The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1913-03-06

and assist those less fortunate then
themselves. Professor Desmond an,
swered him.
what you have said IL undoubtedly
true, yet at the same time there may
be serious riots as the result Of
happening like this. Gangs OF vandals
are apt to form after great panics
while the people are still dazed, and
taking advantage Of conditions commit
All sorts OF depredations-as for In.
stance In times of armed attacks upon
cities or after great fires or foods
Therefore at such times 1t is man's
first duty to look out for those nearest
and dearest to him. We have quite .
number Of women here. wives. daugh-
ters and perhaps . sweetheart or two.
and most OF us should remain with
them until we know that 1t 10 safe to
leave them alone. Let me count.
find that there are sixteen ladies and
fourteen gentlemen present. or tho
latter l should imagine that half might
be spared for scouting party while
the rest remained here for the time
being as an emergency guard. As soon
as the scouts report that 1t Is safe fot
the ladies to go upon the streets wa
can send for carriages, cars or We
hIcles Of some sort and escort them
to their homes. Meanwhile ! beg OF
you to restrain your natural anxiety
for brief half hour for the benefit
of all concerned. We will now cast
the ballot to determine who shall 60
forth and who shall stay" Quickl!
the selection was made and the seven
chosen ones departed In several differ
ent, directions with assurances that
they would hasten back as soon as
they had observed conditions abroad
In the respective portions Of the town
to which they had assigned them,
selves. Blind chance decreed that
Alan, Clay and Professor Desmond
should remain. Judge Fulton as mas
ter Of the house remained with them,
They gathered themselves into q
close group. "Your theory now, pro
fessor?" they asked as their fellows
disappeared. Desmond. tall and gaunt.
rugged without uncouthness. passed
his hand slowly over forehead lined
by long years of study and thought.
my friends" he began hesitatingly.
I'VE have not only witnessed but are
living to tell Of a miracle so astonish1
ing that human history contains moth
ing which even approaches it. You
will understand perfectly that any at"
tempted explanation upon my part will
be but my individual theory. and that
1t may be entirely disproved in tho
light of subsequent developments,
That being borne in mind, think up
on your part you will readily concede
| that while my prophecy as to our de-
struction went astray, yet our escape
was by hairs breadth Of few score
miles. And while l did not calculate
with entire accuracy, die calculate
even closer than you could have
wished"
"And our being mlssed-how can
that be accounted for II the earth was
the object of attack? How can the at
tracted object miss the magnet and
pass on as this body seems to have
done?"
1T cannot. And that is the very
thing that proves to US that the earth
was not the magnet in this case. and
1t was the error on my part which
tends to explain the miss. The body
which passed US was and undoubtedly
at this moment is bound for some 9TH
er ccict IN space many million miles
Beyond US, perhaps for some vast
body or group of bodies OF which wa
! have no knowledge, perhaps for one OF
the huge suns we can see. Or, again,
possibly like some Of the comets IL
has an orbit Of well nigh incalcul1
able extent, and like ii comet passes a
certain point every SO many years. In
any event it took small notice Of US
no more In fact than had we been q
soap bubble. We merely happened to
be in its path"
'But why did not the earth divert
this much smaller body to Itself when
they were In such close contact"
"That may be accounted for by as.
Stunning that because Of the entirely
different natures Of their compositions
they did not happen to attract each
other, as for example glass ignores the
lodestone while iron does not. And
because Of the terrific speed of the
traveller it shot through our sphere OF
influence by sheer momentum, as an
iron ball may be thrown or shot past
a magnet which would divert and re-.
tain 1t had not its momentum carried
1t by. Some comets which pass very
close in their circuit around the sun
are only kept from falling into 1t BY
| their awful momentum, the speed Of
some Of them at that period Of their
flight being over million miles an
hour. These are the possible solutions
which occur to me at this time. How
ever, ! am free to admit that my rear
soning faculties have been consider,
ably disturbed, and tomorrow I may
entirely reverse my opinion Of to,
night"
did 1t touch US at ailf'
ITO be continueG)