The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-05-25
CHAPTER w.
Darkness and Panic.

Probably the only men in the whole
Of New York who accepted promptly
and unquestionably the fact that the
entire electrical apparatus of the city
was paralyzed were those in the news
paper Offices These capable citizens,
accustomed 70 quick adaptations to new
environments and to wide reaches OF
the imagination, made two or three
experiments, and accepted the inerita-
bic.
Within ten minutes the Despatch had
messenger boys on tap instead of bells,
bicycles instead of telephones, and a
variety of lamps and candles in place
OF electricity. Everybody else in town
was specializing why in blazes this Wis
itation had struck them. The Des-
patch was out after news.
MarSden, city editor. detailed three
men TO dig up expert opinion on why
it had all happened.
And II the scientific men haven't
any other notions, ask EN- IL it's any
thing to do with the earth passing
through the tail of thI comet" he told
them.
The rest of the staff he turned out
for stories OF the effects. His i'm
agination was struck by the contem-
plation OF a modern civilized city de-
prived OF its nerve system.
Hunt up the little stuff" said he,
the big stuff will hunt you up-if
YOU scatter.
After covering the usual police sta
ton. theater and hotel assignments. he
sent Hallowell to the bridge: Longman
to the Grand Central; Kennedy, War
rem and Thomas to the tubes, subways
and ferries. The others he told to 60
out on the streets.
They saw a city OF four million
people stopped short on its way home
to dinner! They saw a city. miles
in extent. set back without preparation
to communication by messenger
only! They saw a city. unprepared,
blinking its way by the inadequate
Examinations of a half-century gone
by!
Hallowell found a packed mass of
humanity at the bridge. Where Or
dinarily is a crush, even with inces-
SAINT outgoing trains sucking away at
the surplus, now was a panic-a panic
the more terrible in that it was solid,
sullen. inert, motionless. Women faint
ed, and stood unconscious, erect. Men
sank slowly from sight. agonized, their
faces contorted, but unheard in, the full
roar of the crowd, and were seen no
more. Around the edges people fought
frantically to get out; and others, with
the blind, unreasoning, home instinct,
fought as hard to get in.
The pnttre upaN-a,t;rn Tbay
could not penetrate TO break the cen
ter Across the bridge streamed a
procession of bruised and battered hui
mainly. escaped from or cast forth by
the malestrom. The daylight was fad
ing. and within the sheds men could
not see one another's faces.
Longman at the Grand Central OBJ
served a large and curious crowd that
filled the building and packed the
streets round about. They waited for
their trains. and the twilight gathered.
For ten minutes trains continued to
enter the shed. This puzzled Long
man until he remembered that gravity
would bring in those this side of
Harlem. None went out. The wait
ing throng was a hotbed for rumors.
Longman collected much human-inter-
est stuff, and was quite well satisfied
with his story-until he saw what it
had meant elsewhere.
For in the subways and tubes the |
stoppage of the trains had automati- |
cally discontinued the suction ventila-
ton. The underground thousands, in |
mortal terror of the non-existent third |
rail danger, CROPPED their way painfully |
to the stations. With inc9nceivable |
swiftness the mephitic vapors gathered. !
Strong men staggered fainting into the
streets. When revived they told dread
ful tales of stumbling over windows
Of bodies there below. "
Through the gathering twilight of
the streets, dusky and shadowy, fit
ted bat-like the criminals of the I'M
ierworld What they saw, that they
.ook. Growing holder. they progress
ID from pocket-picking to holdups,
from holdsups to footing. The public
reserves were all out: they could do
title. Favored by obscurity. the thieves
olundered. II would have needed
solid Gordon of officers to have pro-
:ected adequately the retail district !
Swiftly guerilla warfare spranR 10.