Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1907-10-17

fused with smiles, he came forward
and bowed low his appreciation Of the
generous applause.
His elocutionary efforts. entitled
Asleep at the Switch" and Casey at
the Bat" were masterpieces. and COM
pleted the subjugation. Mr.. Kelly
therefore, perceiving that his audience
was In generous and receptive mood.
resolved to delay his coup" no
longer.
As the last plaudit following bis re-
cital Of Casey's downfall died away
and a sea OF eager faces regarded him
expectantly Mr.. Kelly cleared his
throat and began: Ladies' and gen.
tlemen, with your kind attention I
shall next perform some very remark
able and wonderful feats in that realm
OF romance and mystery known as
mind reading. Now mind reading.
contrary to the general belief. IA not
simple matter when the operator has
only one subject. You can readily see.
therefore. that 1 am attempting an al
most impossible feat when / include
in my experiment this whole vast au-
dience. 1 shall, therefore, ask you to
grant me your most careful attention.
Il shall first attempt 70 decipher the
numbers OF one or more bank notes,
carefully examined by any two per-
sons in the audience, sealed in an en-
velope and deposited upon this table,
whereon 1 shall place my hand during
the experiment.
Now, lest any doubt exist as to the
genuineness OF this achievement, and
to disprove the idea Of deceit before
hand. 1 shall ask any gentleman who
happens to be the possessor Of suaA
Valuables as bank notes to volunteer
their use for few moments"
At this Silas Matthews pompousIy
arose. "Ah. our genial and kindly land
lord" said Mr.. Kelly. affably. How
many, Mr.. Matthews?"
Five" responded Silas, with an
air Of Importance.
That makes the experiment very
difficult, very difficult, indeed" said
Mr.. Kelly. with an air of doubt. How
ever, 1 shall attempt It. 1 shall go
even farther. If Mr.. Matthews will
loan US his watch for the occasion I
will gladly try to discover it's number
at the same time. VIII the commit
tee please take the notes and watch,
seal them in separate envelopes and
place them on the table beside me-"
With difficulty Silas repressed a
chuckle of mirth as the committee did
as Mr. Kelly had requested. How he
and Mr.. Kelly would laugh at these
dupes when they divided the rich.
juicy bag of booty after the entertain
ment was over.
When all preparations had been
completed our friend again advanced
to the center Of the stage and, amidst
a chorus of admiring murmurs said
modestly: Now, ladies and gentle
men, since this task requires absolute
concentration of mind, not alone on
my part but on yours as WELL / shall
ask each Of you to preserve an alb
solute silence for ten minutes and to
focus your minds on these two sealed
envelopes. In addition, since light is
a disturber of the-er-actinic rays of
thought, 1 shall request that the lamps
be extinguished and for that space of
time you neither move nor speak In
exactly ten minutes"-here Mr.. Kelly
consulted his watch-"I shall give a
signal for the lamps to be relighted
and will enumsrate the numbers OF
the watch and bank notes correctly"
AS Mr.. Kelly finished the sound Of
distant whistle broke In upon the
awed silence. Then rapidly, one by
one. the lamps were extinguished. For
moment there came to the ears OF
the tensely nerved throng the faint
sound Of footsteps as the demonstrator
took his place beside the little table,
then absolute silence reigned.
Three minutes passed. four. ave.
Still not a word. Six, seven, eight
The faint whistle of 9 departing train
came family to the ears OF these zeal
Gus disciples of mind reading.
Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. thirteen.
Suddenly some one giggled and the
spell was broken. Holy smoked"
shouted a man In the back OF the hall.
Wake me up for breakfast"
Everyone laughed at this except
Silas. who. with a sudden premonition
OF evil, was stumbling about in cran-
TIC euuedVOr 10 ma y lamp. AT last
he succeeded and, in its first Hash.
looked expectantly toward the stage
for Mr.. Kelly. But Mr.. Kelly was
gone. So were the bank notes. the
watch and the receipts for the even
ing. An open window at the back OF
the stage showed how the bird had
flown.
Mr.. Kelly sat in the luxurious parlor
car of train fast speeding eastward
and, witk studied deEberation, lit q
huge black cigar. Mind reading Is
certainly q wonderful thing" he
unused. as he consulted q handsome
old-fashioned gold watch. Il must
really make more careful study Of
its possibilities"