The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1903-07-30
vn.-The HIZ0Id N HIS M0glc Attle.
Copyright, 1900, by Robert Barr.l
(Coptinusd.)

buuueu Ieledoo VI Vic poNci, NAASh
would probably wreck this room and
extinguish both our lives You under
stand that, do you not ?"
Eyes, think do"
"Well, here is something you won t
understand and probably won't believe
when you hear it. There is but one
force in this world and but one particle
of matter There is only one element,
which is the basis Of everything. All
the different shapes and conditions of
things that we see are caused by a mere
variation of that force in conjunction
with numbers of that particle. Am l
getting beyond your depthY'
81 am afraid you are, professor.
"Of course. / know what feeble
brains the average woman is possessed
of. Still, try to keep that in your
mind. Now. listen to this: have dis
covered how to disunite that force and
that particle. l can with touch fling
loose upon this earth giant whose
strength is irresistible and immeasur-
able"
"Then why object to making your
discovery public?'
"In the first place, because there are
still thousand things and more to be
learned along this line Of investigation.
The moment man announces his dis
coveries he is first ridiculed; then,
when the truth of what he affirms is
proved, there rise in all parts of the
world other men who say they knew all
about it ten years ago and will prove it,
too at least, far enough to delude a
gullible world; in the second place, be-
cause l am humane man | hesitate
to spread broadcast a knowledge that
would enable any fool to blow up the
universe Then there is third rea'
son. There is another who, I believe,
has discovered how to make this force
loosen its grip on the particle-that is
Keely of Philadelphia, in the United
States -
"What You don't mean the Keely
motor mani" cried Jennie, laughing.
"That arrant humbug! Why, all the
papers in the world have exposed his
ridiculous pretensions. He has done
nothing but spend other peoples mon
ey."
eyes, the newspapers have ridiculed
him. Human beings have, since the be-
ginning of the world, stoned their
prophets. Nevertheless, he has liberated
a force that no gauge made by man can
measure. He has been boastful, if you
like and has said that with teacupful
of water he would drive steamship
over the ocean. l have been silent
working away with my eye on him,
and he has been working away with his
eye on me, for each knows what the
other is doing. If either of US discovers
how to control this force, then that
mans name will 60 down to posterity
forever. He has not yet been able to do
it neither have l. There is still another
difference between us-he appears to be
able to loosen that force in his own
presence; can only do it at distance
All my experiments lately have been in
the direction of making notifications
with this machine, SO as to liberate the
force within the the compass. say, of
this room; but the problem has baffied
me. The invisible rays which this ma
chine sends out and which will pene-
trate stone, iron, wood or any other
substance must unite at focus, and
l have not been able to bring that focus
nearer me than something over half a
mile
"Last summer / went to an uninbab-
tied part of Switzerland and there con
tinued my experiments. blew up at
will rocks and powders on the noun
tain sides, the distances varying from
a mile to half mile examined the
results of the disintegration, and when
you came in and showed me the gold l
recognized at once that some one had
discovered the secret have been trying
to fathom for the last ten years. |
thought that perhaps you had come
from Keely. am now convinced that
the explosion you speak of in the treas
ury was caused by myself. THE ma
chine, which you 80 recklessly threaten
ed to throw out Of the window, acct
dentally slipped from its support when
was working here some time after
midnight on the nth. placed it i'm
mediately as you see it now, where it
throws its rays into midair and is con-
sequently harmless, but l knew an ex-
plosion must have taken place in Wen
ma somewhere within the radius of half
a mile. l drew the pencil semicircle
that you saw on the map of Vienna,
for in my excitement in placing the
machine upright | had not noticed ex-
actly where it had pointed, but knew
along the line had drawn an explosion
must have occurred and could only
hope that it had not been serious one,
which it seems it was. l waited and
waited, hardly daring to leave my attic,
but hearing no news Of any disaster |
was torn between the anxiety that
would naturally come to any humane
man in my position-who did not wish
to destroy life--and The fear that, II
nothing had occn,.Yd, ! had not ac-
tually made the discovery thought !
had made. You spoke Of my actions be-
iv,a oh ,Iliuh h,zt 7 7