The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1906-10-20

ed, and shot through the opening.
saw the hallway before me-; I re-
member observing with vague wonder
that the gas-Iight went out Just as il
caught my eye. And then an awful
flash blinded me, a roar Of 10000 cam
non seemed to split my. sku1l-and thai
was all.
My eyes ope1led. in the Hawkins
draWing-roou--or what remained OF t.
Our family physician was diligently
winding a bandage around my right
ankle. An important-looking youth II
the uniform of an ambulance surgeon
was stitching up a portion of my left
forearm with cheerful nonenalanee.
My brand-neW dress suit, / observed,
had lost all senblance to an article Of
| clothing; they had covered me, as I
lay upon the couch, with torn
portiere.
The apartment was strangely dark.
Here and there stood a lantern. such as
are used by the fire department. In the
dim light saw the figure of police
man standing tiptoe upon satin chair,
plugging with soap the broken gas
pipe which had once supported the
Hawkins chandelier.
The ceiling was all down. The walls
were bare to the lath IN huge patches.
The windows had disappeared, and
| chill autumn night wind swept through
| the room.
| Bric-a-brae there was none, although
here and there, in the mass of plaster
on the floor, cleaned bits of glass and
china which might once have been
| parts Of ornaments. HaWkinsite had
| evidently not been quite as powerful
as its inventor had imagined, but IL
| had certainly contained force enough
to blow about 10000 dollars out OF
Hawkins bank account.
From the street came the hoarse MUIR
muir Of a crowd. twisted my head and
my eyes fell upon two fremen in the
hallway. They were dragging down
a line Of hose from somewhere up
| stairs.
| Across the room sat my wife and
Mrs. Hawkins, disheYeled, but alive
and apparently unharmed. Hawkins
! himself leaned YEARLY back upon a
divan, a huge bandage seWed about his
forehead, one arm in a sling, and q
police sergeant at his side, notebook in
hand.
felt a fendish exultation at the
sight of that official; for one fond mo-
ment I hoped that Hawkins was I'M
der arrest, that ne was IN for a life
| sentence.
| Hes conscious, doctor" said the
/ ambulance surgeon.
/ ..Ah, so he is, said my own medi-
| cal man, as the ladies rushed to my
side. Now, Mr. Griggs, do you feel
any pain in the,
seOh, Griggs.'s cried Hawkins, stag
| gering toward me. Have you come
back to Iife2 Say, Griggs, just think
OF it! Ny workshops blown to smith
Greens! Every single note ! ever mada
has been destroyed! Isn't it aW-,
] In joyful chorus, my wife, Mrs. HaW-
/ kins and / said:
/ Thank Heayen!''
.'But think Of it! MY notes! The
careful record of half az
HERBERT" said considerably
better half. s.That-Wi1l-do!'
| sIt-eh, well, groaned the inventor,
disconsolately, linaping back to the
dlyan and the somewhat astonIshed
sergeant of police. Hawkins must have
had some sort Of influence with the
press. Beyond a bare mention of the
explosion, the matter never found its
way into the newspapers.
After I got around again I tried in
vain to spread the tale broadcast 7
had some notion that the notoriety
might cure Hawkins.
But, after all, / don't know that it
would have done much good. can
not think thar a man whose inventive
genius will survive an explosion OF
HaWkinsite is likely to be greatly Wor-
ried by mere newspaper notoriety.
/ Copyright. 1906, by w. G. Chapman
R1esSad S1aan