The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1908-09-04
|IheHonor of
Nurse Joyce



cret which he believed she knew; but
Love had beaten it once more.
ooh, we take precautions" said
Dmitri. Let me tell you what they
are. as feel certain they will interest
you. They are rather ingenious and
uncommon, fancy. Do you see this?"
he asked, moving forward to the steel
door and pointing to the wire cage.
YES" said Christabel, rather more
keenly.
/ He touched a spring and the cage
swung open. disclosing globe of
glass filled with some family blush
fluid.
"This is the most deadly poison in
the world" said Dmitri. taking the
globe from the cage with his hand
You will notice the glass is thin" he
continued, land could be easily brok-
en-. 1t is intended that the glass
should be easily broken. When the
fluid contained within the glass is ex-
posed to the air changes immediate.
ly into gas, a Whit of which is SUI
ficient to destroy life."
| Christabel looked at the globe,
fascinated and somewhat afraid of it.
TT is a deadly thing" she said.
t'Won't you put it back, M. Anato-
witch? It's not toy to play WITH"
she aided, as he turned the globe in
his hand and held it up to the light
mo, it is not thing to play with"
he said, slowly. in a queer tone, and
returned the globe to it's cage, which
he caused to revolve and close by
touching another spring.
81 suppose one of these globes has
never been broken?" asked Christa-
! bel, with slight shudder.
Zone globe was, and here" he re-
piled. at was during my absence
from Sulja. The culprit was a chief
clerk, man in whom reposed good
deal of confidence. Somehow he got
into this passage, and later was found
lying dead on the floor by myself on
my return. People wondered what
had become of him." said Dmitri, with
lift of his eyebrows. "Pouf! He
was here dead"
"But how was it that the globe
came to break?" inquired Christabel.
Il, was coming to that" said Dmitri.
1T really is very interesting. Perhaps
you observed that after turning on
the lights from the switchboard in
my room 1 opened a small safe in
which there is machine 1t is
wonderful machine. Come and look at
it, and I'll tell you what 1t can do"
Dmitri walked out of the concrete
passage, followed by Christabel.
Carefully he closed the door after her.
The tiny safe still stood open.
THE machine is actuated by elec-
tricity," said Dmitri, and the smile on
his face was curiously bland as he
looked on tit was just as if he were
fond of it. you can see few of it's
working parts, but most of them are
concealed. Note this lever" he went
on, touching it with what might have
been a caress. Il am going to adjust
it so that if any one should put his
hand On the steel door of my labora-
tory it would mean instant death to
him.
How can that be-"
I'm this way" replied Dmitri, and
he gave the lever a slight pull. This
movement which you have seen me
make at this moment has caused the
steel door to be charged with power
full current Of electricity Should
human being come in contact with it
when in this state the cage which
holds the glass globe will contract and
shatter the glass, the fluid turns to
gas, and breath of it is fatal. But
that is not all, for the same electrical
impulse or energy has been skilfully
used to open a sortSof trap-door in the
ceiling of the passage; the poisonous
gas thus escapes into the atmosphere,
but not until 1t has done its work.
How horrible!" exclaimed Christa.
bel, growing little pale.
"The machine can do more than
that by moving the same lever" said
Dmitri, not needing her ejaculation.
1T is not necessary for the steel door
to be, touched now" he continued.
shifting the lever, "to crush the globe.
If l were to move the lever one-six-
teenth of one of your English inches
the globe would burst, and any one in
the passage would Immediately die,
while the gas would escape as before.
1t is all done by an arrangement Of
electric wires. 1t really is very simple
when you know how it is done"
It's rather an internal machine,
isn't it," asked Christabel.
well, you might call it that, sup.
pose, If you liked" replied Dmitri
yet it is beautiful thing in its
way"
ITS fascinating in a terrible sort Of
way" said Christabel, looking at
Dmitri's fingers resting on the lever.
"But of course, you can adjust the
lever so that the globe will not break
and nothing will happen even IL there
is some one in the passage It must
be SO. otherwise should not be alive
now"
THAT is true" said Dmftri. "Other.
wise, as You remark, you would not be
alive now" And he smiled strange
smile.
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