The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-22

TOT ShlttefS IN the meantlme ndQ
been making his arrangements for the
fraud with a. cheerful. tireless industry.
Day after day had seen him down at
the scene of action. taking measure
ments and fixing people" The pneu
matte suit had indeed been sent sue
cessfully over the Canadian Falls. Skit-
tiers, 1 believe. had persuaded certain
men upon that side that the same
thing would merely be done again this
day; artful stage management and the
gift of CAB would make it appear that
a man had been inside the suit this
time: and such, truly enough, was the
programme as Skitters planned it. The
one element to interfere. the infatuat-
ed daring of a man OF the old Ger
manic war breed, Skitters could not
estimate. This kind of things needs
head like mine to do it," said he
when he saw me come and he mop
ped a scanning brow. but it's all fig-
gered out now
1 arrived upon the stage in time to
see, but not to take a part. The char
acters were already grouped for the play
which might become "a tragedy-tt
was too late for me to interfere with
the performance had / known how. As
Skitters and / walked UP past Table
Rock. he pointed ahead toward the
wooded shore that borders the Cana
dian rapids. We looked across Wild
waters, and saw even at that moment
two men come suddenly out of the
bushes close by the river and bend over
something which lay between them on
the ground. That's him." said Skit-
ters, land the Professor, old crank;
he's so dead afraid that his suit may
git hurt. He doesn't care so much
about the man." For the inventor. al
so. it seemed. was in the cast. and his
part was to put Westerman, and after
ward to let him out again, not so pub
licly-an easy thing to do with nobody
very near car on the trolley road
had stopped some distance away and
the people in il were staring sus-
piciously, and with that half hypnotic
bewilderment which a mystery causes
See 'em rubber" Skitters said, conf
placently. "They think that this is
genuine. Wen be in the papers to-
morrow" He turned and started pack
to look to his arrangements, Tor ne
had boat all ready on the lower
waters to assist in the deception.
westernman had instructions to hurry
down along the bank and be fished out
of the stream below, and the press
agent would do the rest
But Just above the point where one
enters the elevator l met Curley Bow
ers. and his eyes were alight with a
| strange excitement. He sWears ne
4 goin' to do it: he swears he's goin 10
I do it," cried the lad in something be-
i tween terror and delight. IAN nobody
knows but me-" We stood in line
with the cataract and stared at 1t rath-
err blankly while the spray drenched
| and the roar deafened us. Before us
we could see the point where the pre-
c;pice retreats and forms almost fun
mel the pex of the so-called Horse
shoe fall. Volume of water was what
Westerman desired, and out there the
water wall was green with depth
where the lakes went topping down.
There are hours of the day when the
Canadian shore appears almost desert
ed. and this was one of them. The few
PEOPLE walking about seemed like little
puupies: we ourselves seemed puppets,
in a stage scene, and with that seen
cry, The whole business was unreal.
with those two burly figures up the
river bank. the little silent people in
the trolley car looking on. and Bowers
and I the while obliged to move along
deliberately, keeping up Appearances
and to know that matters were out OF
our control. All day the sky had been
! cloudy but now at sunset the sun came
out and showed off the green and
white of the crumbling waves that
moved from above past the islands in
endless procession. and threw long
shadows down to the vortex. The
swimming suit lay motionless upon
the rocks, and Westerman had disap-
peared. 20, he'll never dare" I said
to Bowers, and turned to look after
Skitters, but just then the boy clutch
ed my arm and pointed. / saw but in
distinctly; il seemed TO me as though
an empty suit had been pushed into
the current by its inventor. but Curley
Bowers. with keener eyes. had dropped
upon one knee, straining fercely for
ward. and he cried: Hell try IT,.
He'll try it! BY c., he's coming
down.
For a moment the clumsy misshapen
form seemed to lie motionless in the
water, then II stirred and made a
stroke or two. And with that the cur
rent caught it and whirled it forward,
pitching and stumbling through the
waves As though in mockery. the
river played with IL awhile and drove
II down against that reef of rocks
which show above the water parallel
with the shore. When we saw the
German clutch at these and lie there,
II seemed to US that it was not too
late and that he might yet be saved.
For perhaps lDt SPdNt VI NNO
he rested against those rocks and he
may have heard our shouts of encour-
agement but who can guess what was
going on in his mind as he hung there
over death. He stirred again spasmod-
ically at last. rolled over on his side
into deeper water, and with reckless
valor which made us gasp TO see II.
swan straight for the apex Of the
Horseshoe.
Skitters the while was coming up be-
hind us; when he beheld that sight he
turned around and ran away. uttering
strange noises. But Bowers and |, as
we saw the Alsatian take thus his one
chance for life and victory, were seiz-
ed with new mad recklessness so that
we forgot the stake. forgot the CHASTITY
odds and began TO shout encourage
ment again. 20, good boy, good boy.
Pete" we cried. eve must ourselves
have been half crazy. GO on there;
YOU can do it," The water caught him
again and shot him forward: IL all
passed rapidly as an accident. That
moment when the black form hung
poised upon the brink of the abyss was
not 10 be forgotten. He had swung
himself around TO go down feet fore
most; he seemed 10 shoot out and TO
keep the crest of the water skilfully
enough and fell with IL through crash
ing space and clouds Of binding vapor
10 the bottom Of the precipice. $50 feet
below.
Upon the place seemed suddenly 10
rest solemn hush and quiet for all