Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1906-10-05

the peer - EdiSon'l had l-'rn SCI "P
beside the newer miracle II mechanics
and Il was working with steady. iahori-
Gus patience. under the guidance OF
skilled hand M-anwhis. the Jennings
tended only by a gnl was
casting forth straw hats as a modern
printing press disgorgcs newspapers
Mr.. Ely had never seen IL run :" i"s''
and lac viewed il with considerable I'M
esslnass. for he knew that something
sensational would happen II II shoniu
clog while going at such a gait. Hut
the eye Of Jennings was sharper tliah
an eagles. and. though he seemed 10
be wholly at his ease, he was always
on the watch for the danger signal
Now. gentlemen" he was SAYING
I'VE will give you all chance To eA-
anime this mechanism To better al
vantage than is possible while II Is
being operated at high speed. MISS
Williams. will you oblige me
Miss Williams Obliged" Despite
her innocent and gIrliSh mien. she was
an expert with the automatic. trained
under the inventors eye for many
months. She knew as well as he dld
that the moment had come when the
machine must he stopped or II would
cut such capers as would set the
crowd bowling. She smiled sweetly
at Mr.. Jennings and turned off the
power The automatic came Ia rest.
Gentle as n lamb" said the invent
or. batting the iron child Of his brain,
as If moved by affection for II, but
really 10 see how hot il was In vari-
Gus places Now. gentlemen. | VIII
remove certain parts 81 that you may
understand how we get these remarka-
Bile results"
Mr.. Ely meanwhile had passed be
hind the machine and stopped beside
the pile of plated straw with which
the automatic was fed. II happened.
then. that he noted the unlighted cigar,
and, kneeing there. lie took out Tie
box of matches which the little peddler
had sold To him. lie was about To
/ llEllI one ol lutIl W liNl MS "ANNhN''N
was stricken by voice, and he listen
ed mOtionlrHS.
1t was squat. dark, oily skinned
man who was speaking Ely had a
glimpse of his face through wheel OF
the machine and recognized him for a
curb broker named Stendhall, in re-
gard to whom he had received a warn
ing that the fellow might try TO work
an unfrcndly game with the stock.
MIR. Jennings" said Stendhall, some
| of us are not satisfied with this eN-
hibtion. We would like to see test
of four hours continuous operation
four hours at least. We" -
But Ely heard no more There was
ringing In his ears, with dizziness
that made him put hand upon the
floor to steady himself. The bare floor
was cold 10 the touch. being made Of
slabs of stone. An idea seemed to leap
from the tips OF Ely's fingers TO his
brain. He east hasty glance over
the pile of straw. No one was observ-
ing him Ten seconds later he arose
with Il lighted cigar between his lips.
The ineNtinguishable match was brisk
ly sizzling IN the straw.
Ely stepped behind Miss Williams,
who had got down from her place at
the machine He had no special inter
est in her, but she was the only wom-
an present. and he felt responsible for
her safety.
"Fire.' yelled somebody, and on the
instant Il beautiful squirt of dame leap
ed straight for the vitals of the auto
matte. There was IL wild rush for the
doors. and Ely observed Stendhall. with
his head down butting his way to
safety and roaring with panic.
Beyond a few scratches aud the rend-
Ing OF garments no harm was done.
The fire burned Itself out ON the stone
floor. and there was nothing for the
tiremen TO do when they arrived. After
1t was all over the inventor. pale with
excitement, laid hand on Ely's shout.
der and stared into his eyes
by George sir said he. You're
the quickest man TO think that ever l
saw. You saved our bacon that time
sure"
How do you know | did III"
We'll" said the inventor, shIverng
and grinning. Il hope I've got as much
faith in Providence as any Christian
needs. but there's limit. sir; there 5
a limit. This was no miracle-no, SIR
Speaking of Miracles rejoined Ely,
you've got forty-eight hours to ac-
complish one We can claim two DAYS
delay on the ground Of damage to our
machine. At the end of that time the
automatic has got to run four hours at
high speed or there's an end Of us"
'l'll do it,! cried the inventor. by
George. I'll do it,
i've heard that before" responded
Ely. Nov, | want to see it,"
1t was after 4 o'clock when Ely ell
tered his private office and sank heavi
~ into his chair His desk was closed
There were some letters upon the leaf
and on top of them Il sheet OF paper
bearing memorandum In pencil.
This was the usual summary of the
situation prepared by Ely's right hant
man, James Mcknight. The total
S90S5, showed the amount which mus
DE raised to meet these obligations.
The statement was usually worse
Tomorrow, as Mcknight had remark
ed. was an easy day" Ely knew
where he could raise $90S5, but wha
he did not know and never had know
ana never expected to know was how
long he could keep on doing it. III,
catastrophe must come some time