Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1915-03-18
CONTINUED from last week

gasoline tank and a place for provi'
Sions.
The garage could be entered from the
castle by means Of door OF masked
design. which showed neither casing
nor knob. hidden spring opened and
closed ii.
AS if seeking to get all the sunlight
possible the house that John Nelson
built was of many windows. and each
was in the deep French style. Every
window was, in fact. a door. 1t was
house Of many exits.
In separate clearing Nelson built a
house for his servants and installed in
it negro, his wife and his strapping
black son. He gave this family piece
OF land to till and provided them with
light and fuel and wages.
Furniture, bedding, equipment in
abundance for his workshop and stores
were taken within the castle, and the
last of the workmen departed.
Employing the mountain people as
laborers. Nelson patched the roads
until he felt that he could use the full
power of his heavy motor in travers-
ing them if it became necessary 10
tax its speed. He had promised Mr..
Bryan to remain In an advisory ca
pacity as the vice president of his
mills. and to keep this promise he
stretched from pine to pine a private
telephone wire between bis castle and
the office and home OF the mill -presi-
dent.
He started his hermit life with two
things before him besides his work
as a mechanical inventor. One was to
wait the coming of Bill Hawkins. to
whom he would intrust the task Of
seeking in the underworld the MUIR
derer OF the Waterman OF the West
End bank In New York. The other
was to prepare himself to face the
day, should T. ever come, when a man
from Mulberry street would confront
him and charge him with being James
Montgomery.
He told himself that he would never
be taken back to it alive. His good,
capable, we'll ordered brain had
mapped out a careful course. Should
the bloodhounds of the law come
upon him in this place he had built for
final refuge he would make his fight
10 pass them.
During his visits to Greenvile he
cashed checks paid him for royalties
on his inventions until he secured
$4,000 in certificates of denominations
he could use anywhere.
Each morning he passed through the
door to the attic stairs and locked it
behind him. For an hour he worked
with the weights and bars. changing
bis measurements slowly. but surely.
The fraction of an inch In the length
of arm or leg would discredit the Ber-
tillon record made OF him and filed in
the bureau Of Identification at police
headquarters i'm New York. He gave
many an hour Of agony TO achieve this.
and his face was chaIky white when
he left the attic and locked its door
behind him each day.
With the anxiety and the hard work
in his laboratory touch Of gray came
to his hair and beard. He looked a
man OF forty save when he
smiled but the purity and goodness of
his nature shone. forth in his coun-
tenance.
More money came to him as the for
eign rights Of his inventions were dis
posed Of and he cast about him for an
opportunity to put it in use for others
He employed as many Of the sturdy
mountaineers as he could in road work
paying them good wages. He patched
their cabins. provided medicines for
their sick. and blankets and stout
clothes for the women and the chill
dren
The scattered families of these poor
people looked up to him with mingled
wonder and gratitude. When time rid
them OF their childIike timidlty- they