El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-06
stretched in front of his lonely dwell

stretched in front of his lonely dwell
ing.
He walked along rapidly, anxious
while his determination remained firm
to place as great distance as possible
between himself and any chance of I'M
doing his handiwork. There was not
soul abroad, of course, at such an hour,
and Carbon had no fear of injuring
anybody but himself by the explosion
that now he was expecting every mo-
ment. When the road took him near
any habitatiOn, he made wide circuit
to keep it outside the range of the dy-
Mantle bomb round his waist. With
the same thoughtfulneSs for others he
stopped when after about half an
hours walk he caught sight of the fig
ure of a woman approaching him. He
was like a man with the plague, whom
1t was dangerous to approach, and
Ralph was about to turn precipitately
and get out of the wOman's way when
something i'll her figure struck him as
familiar. The night was a moonlight
one, and in the middle of the road
where she was walking it was as clear
as MONDAY. A second glance told him
that his suspicion was right. 1t was
Deborah Dene hurrying along the road.
In the complete surprise of seeing her
in such a spot at such an hour the
thought of his invention went clear out
of his head. 1t was due to go off at
any moment now, but Ralph was so as
tonished that he actually forgot it's ex-
istence.
He hurried forward.
Deb" he said what are you doing
here?"
fl,1 .rf,.I Ann I,nr
round his neck and burst into tears.
She had hurried as fast as the train
could bring her to him Immediately on
receiving his letter with its hint of sui
eide and had walked from the nearest
station, three miles farther up the road,
expecting to reach his house only in
time to find him corpse. She sobbed
for five minutes on his breast without
being able to speak a word in the relief
of finding him alive.
The letter which he had received and
which she was supposed to have writ
ten she had never heard Of except
through his reproaches. 1t was a for
gerry, no doubt, concocted by some
spiteful acquaintance OF his or hers to
ruin their happiness. She loved him
with her whole heart and soul, she
sobbed, and could never dream of CIV
ing him up.
1t seemed to poor Ralph Carbon, who
loved her more than his life, that the
gates of paradise had opened. To find
that all the mental agony through
which he had passed had been without
cause or basis made him feel the hap
piest man in the world.
1t was actually not until he clasped
his sweetheart in his arms with every
doubt and suspicion removed that the
consequent pressure of the bomb
against his flesh reminded him how in
a few minutes at most it would blow
him to atoms.
This story was told to me as true by
l take in the subject of suicide. He
stopped when he had reached this point
in his narrative, as if it was concluded.
and were they both killed. l asked
with interest.
ooh, no. They were married shortly
afterward. Carbon gave up trying to
invent from that night and became
pretty successful when he found his
real forte-tale writing"
But the bombf' 1 asked. l was not
interested in the mans subsequent ca
reer. My friend pretended to look sur
prised.
My dear fellow, you don't think
machine could possibly work when
Ralph Carbon had invented and made
ftr'-Chicap 90 News