The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1913-05-23
A TERRIBLE
SUSPENSE
By EDWARD 1. BIssELL

How persons whose Qaily AN0hhA sS<Ah-
| ries with it the safety of the lives Of
other persons ever became accustomed
Il 10 ii 1 don't know. ! have been one
OF them, and couldn't do it, though
confess I had an experience that TOOK
away all my confidence. Those I re-
! fer to are engineers pilots and the
4 ike. Twas druggist. l was obliged
4 to put up prescriptions all day and of
ten at night. Most OF them were harnl-
4 less. but In some were ingredients cal
culated if given IN large enough doses
to kin. We had a system about the
/ poisons, but defy any system ever:
invented to work every time Sooner
or later something will go wrong
| with it
j was putting up a poison one day
for yermin killing purposes. had an
engagement to meet my wife at rail-
/ yay station at certain hour to go 70,
the country with our little boy, who
was i'll and who we feared was slowly
/ diving. It is such situations as this
that viii break through systems and
cause accidents. I had just so many
minutes to reach my train and put up
two prescriptions, the one poison,
1 the other harmless. My mind was pre-
occupied. If / should not reach the
| station in time my wife with our sick
| child would be I'm great distress.
| was thinking of her while was doing
INV work and delivering the packages
ITO the two different persons, who We're
waiting for them. This done, seized
1 my hat and ran for the station.
barely reached 1t in time, and, hav-
ing nut my family aboard the train.
| sat down beside them, mopped my
brow and my mind settled back to
what 1 had been doing before left
the store. A horrible suspicion came
TO me. L doubted If / had not given
| the poison to the wrong person. An
other suspicion followed on the heels
of the first. Had not neglected to
paste the label marked 'sPoison" on
/ the bottle?
NY first impulse was to jump OF the
! train. though it was moving ut rate
of fifty miles an hour. This. of course.
controlled. / must remain for no
one knew how long in suspense.
had intended to stay week with my
wife in the country before leaving her
there. but / now resolved to return
the next day. If the blow was to fall
| upon me 1 preferred that it should
fall while was at my post than
when away. Besides. hoped that
work would help to relieve me of the
burden on my mind.
Not being willing to give my wife an
additional trouble, l refrained from
confiding to her my horrible suspicion.
but told her that we were so busy at
the store that l would be obliged to
go back the next day. This in itself
was a bitter disappointment to her.
and when the time came for my de-
parture my boy was Sc i'll that lost
much of my worry on account of my
! suspected blunder in my worry about
| him.
Several days passed, and heard
nothing Indicating that any one had
taken poison, though I studied the
newspapers regularly, seeking for
what feared to find. Then it occur
red to me that the poison might have
been taken, but the one who had sNwal-
lowed it saved. The blunder might
have been reported ut the store; but,
owing to my distressing situation,
they might for a time withhold the
facts.
A week passed. Ny boy was much
better, and l returned to the city. On
the way while securing a newspaper
as usual my eye fell on heading.
Fatal Mistake of Druggist"
I could read no more covered my
eyes with my hands and groaned.
Thrice tried to muster up courage to
read my fate. but was unable to do so
and at the end of my journey left the
| newspaper in the train. Time enough
to know all that had happened when
go to the store.
When 1 went to the store there was
no evidence of anything having hap
pened. 4 didn't dare ask about the
case OF poisoning / had seen in the
| newspaper, for the druggist might not
have been located. and there was no
use in giving myself away. But
worried all the same.
The two customers to whom had
given the medicine were an old man
and a young woman. The poison was
intended for the man, the ordinary
dose for the young woman. believed
had given her the poison. Her fea-
lures. were firmly fixed on my mind.
though / had never seen her before,
she being not a regular but casual
| customer I did not suppose that she
| was getting the medicine for herself.
for she was the picture OF health.
One morning heard the store door
close, and. looking up. there was this
woman coming straight for me. My
Imagination pictured her with an &C
cunation OF murder In her eye. My
heart stopped beating. stood waiting
for the blow to fall. She stood before
me on the other side OF the counter.
with an EFFORT I controlled myself,
though am sure I was deadly pale.
"Did you sell me some medicine
i .1.,,,A two xuaaI-s a on 9u