Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-20

screamed.
"Oh, he is not dead, l am sure OF u. I
felt him kiss mo! / cannot be mistaken
Mary, send for papa, and tell him to bring
his newest and most powerful storage bat
terry along. / am sure Harry is not dead.
Hurry! hurry
So Il was from Geraldine herself that
this new idea Of torture emanated. Oh,
Why could they not let a disombodied spirit
alone in its peaceful misery! An electric
battery could do no good, and It would he
worse than the burnt feather.
Old MIR. Holabird was an electrician and
an enthusiast. He would have sacrificed
his best friend to an experiment and con-
sequently did not hesitate to come and try
upon me, whom he had hated so bitterly
previous to the unfortunate dissolution OF
partnership between my body and spirit
He was soon in the parlor and the servant
followed after him with the battery. He
was angry and astonished at seeing Ger
aldine, but his experiment was too engros-
sing for much time to be wasted upon her.
Having obtained the consent OF my poor
old father he began taking of my shoes
and then my socks-I blushed crlmson-at
least my spiritual entity did-my physical
body, l must confess, betrayed no evidence
OF shame at the exposure. and before Ger
aldine, too! Mary and father and the rest
CT the family looked on with anxiety and
little apparent faith. Geraldine stood be-
side me resting one hand against my breast
and gazing at me as II not to lose the faint
est sign Of life l might show. Her father,
all business and energy, attached the wires
with a reckless want of ceremony, l thought
in wretchedly bad taste. l must confess
I hoped from the result Of this experiment
but family: however, there might be some
thing in it, so / stood with ny arm around
Geraldine and my head resting upon her
shoulder-spiritually, OF course-as the con-
nection was made.
I was quiet enough for Just one-millionth
OF a second till l felt the power Of the cur
rent. II was awful. Worse than any other
experiment; / groaned in anguish while that
fendish old man made the current stronger
and stronger and that miserably placid body
OF mine lay there as calm and as unfeeltng
as a log, while. l was in torment. Z flew
at the old man, clenched my hands in his
hair. grasped him around the throat, did
everything and yet had to bear a current
strong enough to have killed a dozen men,
added to which was the anguish of feeling
my last hope vanish. / was doomed.
The scientific fervor OF old Holabird was
at last satisfied, and he allowed the current
to die down to one Of much less intensity,
merely keeping, as he said, a little on in
case Of an emergency. A little! ! felt like
ten tooth aches run into one. but was so
much less than before that 1t seemed almost
like a caress in the first moment Of relief.
While l was standing there helplessly
wondering what they would do with me
the old man walked up to Geraldine, who
stood wringing her hands, looking at me,
with har laet hnna QOna tOn DOOr GIRL and
said:
Come. Geralding, we must go, the man
is dead"
Liar" ] shrieked, but no one heard me.
And there is no. use CT staying here he
continued, II tell you you must come! I
promised John Haverford that you would
see him tonight, he asked for your hand
and I consented today"
Oh, / could have begged him to turn on
the electricity again; each pang fate had In
store for me was worse than before. Ger
aldine answered g%loriously:
But l have not consented"
What difference? ! say you shall marry
him!" he said, grasping her wrist.
"And l say l will not. 1 will be faithful
to my dear dead Harry here"
Nonsense; you shall marry Haverford;
you must"
At this moment a strange thing oc-
Cured. Geraldine wrenched herself away
from her father, threw herself upon the
physical half Of me and whispered, I'll
die with him. frst."
Something passed over me as a binding
lightning fash and behold the body in
the CONN struggled, sat up, ciasped a
trembling arm about Geraldine and ex-
claimed:
81 am not dead, Geraldine, and you, you
internal old villain, get out OF my sight!
Take off the battery and give me something
to eat and drink"
The spirit had entered my body again,
Ny love for Geraldine and her love for me
had wrought the miracle, just as anxiety
for her and love for her had wrought the
first change. Aye, through love the world
is made and destroyed.
There is nothing more to tell. My story
was SO circumstantial people generally
believe It, in spite OF the learned doctors
who hold II to have been merely a case
Of suspended animation. In my mind and
Geraldine's, however, there is no doubt
about II. Besides, does not the learned
Archidechus say-but never mind, II 1t werC
not for this AFFAIR Geraldine says she nigh
rave been years finding out her heart, al
she did when she thought me dead. and
her father never would have consented Il
our marriage as he did.
He is very kind to us now, and we are
very happy, and have only one anxiety
lest my spirit should ever take to wan
dering of again. Geraldine says II II doe
she will marry John Haverford-who fl
still piuing for her-but know that is onl!
a threat to prevent the dissolution Of part
nership. as she confesses In private tina
she would never marry anyone but me
never!
am very fat and we'll now. and hav
burned up the ~parchments OF the learneI
Archidechus, and am training myself t
utterly disbelieve such things. The mem
DRY seems like a faint dream. in the llgh
Of our present happiness, for Geraldin
is the l~oveliest and sweetest OF wives, an
she says l nm the best Of husbands, An
giving her that last word, l lay down tn
pen.