that the
further the lesser body is from the greater.
the smaller will be the amount of attrac-
ton to overcome; now, we start at such a
tremendous hight we start with the force
! Of graVitation almost overcome, in fact,
! il hasn't got control of us at all. or so
/ slightly that the test would be quite worth
! less from a scientific standpoint"
9Th, l don't quite follow you" said my
! amiabe friend. still holding on to my
wrist, as he glared in perplexed astonish-
! ment at me. IF this isn't a fair test
! what would you propose, for I'm bound to
! prove il to your
Yes, Of course, you are; l should never
| forgive you if you didn't, but don't want
! scientists TO laugh at us when we tell
! them Of our experiment, so / propose we
| get the matter quite straight and per.
/ form the hardest feat we can while we
are about IT, II your theory is practical
BILE Il is very easy to step off here and
avoid merely falling, but how much more
| dihicHlt, how much more practical II