The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-10

into conferences and he said that CAPT
Thomas Dutton Of the Umbrla must pe to.
A. once. When Capt, button neaLo wv W.,
story and saw the letter he declared tna'
lfbe Cmbria would not leave the pier uhti
the box had been found or 1t was con
islusively demonstrated that no such poA
was around.
Z. The only clue the detectives had TO th'
box was furnished by the line AT the hea'
of the letter describing 1t a. box WIN iroi
handles "among the trunks Bag&ae'
Master Pryor was called in and he said IL
distinctly recalled such a box being Ter
at the pier on Friday afternoon by t"'
italians.
/. "They said it was for a passenger wht
he soid, "and so II was put rlgn' near lhI
Agangplank with the other luggage o' al'
Corners 1t ought TO be right mere no"
] am sure it hasn't been taken on board
I, BOX FOUND, cLoCKwoRK GOING
II The. box was found with very little diff
.culty. 1t was plain box of pine wood
made after the fashion OF dry goods PACK
ing case, only more carefully put together
In the ends were fastened small! IRON hahdl.,s
Ipx.was close to the first cabin gangplanE
nd surrounded by passengers trunks
II was hauled out to the middle Of the piel
With care and Lesson put his ear TO the
;kpp. He didn't remain in That Posltlot
Tor m6fd than d fraction Of second how
liver, for inside was distinct ticking.
sThe thing is going now!" yelled Leeson
dumping up. Get some rope anu u'oi
IT overheard
y! OVERHEARD WITH IT.
81 While rope was being secured the detec-
,tives dragged the box to the, end OF th ts
bier. The rope was fastened around II
,knd It was carefully lowered into the water
Until it was entirely submerged. not
Until he water covered the top OF the ooA
lid the detectives breathe easily again;
9hey made the rope fast to tne p per ara
Ent a message to the Bureau OF Combustl-
He's, The message brought Supt. George
Murray and two Of his assistants to the pier
ia hurry. Mr., Murray decided to IeaEe
.fhe box In the water half an hour 10 soak;
In was then hauled out and put OH the END
~ the pier
y . FUSE HAD BEEN AFIRE.
" The water had not stopped the clock
Work. II still licked and mad" the de-
,fectiyes nervous. 1t was finally decided
HAT st. would not be safe tu, open the BOZ
While tho pier was crowded with people,
10 the Charles street station was asked 70
isajsl man orer to q ar the pier. When this
hau peen accomplished the top OF the box
was pried of and the mechanism was re-
vealed.' One glimpse su'iiced 10 SHOW M.
Murray that the fuse was not SCI. me
end of II was slightly scorched, which | d
to the belief that it had ignited just as it
was placed in the water and that the water
had extinguishedit
, BOX Carried AwAY-UMBRA SAILS.
The very hasty examination of the box
while IL was on the pier revealed large
quantity of dynamite in the bottom,
forting to the Cunard officials. They
begged that the box be removed and eS-
amined further at some other place, and
patrol wagon took II TO the Charles street
station. Then the Umbria sailed. A. the
station house the dynamite. batteries al
machinery were taken from the box AMI
carted to the Bureau of Combustiblcs, on
East Sixty-seventh street, where complete
examination of them was made by Mr..
MURRAY and his assistants
The box in which the machine was taken
to the pier is of pine, 10 inches long. 80 inches
wide and 80 inches deep. 1t was locked
with hasp and paddock, and bore no marks
of any kind. In the bottom were two boxes
box contained 100 half pound sticks, of
dynamite, and each box bore the label:
-Climax Powder Company, Emporium,
Pa Between the two boxes We're Two
dry batteries marked: Standby Dry Bat
tery-Standard Car bon Company. Cleveland.
eai|I Between the batteries was spark
MECHANISM OF THE INTERNAL MACHINE.
Over this arrangement Of batteries and
dynamite was a horizontal wooden par
tition fastened into the ends of the box by
screws driven in from the inside: Above
II
the kind found hanging in many cigar
stores. The handle carries an alcohol
lamp and by bending the lighter at the
joint circuit is broken and spark lights
the alcohol This cigar lighter was firmly
fastened horizontally above the platform,
and a spring led from the handle to
the platform, which tended to draw the
handle down and break the circuit. But
the handle was hold horizontally against this
tension by catch made of a strip of metal
:, Co. h.. To ], lie
catch away and release the handle of the
cigar lighter was the function Of the clock
work.
The clockwork lay fiat on another small
platform on top of the first platform, 1t
was the brass works Of an ordinary clock.
attached to a cog wheel on which a vertical
pin had been fixed Across one end of
this wheel, where the pin would force it
aside when it reached it. was a small steel
bar projecting from the small platform
and pivoted there.
Attached to this was piece of string
running over stationary bar two inches
avav, to the catch that held the handle
Of the cigar lighter. When the pin of the
wheel forced the first bar aside, the string
would be drawn taut, hauling away the
bit of steel holding the handle oil the lighter.
Freed in this way the spring would pull
the handle back. igni'ing the torch. A
was fixed at the point where the lighter
would ignite it. This fuse ran down
through the platform and connected with
two other fuses one Of which ran into each
box of dynamite A strip of board from
each box of dynamite had been removed
and the fuse run in through the opening.
The wires from the batteries ran around
The dynamite up through hole in the
woodan platform and connected with
the cigar lighter.
30 A PRETTY RISKY MESS IT WAS.
It was estimated that it would take about
forty hours for the sprocketed wheel 10
make a complete circuit At the point
where the pin was when the box was opened
the explosion, if one was ever contem-
plated, was about thirty hours of As the
catch holding the handle Of the lighter
had been released ard the torch apparently
blown out it was supposed that 1t had been
released by hand before the box was sent
to the pier.
The, fuses. according to Mr.. Murray
would take about three seconds to burn
down 10 the dynamite. The fact that the
end Of one was scorched is believed to b,
due to the fact that whoever made the
machine tested the fuse before putting it
in. There Is no evidence to indicate that IL
VIDE ignited after being put in the machine
If it had been it would unC oufteoly Rave
burned to the end although is long "a I q
ends were uno apped there would probably
have been no explosion.
The maker Of the machine was careful
to Use unmarked stuff in his Techar ism.
There are no marks on any of the bits o.
steel and iron. Tl;c only thing that sug-
pests that IL could readily be traced is a