The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-06-26

L
Oh, had / but spent the days of MI
youth in a strenuous gymnasium Had
but been endowed with muscle beyond
the dreams Of Eugene Sandow, and beer
expert IN boxing and wrestling and IL
the breaking of bones, as are the Japan
esel
Then I could have fallen upon Haw-
kins from the rear and tied him into
knots. and even dismembered him il
necessary-and escaped
But things are what they are, and
Hawkins is more than match for me;
so he banged the door angrily and
grasped the lever
Now, observe with great care the
superbly gentle motion with which she
rises" he instructed me-
| prepared for that familiar headgoing-
/ up-and- the-rest-of-you staying below
sensation and gritted my teeth
Hawkins pulled at the lever The
Hydro-Vapor Lift quivered for an in
slant Then it assembled the shaft-and
j very gently and pleasantly.
There! l suppose you've tremb1ed
until your collar-buttons have worked
loose?" Hawkins said conternptuously,
turning on me.
Not quite that" | rnurnured
We'll, you may as we'll stop. In a
| moment or two we shall have reached
! the top floor; and there, if you like, you
can get out and climb down sixteen
flight OF stairs
Thank YOU" l said sincerely
This, of course, is only the slow
speed" Hawkins continued I'VE can
increase it with the merest touch.
Wait I like it better slowl" I pro-
tested
"oh, III slacken down again in
moment"
Hawkins gave a mighty push to the
controlling apparatus. a charge of dy..
Mantle seemed to have been exploded
beneath the Hydro-Vapor Lift
Up we shot I watched the freshly
painted numbers between floors as they
whizzed by us with shuddering appre-
hens1on: o-Io-II-I2-
Were going too fast!' l cried
Hawkins, | think, was about to laugh
derisively. His head had turned to me,
and his lips had curled slightly-when
the HydroVapor Lift stopped with such
tremendous suddenness that we almost
flew up against the roof of the car.
That was the law of inertia at work.
Then we descended to the floor with a
crash that seemed calculated to loosen
ii. That was the law of gravitation.
presume that Hawkins figured with
out them.
l was the first to sit up. For time
my head revolved too rapidly for any
thing like coherent perception. Then,
as the stars began to fade away, | saw
that we were stuck fast between floors
and before my eyes-large and proni-
nent in the newness of its paint-loom-
ed up the number IS.
1t looked ominous.
'We-We seem to have stopped" I
said.
Yes" snapped Hawkins.
What was it? Do you suppose any
thing was sticking out into the shaft
Has-can it be possible that there is
anything like a mechanical error in your
Hydro-Vapor Lift"
No! It's that TOOL of an engineer"
What" | exclaimed. DO you
blame him."
Certainly"
But how was it his fault?"
"Oh-you see-bah I" SAID the inven-
tor, turning rather red You wouldn't !
understand If l were to explain the
whole thing, Griggs."
But / should like tc know Hawkins"
why ??
Il want to write a little account of /
the why and the wherefore. so that they
can find it in case-anything happens /
to us
Hawkins turned away lofti1y.
Well have to get out of this" he
said.
He pulled at his lever with a conf
dent smile The Hvdro-Vapor Lift did
not bulge the fraction of an inch
Then he pushed it back-and forward |
again And still the memorable Is stood |
before us.
"Confound that = er = engineer"
growled the inventor.
Just then the Hydro-Vapor Lift in
dulged in a series of convulsive shud
ders 1t was too much for my nerves.
l felt certain that in another second we
were to drop. and | shouted Justify:
Help Help! Helpr
Shut up!" cried Hawkins. do you
want TO get the workmen here and have
them see that something's wrong?"
I affirmed that intention with imprint
able force
We'll I don't!" said the inventor.
why. Griggs I'm figuring on equip
ping this building with my lift in
couple of MONTHS"
"Are-are they going to allow that"
gasped.
why, nothing's settled as yet but it
S understood that if this experimental
model proves a success
But my cry had summoned aid Above
~O~O.O~OeO~O~O~O~O~O~O~O-'O"