The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1911-01-23
THE CHAIR!
zee :; y 8 3 $1,000

~ eo>11i$><f&.1i<t1i$SH!H.>t31
Braddock nad read somewhere. he
remembered vaguely. OF an English
/ man who was led out to be hanged
three successive times. on each OF
which the trap Of the gallows re ,lseo
to work. Finally he WIS taken back
to his cell and Spard oned. i 81 +
HIS own hope was less desperate
For months, ever since he had hearG
sentence Of death BY electrocutlon pro
noanced upon him Ia court, he ;hae
managed to secret on his person tn,
small oval, rubberllke substance
which. so the inventor claimed, con
yeyed absolute Immunity from. dealt
from electricity. According to til.
man who had sold It to him. before th,
trial, all that was needed was to kee:
1t pressed firmly between the teeth
No circuit could then be formed b.
the deadly current, no matter OF .wha
voltage. 4. 3;.g Z, Z
Braddock laughed grimly. II h,
should close his. lips. who would imag
Inc that he held the executioner at ba.
by the possession Of this small tails
man At least a man In the electr!,
chair could not be asked to open hi
mouth, as though he were at den
lists. And after repeated tests ha,
been made, no doubt pity and horro.
would be awakened and his sentencl
would be committed. ,4F,. ,s
But It was essential, the inyento
had said. that he keep his teet.
tightly clinched. III:
All these remembrance had flashe.
through his mind when they led hir
out to execution. Early that mornfn,
the keepers had come to him: the
had asked him whether he desired j,
chaplain, whom he had steadfastly r.
fused to see. He had refused again
he could not pray under the circun
stances. Then he slipped the thin
into his mouth when their backs wer
turned and remained, thenceforwart
silent. 81 ~ q
1t was but few yards to the ex.
cution chamber. Braddock wake
hrmlW though his heart beat despel
ately fast and the breath came wit
hiss through his lips They entere.
the little room and he took his sea
calmly, as indicated, facing some do:
en- newspaper men and a few othe
privileged persons who had receive
invitations to witness fellow beln.
put to death. Somebody asked hi1
II he wanted to speak, and he shoe!
his head. Then over his head, a mas
was adjusted. Braddock had not coun
ed on this. So much the better; tn
movements Of his mouth could not b.
seen. He felt the talisman betwee,
his teeth and clinched them. Their
came moment OF GREATNESS waiting
And suddenly he heard, dlmly9 an.
very far through the darkness, til,
tense breathing OF the witnesses ant
the low murmurs Of the chaplain. HI
trousers leg was slit and the electrou,
applied, damp from salt water. The,
the other was placed on his shave,
| scalp, and then n.
Nothing. But there seemed to b.
one Simultaneous groan through tn.
death chamber. He. guessed the exc
cutioner had turned on the lever an.
the expected had not occurred. H,
bit more tightly into the contriyanc,
between his teeth. In Imagination h,
felt the deadly voltage leap through
his body. only to be stopped and kille,
by this little oval lump. no bigger thai
a mans. thumb. and Of much the SAD;
shape and consistency And all aba,l
him he could hear murmurs and whis
pers. Il e
y There was pause. He knew tina,
the electrician was examining ant
adjusting his implements. The cleo
trodes were removed from his leg an,
scalp. Presently he felt them re
placed. And suddenly a voice shout
ed to the electrician to turn the lev.
er. It was the voice OF the governor
and he shouted furlously. Then
Nothing. How Braddock bit into
the talisman! He feared for the mo
ment that he had almost severed II
Then he felt 1t slowly spring back into
its former consistency again. Ant
there was no shock, no pain.
Somebody screamed and In an In
slant the witnesses had leaped from
| their places and surrounded the death
chair. Braddock felt the mask tor,
violently from his head. HorrifleG
by. what had occurred, it seemed the,
the witnesses we're struggling with the
execu.ioners to stop the proceedings:
And suddenly Braddock felt his Jaws
thrust open. There was an exultan,
cry. HIS secret was discovered. +
He clinched his teeth and struck out
wildly. Something went tinkllng up up:
on the ground. Then Tfataf5
!s"That's the; last time III ever give
you laughing gas, remarked the den.
. ffCt I, .rlfH