The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-12-28
"pid they see any vehicle standing

ing, uSdru uObnlnS Oh bno explosion De-
yond low rumble, and those who
thought of the matter at all imagined
an explosion had occurred in some dis
tant part of the city,"
''Then the outside doors in the large
hall above were not blown open?''
'sNo; the officer reported that they
were locked and bolted when he exam
ined them, which was some minutes, of
course, after the disaster had taken
place, for he. the officer in charge, had
been thrown down and stunned, SEEM
ingly by the concussion of air which
took place.
AS Jennie walked down the corridor
she saw more and more evidence of the
convulsion. The thick iron bound door
lay where it had fallen, and it had not
been stirred since it was moved to get
the two men from under it. It's ponder
GUS hinges were twisted as if they had
been made of glue, and its massive
bolts were snapped across like bits Of
glass. All along the corridor on the
floor was a thick coating of dust and
debris, finely powdered, growing deeper
and deeper until the entrance to the
room was reached. There were no win
the way was lit by candles held by SOL
diers who accompanied them. The
scoria crunched underfcot as they walk
ed, and in the chamber itself great
heaps of dust, sand and plaster, all fine
ly powdered, lay in the corners of the
room and on one side was piled up
higher than mans head There SEEM
ed to be tons of this debris. and as Jen-
ME looked up at the arched ceiling, re-
sembling the roof Of a vaulted dungeon,
she saw that the stone itself had been
ground to fine dust with the tremendous
force of the blast.
''Where are the remnants of the
treasure chest p she asked
The director shook his head.
"There are no remnants not vestige
of it is to be found"
''Of what was it nader"
''We used to have an old treasure
chest here made of oak. bound with
iron, but some years ago, new recep-
tacle being needed, one was especially
made of hardened steel, constructed on
the modern principle of those burglar
proof and freproof Safes "
And do you mean to say there is
nothing left of this2''
Nothing that we have been able to
discover F"
"Well, have seen places where dy-
Mantle explosions have occurred, but
know of nothing to compare with this
am sure that if dynamite had been
used or any explosive now generally OBJ
tainable there would have been left at
least some remnant of the safe Hasn't
this pile of rubbish been disturbed since
the explosion2''
Eyes; it has been turned over We
made search for the two men, but we
found no trace of them -
''And you found no particles of iron
or steel2''
'The heap throughout is just as you
see it on the surface, fine almost i'm
palpable, dust. We had to exercise the
greatest care in searching through it,
for the moment 1t was disturbed with a
shovel it filled the air in suffocating
clouds. Of course we shall have it re.
moved by and by and cart it away, but
considered it better to allow it to re-
main here until we had penetrated
somewhat further into the mystery
haan we have already done. !"
Jennie stopped and picked up hand
full from the heap. Her action caused
mist to rise in the air that made them
both choke and cough, and yet she was
instantly struck by the fact that her
handful seemed inordinately heavy for
its bulk
'May take some of this with me2' !
she asked.
'Of course. replied the director. 81
shall have packet of it put up for
you"
''I would like to take it with me
now. said Jennie. 81 have a curiosity
to know exactly of what it is composed
Who is the government analyst or
have you such an official?'
"Herr Feltz, in the Graubenstrasse,
is famous analytical chemist You
cannot do better than go to him =
''Do you think he knows anything
about explosives
81 should suppose so, but if not he
will certainly be able to tell you who
the best man is in that line. =
The director ordered one of the men
who accompanied him to find small
paper bag and fill it with the debris of
the treasure chamber. When this was
done, he handed the package to Jennie,
who said:
81 shall go at once and sec Herr
Feltz. "
my carriage is at your disposal.
madame.
"Oh, no, thank you'll do not wish
to trouble you further. lam very much
obliged to you for devoting so much
time to me already shall take a
fiacre.
my carriage is at the door, per
sisted the director land will instruct
the driver to take you directly to the
shop of Herr Feltz. Then no time will
be lost. and think if am with you
you will be more sure of attention from
the chemist. who is very busy man.
Jennie saw that the director did not
wish to let her out of his sight, and. al
though she smiled at his suspicion. she
answered politely
''It is very kind of You to take so
much trouble and devote so much of
your time to me. / shall be glad of
your company if You are quite certain
am not keeping you from something
more important.
''There is nothing more important
Al.