The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1906-12-08

$50 80 aoWn town together on the ele-
s'& days in the week.
- ar as that goes, we still do So
anv .-as come over me recently that
ns attempt to dodge the demoniae
t thsenllons Of Hawkins is about as
snahaless and hopeless task as seek
80 y avoid the setting of the sun.
81 Two or three mornings, how
ever had been leaving the house
some 70 or Is minutes ea>lier than
usual. eii<ah
ihefe had lately appeared the old m
canny light in Hawkins, eve. and if
trouble Were impending, it was my fond.
loollsh hope to be. out of its way-until
sueh q time, at least, as the police or
me coroner Should call me up on the
lSlepnone to identify all that was NOR
tai of Hawkins.
ihfee days, then, my strategy had
oeen crowned with success. had
o,aoso hawkins and ridden down
alone, the serene enjoyment Of my pa
PET lnpunctuated by dissertations
upon the praeticabi1ity of eondensing
the clouds for commercial purposes, or
LIZ 1tlilzatlon Of atmospheric nitro
gen IN the manufacture of predigested
breakfast food.
But upon the fourth morning a fuse
pew out under the car before we left
9he station; and as / sat there fussing
ABOUT the delay, in walked Hawkins.
He was beaming and cheerful, but
1ne glitter In his eye had grown more
intense.
"Ah, Griggs," he exclaimed, 'tI've
missed you late1y!"
hope you haven't lost weight over
str,
Wei, no. rye been busy-very
busy
Rush of business?''
Um-ah-yes. Griggs!''
It was coming
Hawkins stared hard at me for mo-
ment; then / gave him another push,
Hawkins, . said, hurriedly, have
you followed this matter of the Pan
ANA canal?''
and he toppled into the canal and
.Walloved about in it's waters until the
ride was over.
Unhappily, my own place of business
is 1ocared farther down upon the same
street with the Blank building, where
Hawkins has-or had-offices. There
was no way Of avoiding i'll was
forced to walk with him
But the suppressed enthusiasm In
Hawkins didn't come out, and I felt
rather more easy. Whatever it was. I
fancied that he had left the material
part OF is at home. and home lay
many blocks up town. I was safe
s'Gnsd-by, smiled when we reached
his entrance
Not much" Hawkins responded.
s'Come in
But. my dear fellow"
you come" commanded the in
ventnr. There's something in here
want you to see"
He led me in and past the line of
elevators. .@
So We were not going up to his Of
fees! We seemed to be heading for
the cigar booth, and for a moment |
2ancied tAat Hawkins had discovered
new brand and was going to treat
bul dC EItOIOu Liz Il. 10 q
door, and opened it and we passed
through.
Then / perceived where we were.
The Blank building people had been
constructing an addition to their i'm
mense stock of offices; we stood in the
freshly completed and wholly unoccu-
pied anneg-
.S,,Fs
ing. his forefngers What do you see,
GIIggs?''
six empty barrels, about three wag-
on-loads OF kindling wood, new tiled
floor, and six brand-new elevators /
replied.
"oh, hang those things. Look
where I'm pointing"
All! somebody's left packing-box
In one of the eleyator-shafts, eh?''
Certainly, more than anything else,
that @as what it resembled.
.At the first glance it appeared to
be nothing more than a crude wooden
case about the size of an elevator car,
standing in enc Of the shafts and con-
trasting unpleasantly with the other
new, shining polished cars.
"Paeking-ugh!" snapped the invent
or. DO yo0 know what that is?"
sYou turned down my first guess /
suggested, humbly.
.Griggs, what appears to you as a
pack!ng-case is nothing more nor less
than the first and only Hawkins Hy-
dro-Varor Lift"
The which"
t.The - Hawkins - Hydro = Vapor
Lift
"Hyd.o-Vapor?s Imurmured. What
ever is that? Steam?"
.Certainlg."
.And lift, / presume, is English for
elevator?"
"Tae words are Synonymous said
Hawkins, coIdly.
.Then why the dickens didn't you
cali It a steam elevator and be done
with it? Wasn't that sufficiently COM
plicated %
.oh. Griggs, you never seem able to
understand! Now, a steam elevator
so ca..ed-is an old proposition.
Hydro-Vapor Lift is entirely new and
sounds dIstinetiVe!'
.Yes. it sounds queer enough, / ad-
mitted.
a1ust examine It," said the Inventor,
soyous,y, leading me to the box.
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