The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-02-10

f1here was. too. something Of sober
ness, amounting Mt moments to disc0n-
tented listlessness. not solitary brood
ing, for at such moments he stuck Il
Selwyn, following him about and re
naming rather close TO him. as thong.
the elder mans mere presence was q
comfort, even a protection.
So their relations remained during
the early summer, and everybody sup
posed that Gerald's two weeks vaca-
tion would be spent there at Silverside.
Apparently the boy himself thought SO,
too. for he made some plans ahead,
and Austin sent down a very handS
some new motor boat for him.
Then Mt the last minute a telegram
arrived saying that he had sailed for
Newport on Neergards big yacht. And
for two weeks no word was received
from him at Silverside.
One day in September Selwyn wrote
Gerald, asking him to bring Edgerton
Lawn and come down to Silverside for
the purpose OF witnessing some exper-
iments with the new smokeless explo-
sive, chasoite.
Young Lawn came by the first train
Gerald wired that he would arrive the
following morning.
He did arrive, unusually pallid, al
most haggard, and Selwyn, who met
him at the station and drove him over
from Wyossett, ventured at last to give
the boy a chance.
But Gerald remained utterly unre-
sponsive, stolidly SO, and the other in
stantly relinquished the hope Of any
confidence at that time, shifting the
conversation at once to the object and
reason Of ~Gerald's coming and gayly
expressing his belief that the time was
very near at hand when chasoite
would ngure heavily In the worlds list
Of commercially valuable explosives.
1t was early in August that Selwyn
had come to the conclusion that his
chaosite was likely to prove a CONNER
cial success. And now, in September,
his experiments had advanced 80 far
that he had ventured to invite Austin,
Gerald, Lansing and Edgerton Lawn
Of the Lawn Nitro Powder company to
witness a few tests at his cottage lab
oratory on Storm head, but at the
same time he Informed them with
Characteristic modesty that he was not
yet prepared to guarantee the explo-
sive.
He froze chaosite and boiled it and
baked it and melted it and took all
sorts of hair raising liberties with it.
and after that he ground it to a pow
der, placed few generous pinches in
a small hand grenade and affixed a
primer, the secret composition of which
he alone knew. That was the key to
the secret-the composition of the pri-
mer charge.
Il used to play baseball in college,
he observed, smiling, "and used to be
a pretty good shot with SNOWFALL"
They followed him to the cliffs edge,
always with great respect for the
awful stuff he handled with such ap-
parent carelessness. There was black,
sea soaked rock jutting out above the
waves. Selwyn pointed at it, poised
/ himself and, with the long, overland,
straight throw of trained ball player,
sent the grenade like a bullet at the
rock
! There came a binding flash, a stun
ming, clean cut report-but what the
others took to be vast column of
black smoke was really pillar of dust
all that was left of the rock. And
this slowly fioated, settling like mist
over the waves, leaving nothing where
I the rock had been.
! II think" said Edgerton Lawn, wip-
ing the starting perspiration from his
forehead, that you have made good
/ Captain Selwyn. Dense or bulk, your
chaosite and impact primer seem to dc
the business, and think may say
that the Lawn Nitro Powder company
is ready to do business too. Can you
come to town tomorrow? It's merely
a matter Of figures and signatures now
If you say so. 1t is entirely up to you
But Selwyn only laughed. He looked
at Austin.
81 suppose" said Edgerton Lawn
good naturedly, "that you intend to
make us sit up and beg, or do you
] mean to absorb us?'
But Selwyn said: 81 want more time
on this thing. 1 want to know what II
does to the interior of loaded shells and
in fixed ammunition when it is stored
for year. l want to know whether
it is necessary to use a solvent after
firing it in big guns. As a bursting
charge I'm practically satisfied with
it, but time is required to know how
1t acts on steel in storage or on the
bores of guns when exploded as a pro-
pelling charge. MEANWHILE" turning
to Lawn, I'm tremendously obliged to
you for coming-and for your offer
You see how it is, don't you?
couldn't risk taking money for thing
which might at the end prove dear al
any price"
81 cheerfully accept that risk" in.
sisted young Lawn. II am quite ready
to do all the worrying, Captain Sell
wyn."
But Selw-n merely shook his hen11.
I