The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-09-14

! door opened and the doctor entered; ne
| could do nothing whatever, as | had
| fcreseen-he actually pronounced me
dead-and few hours later 1 found
myself neatly laid in a coffin in the
| parlor-that is my physical body was.
| / took the most comfortable chair.
when no one else wanted it of course,
and waited for further DEVELOPMENTS.
This was growing interesting and
had become somewhat resigned to the
| hopelessness OF my situation. l noted
several curious facts. After awhile
got very sleepy, intensely so, and lay
back in my chair and closed my eyes
and tried to go to sleep. 1t was no
use, | could not. And yet / never so
longed to go to sleep in my life The
fact was. spirit could not Sleep and
| it was my body there in the coffin
which felt sleepy-but / must suffer
| for 1t. 1t was the same way with hum
! ger. I was hungry, l actually got SO
| desperate as to go out to the pantry
and look at the cold chicken and boiled
ham there, 1 could easily smell them,
but as to eating-Oh, 1t was horriblel
/ do not know how / got through the
| night
The next day could do nothing but
| sit and look at the people who came to
| see me, and hear what they had to say
l have forgotten to mention that in my
condition l seemed to have as one of its
| attributes, peculiar faculty of divin-
| ing the real thoughts of the people who
| came to look at me. Among them was
John Haverford He was actually glad
| to see me, so at least read his
thoughts. Geraldine thinks I must
have been mistaken-at any rate the
sight of him filled me with so much
| rage that / rushed over to him,
fhFaqtanoA him Il diA af
him, kicked him, nothing of which he
| was sensible. 1t was too bad.
Geraldine did not come. 1 waited
| heartbroken for her. Would she come?
| The old man surely would not keep her
| He was a pretty good fellow, after all
| The Is devoted to our youngest daugh-
| ter now. l thought he certainly might
bring her. / did not go out. / could
| not bear to leave my lonesome looking
body in the coffin. had no heart for
| further adventures, anyway. / was in
| tensely cramped from lying so long in
| one position-when / die / am going to
be cremated; no more collins for me.
My wife says. however, she will not
| hear of that.
Geraldine told me afterward that she
| passed the day in longing for me to
| come and take her away. and won
4 dering why 1 did not; beside being
| continually impressed with a Fremont
| ton that something was going to hap
| pen. Finally toward night on the sec
ond day of my anomalous situation,
| Mary--good and faithful Mary-be-
| thought herself to go and tell Gerald
! Inc. On hearing the news that noble
! girl promptly tainted. She recovered
| herself, however, and, through Mary's
aid, managed to get out of the house
| and come down TO see me.
| was looking at myself very defect
| eddy In the parlor. half dead from loss
| of sleep, hunger and thirst, and wholly
crazy from loss of love and my dread
| full prospects, surmised they would
| bury me to-morrow-when 1 heard the
| outside door open, a. familiar and yet
| nervous step sounded in the hail. and
| then the parlor door opened. had rec
| ognized the step. 1t was Geraldine.
but how changed! I forgot myself and
my trouble, and as she threw herself
| down on her knees and clasped me In
her arms and kissed me, I suffered for
her agony a thousand times worse
| than for mine. Great Heavens! Was
| ever man in such a predicament? I
| bent over her in despair, and as she
| turned her face up in prayer | kissed
her lips again. She sprang to her
] feet and screamed.
| "Oh, he is not dead, am sure of II.
/ felt him kiss mel / cannot be mis-
| taken! Mary, send for papa, and tell
him to bring his newest and most
powerful storage battery along. 1 am
sure Harry Is not dead. Hurry hur-
ry"
So 1t was from Geraldine herself that
this new idea of torture emanated
| Oh, why could they not let a disem-
| bodied spirit alone In it's peaceful mis-
| ery An electric battery could do no
I'D nrd a l..
burnt feather.
Old Mr.. Holabird was an electrician
| and an enthusiast. He would have
sacrificed his best friend to an expert
ment and consequently did not hesitate
| to come and try upon me whom he had
hated so bitterly previous to the I'M
| fortunate dissolution of partnership be-
tween my body and spirit. He was
soon in the parlor and the servant fol-
| lowing after him with the battery. He
was angry and nstonished at seeing
| Geraldine, but his experiment was too
engrossing for much time to be wasted
upon her.
Having obtained the consent of nv
poor old father, he began taking off
my shoes and then my socks--I blush
| ed crimson--at least my spiritual en-
tity did-my physical body, must
confess, betrayed no evidence of shame
| at the exposure, and before Geraldine,
| too! Mary and father and the rest of
the family looked on with anxiety and
| little apparent faith. Geraldine stood
beside me resting one hand against
my breast and gazing at me as II not
| TO lose the faintest sign of life might
| show. Her father, all business and
energy. attached the wires with a reck-
| less want of ceremony. 1 thought in
wretchedly bad taste / must confess
I hoped from the result OF this expert
nent but family; however. there might
be something in II, so I stood with my
arm around Geraldine and my head
resting upon her shoulder-spiritually
OF course-as the connection was made.
! was quiet enough for just one-mil-
lionth of a second till / felt the power
| of the current. IL was awful worse
than any other experiment; | groaned
In anguish while that fiendish old man
made the current stronger and strong
| err and that miRerably placid body Of
mine lay there az calm and as unfeel-
ing as a log. while / was IN torment.
| few al the old man. clenched my
hands I'm his hair. grasped him around
the throat. did everything and yet hal
/ 70 bear a current strong enough 20
/ have killed q dozen men, added 10
which was the anguish Of feeling my
last hope vanish. 1 was doomed.
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