The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1897-05-06

companion writhed out Of his grasp,
but dashed against the packing case,
over which he fell The lamp was ex-
tinguished and the whole barn plunged
into darkness A single ray of moon
light, shining through a narrow chink,
fiickered over the great waving fans as
they came and went.
Brown
There was no answer. will you
give it up;" Again no answer. Not a
sound save tho humming and creaking
overhead. A cold pang of fear and doubt
struck through Pericord's heart. He
felt aimlessly about in the dark, and
his fingers closed upon hand. 1t was
cold and umesponsive. With all his
anger turned to icy horror, he struck
match, set the lamp up and lit it.
Brown lay huddled up upon the other
side of the packing case. Pericord seized
him in his arms, and with convulsiye
strength lifted him across. Then the
mystery Of his silence was explained.
He had fallen with his right arm dou-
bled up under him, and his own weight
had driven tho knife deeply into his
boly. He had died without groan.
Tie tragedy had been sudden, horrible
and complete.
Pericord sat silently on the edge Of
the case. staring blankly down and shiv-
ering like one with the ague, whilt tho
great Brown Pericord motor doomed
Z ap1 hT.r.flaI oh h,Y,, I,
sat there can never be known. 1t might
have been minutes, or it might have
baen hours. A thousand mad schemes
flashed through his dazed brain. 1t was
true that he had been only the indirect
cause. Bat who would believe that?
He glanced down at his blood spattered
clothing. Everything was against him.
1t would be better to fly than to give
himself up, relying upon his innocence
No one in London knew where they
were. If he could dispose of the body,
he might have few days clear before
any suspicion would be aroused.
Suddenly loud crash recalled him
to himself. The flying sack had grad
ually risen with each successive circle
until it had struck against the rafters.
The blow displaced the connecting gear,
and the machine fell heavily to the
ground. Pericord undid the girdle The
motor was uninjured. A sudden strange
| thought flashed upon him as he looked
at it. The machine had become hateful
TO him. He might dispose both of it and
| the body in way that would battle all
) human search.
> He threw open the barndoor and car
: ried his companion out into the moon
: light. There WIS hillock outside, and
3 on the summit of this he laid him rev.
erently down. Then he brought from
4 the barn the motor, the girdle and the
: phlanges. With trembling fingers he
fastened the broad steel belt round tn,
dead mars waist Then no screwed the
wings into the sockets. Beneath hi
slung the motor box, fastened the wires
and switched on the connection. For
minute or two the huge yellow fam
Q tapped and flickered. Then the body
began to move in little jumps down tn,
side CT tho hillock, gathering gradua
momentum until at last it heaved nj
into the air and scared heavily off il
the moonlight He had not used tn
rudder, but had turned the head for tn
south. Gradually the weird thing ros
higher and sped faster until it hat
passed over the line of cliff and wa
sweeping over the silent sea. Pericor
watched it with a white drawn fac
until it looked like black bird wit
; golden wings half shrouded in the mis-
which lay over the waters
=
In the New York state lunatic asy
lum there is wild eyed man who's
name and birthplace are alike unknown
His reason has been unseated by som
sudden shock. the doctors say, thong
Of what nature they are unable to de
termine. 1T is the most delicate IN;
chine which is most readily put out {
gear, they remark and point in proc
N of their axiom to tho complicated ele,
trio engines ard remarkable aeronauti
n machines which the patient is fond {
$. devising in his more lucid moments.
a. THE END.
ha