The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-02-18
THE BROKEN CIRCUIT.


phenomena Of hypnosis. mental telepa thy
and Suggestion. Parker and Brevoort
drifted apart from the scoffers and COM
neneed 10 knit from the tangled mate
rails OF their dreams. their speculauons
and their oddly different temperaments.
that queer but unslteraoie friendship
which endured without a break till poor
Parker died. They became as brothers.
| forever delving into the occult ramiaca-
tons of science, silent, iIlseparable. and
mutually self-sacrificing.
| Brevoert's room was the front hale OF
an old loft on the fourth floor OF q store
| building just beyond the university set
Element, and Parker lived in a sort Of
sentry-box in the tower Of 2 fiat building
about mile south In a direct line from
j Brevoort's place. Parker was studying
| law and his friend was in the junior
/ medical class, but neither OF them cared
I for rank or standing. preferring to pur
sue knowledge along those devious. scat
F. tering trails that first lure the undisci-
plined minds OF all imaginative students.
! Parker who had a knack OF modelling IN
clay, set up sort Of studio in one cor
| ner Of BrevOorts barn-like room. and
there the two friends spent most OF their
| indoor leisure studying. smoking, chat
( ting, experimenting. Brevoort IN time
/ came to be a more dexterous sculptor
than his friend. and his room became
I pOpulous with scores of more or less ar
tistic and accurate plaster casts.
The Lord knows just how they started
! or how far they got into their prob
! ings or the mysteries of mental radia-
lions. They were in the habit Of walking
together for hours along the lake shore
CT in the park in silent conversation, so to
speak, each with his keen mind fixed up
I on the other. each bent upon projecting
without words such simple messages as
! might reach the other S fallow conscious
ness Then they discovered, or thought
/ SO, that these soundless waves Of thought
always seemed to travel best when ex-
/ changed while they faced each other
I with back to north or south. That sug-
I gested the idea of new experiments. and
very soon Parker in his little dOrmer tow
! er facing the north and Brevoort in the
south window of his rOOkery were radiat-
! ing short messages that had no meaning
! beyond the undeniable proof of al their
previous surmises. Professor Hardaway
| became interested, and for a while they
| took him into their confidence and show
ed TO his satisfaction that by standing
/ in the described places at the same mo-
nent and fixing their faculties upon each
other they could transmit short state
ments. questions and even Ineligible an
swers.
But when the goods got wind of these
weird doings they began to worry the
| friends. Brevoort was proof against the
young women, but Parker. who was
| tendor-hearted, impressionable fellow, fell
] in love with Kate Caldwell, and made her
I a sort Of side partner in their psychical
researches. The odd part of this was
! that her introduction into the affairs Of
! the two students made no breach in
/ their relations, and when poor Parker
/ fell sick with pneumonia Kate go. a
room in his boarding house so that she
! could nurse him. Indeed, she had him
moved from his draughty eyrie in the
! tower. placed him in her own cozy bed
! and herself took possession of the sentry
box. Then she established a code of
| signals, and at fixed intervals, while
Brevoort was expecting them, success
! fully sent him such messages as better
| or worse" or come
Brevoort would relieve Kate every night
and sit up with his falling friend, and
| between them they watched so assidu
ously. lost so much sleep and fretted so
much that at last they were Obliged to
! give up all their university work and
stand together, q foriorn hope, against
! the advancing, merciless intruder. Par
! ker was quite conscious for a few days
before he died and to Brevoort, bending
over him, he reiterated his simple wishes.
| lie wanted to be cremated ne had no
/ near relatives. so Kate might have some
| and Breevort the rest of his dust. She
was to have his books and the furnish
! ings of his little room, and Brevoort was
/ to keep the utensils and equipments OF
/ the studio
You're pretty good modeler now"
/ whispered Parker, smiling CHASTITY. Try
/ your hand on bust of me, take a death
mask, will your
! He died that night with Brevoort and
Kate holding his thin hands. His class
mates carried his coffin to the furnace,
! and in the DAYS thereafter when they had
reverendy divided his ashes they tried 10
make u fair division Of poor Parkers
mighty share of love and loyalty for them
! both. But it was nearly week after his
going that they set apart for each day
a time when they might resume their ex-
J periments. The death-mask was done.
1t stood ghostIy in Brevoort's closet, and
beneath it in tiny wooden box the hand
full of ashes of their friend. Kate had
! taken possession of the little sentry box,
and upon its narrow mantel shelf IN a
little silver jewel box lay the relics Of
her lost lover.
The morning of the first day after their
renewed efforts TO exchange messages
they met on the campus.
Did you ever get my message?" she
asked, frowning petulantly.
NO" he answered, looking furtively
over his upturned collar; what was
it?'
I asked you to come over" her lip
was trembling; queer we never failed
before"
yes. 1t Is queer" Then, after an awk-
ward pause, 4 say, Kate. did you notice
anything while you were sending that
message? l mean did anything odd hap
penn
Moo. That is not then. had that
little box of his ashes in my hand when
T said come over ! don't know where
I laid it afterward, but I can't ind il"
They We're silent for a moment. but
before they parted ne laid a nervous hand
on her sleeve and said
Wen try II again tonight at S. This
time III send the message
.AH right" she whispered, without
looking at him. and darling into the
hall.
But when they net again next morning
and he asked her hesitatingly. Did you
get my message. Kate?' she looked up
frightened 70 hear him call her Kate.
and then quickly answered. no. Mr.
Brevoort.
Did ANYTHING odd happen while you
We're sending your message?' she asked.
letting her eyes stray apprehensively over
Yes. Miss caldwell" and he laughed
pitifuliy with a note of tired mockery fl
his face. Yes. a very annoying thing
happened. Just as ! had spoken the mes
sage there was a crash in my closet,
and when 7 looked II the plaster mask
Of Parker was in bits on the floor 7
think 1 can remember him well enough 20
make another from memory. but the
ashes too. were scattered hy The fan.
~ the way, did you hnd your little sll-
yer box
No. sire -nurmure3 6istrait ana biz
Ing her red 3lns for a minute before she
asked. what was Your message