Evening journal., 1910-04-22
AN EXPERIMENT.
BY N. QUAD.

er and ambitious. Then one day he
attended a circus and was kicked by
a giraffe. The circus men gave him
dollar as damages and sent him home.
A doctor examined him and said no
great harm had been done, but Silas
took it into his head that he had re-
ceived severe internal injuries and /
that any further labor would take him
TO his grave
One afternoon when Slas had wan
dered down to the bridge over the
river. for the first time In four years. |
some hilarious young men seized him
and threw him over the railing. He
did not resist. It would have been too /
much like work II was expected, of
course. that soon after striking the
water the lazy man would set his legs
and arms in motion and help himself
ashore. He did nothing OF the sort.
He simply permitted himself to sink
slowly and easily TO the bottom. and
he lay there until those who had flung
him IN helped him out.
Again. one winters evening Silas
was seized at his own gate and car
ried mile away and flung into a
snowdrift and told TO lie there and
freeze or make his way homeward
There was some slight doubt as to
which course he would adopt. but It
was soon settled. He snuggled down
IN drift, and there he was found Eve
hours later by the conscience stricken
men who had left him. He had been
frost bitten, but he had saved his rep.
utation.
A dry goods drummer visiting the
village heard Of the case and recon-
mended a cure and offered to admins
ter Il himself At midnight figure
with horns and hoofs and tail. sup.
posed 10 be a good imitation of our old
friend down below. opened the unlock
ed door Of the White cottage. and Si-
las and his wife were awakened to
find the intruder in their bedroom.
Mrs. White screamed our IN terror.
Silas took long look and asked what
was wanted.
Il want your was the answer in an
awful voice.
'What furg"
Il want you TO come with me TO the
bOttomless pitr
"Then you1l have TO carry me-" re-
d piled the champion as he turned over
toward the wall.
II was now realized that nothing
p could be done with such a man, and
for years Silas was left TO enjoy his
laziness in peace. 1t was the general
opinion that he would be too lazy IA
draw his last breath when the time
came and that his uncomplaining wife
N would have to do It for him. Their,
y was to come change however. Ont
n day after the wife had placed a chai
4. for him under an apple tree and lef
I him 20 smoke and sleep she noticed
II thunderstorm creeping up In the wesi
lr II was her duty 20 watch things an
bring Silas in before the storm broke
but she suddenly decided TO make al
y experiment. She would leave hin
/, where he was and see II he woul'
seek shelter rather than get wet.
! wasn't a bit like her to do this. an,
she never could make out why the
n thought came TO her that day.
o The black cloud grew larger, ana the
d thunder muttered and the Lightning
o flashed Slas heard things and woz,
up. He saw the coming storm. and h,
: saw his wife In the back door. H'
waited for her. but she did not come
Lightning did. however. There were
a.. twenty barns and houses and tree.
around for it TO strike. but It ignored
all OF them and struck Silas White. II
seemed to scatter him over half al
acre OF ground. Il tore or his clothe,
' and pulled Off his boots. Ii burned OF
his whiskers and beached his eye
brows. He was gathered up as a maj
dead as a doornail but at the end oi
two hours he suddenly sat up. Slla
= was a little bewildered, but still in tn
ring.
There were half a dozen men In tn
house when the champion came to him
self They were expecting TO hear hin
drawlingly ask what had happene,
= when he jumped of the bed and begal
driving them out. In five minute
he had cleared the house Of mourners
- Then, in spite Of the fearful protest
Of his wife. he seized the AK and Gu
more firewood than he had in ST,
years before. When he dropped tn
: ak at last it was to pick up hamme
] and nails end begin patching up th
! hog holes IL the fence Before nigh
he had weeded the garden and put
new hinge on the gate.
| People came to ask Silas how he fe,
when struck by the thunderbolt, an
he answered at the top Of his voic
and rolled out the words so fast tina
: he could hardly be understood. II
couldn't bear to be still a minute.
That thunderbolt had changed Slla
: White from a champion lazy man I
a champion hustler. He uprooted trees
pulled down fences and dug holes
the garden. Inside a week he had fou
=. fights about politics and called ever
4 man in the village liar. They couldn
stop him from working and talking
= lie got to pulling down the shade tree
A along the street and to making speeche
on the postoffice steps, and after
fortnight, as there was nothing mol
he could hustle for and nothing mol
he could talk about, he committed su
eide by hanging. At the inquest Il
coroner said:
|. "I don't reckon we are goin' to blan
the Widder White any IN this case. b
Ftso 4bo coIap,uacf bind of a x.-nrnfnt