The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-07-06
Stories Of
Stories
THE MAN IN THE BELL.
By William Mdginn.
TACK SAVAGE was official bell
ringer at an Irish cathedral. He
loved the enormous bell that he

IACh SAVAGE was ofhctal bell
ringer at an Irish cathedral. He
- loved the enormous bell that ne
used to toll so rhythmically.
One Sunday morning he went to the
cathedral belfry to- ring for the early
service. He tugged at the rope. No
sound from the bell overhead an
swered his summons.
He climbed the fifty-foot ladder to
the bell loft. This was a tiny cubby-
hole. partly open to the sky. and
foored only by a few crazily fragile
laths. The BELLS rim was within
two feet Of this Himsy floor.
Jack crawled cut on the cracking
laths. then lay down and wriggled
under the brasen rim. and up into
the interior of the mighty bell itself.
There he quickly found why no sound
had followed his efforts at ringing.
scme one had strapped a piece of
cloth around the bell-clapper. muf-
Ming 1t. So tightly was this mufner
fastened to the clapper that II took
several minutes for Jack to cut 1t
free.
Meantime q friend of his happened
to pass the cathedral. Finding that
the bell was not ringing for the morn
ing service. and fearing lest Jack
might lose his Job fer neglecting to
ring 1t. this friend ran UP to the
belfry. Not seeing Jack there. he pro-
ceeded to take the latter's place as
bell-rtnger.
Jack was just crawling out of the
bell when he felt the huge mass OF
metal begin to stir. Guessing what
had happened. and realizing he would
not have time to get. out ct the way
dropped a on his Back " upon the ssni sth ns
just under the clapper.
He had barely reached this place of
comparative safety when the bell
The great clapper swung SO close to
his flattened body as to erase II. Then
his ears fairly burst with the roar and
clangor Of the BELLS first stroke.
The rest was agony. Lying there. I'M
able to move. hardly out Of reach OF
tho clspper blows that would have
wrlthed, In torment.
The changing Of the bell at such close
quarters was torture to his eardrums.
The vibration Jared his nerves into an
exquisite anguish.
The cracy flooring shook and cracked
under the double pressure of his weight
and the reverberation. The laths sagged
perilously. Once let them break nothing
could save the victim from q drop
of fifty feet to the insecure floor Of the
belfry room below. and thence (drivcn
by his own impacO to another fall Of
fully 100 feet to the marble chancel
of the cathedral itself.
Every fiber OF his body was racked.
His brain reeled under the horrible noise
and the still more horrible danger. To
his dizsy fancy the bell was a hideous
monster that made successive swoops
downward at his helpless body.
He began to feel wild yearning to
leap upward and to battle with the
swinging clapper. He strove with all
his remaining will power to resist this
maniac craving. ..... .s..y..
Then. after what seemed . century
of torture. the bell ceased, to ding. But
Jack Savage was too Tar zone TO es-
cape. They found HING kovrs later
his face and eyelids raw,frbfn Abe rush
of wind stirred up by the bell. his eyes
CLASSY. his mind a wreck. Months OF
careful nursing in a forest region. out
of sound of church bells. slowly brought
back his health and reason.
But to the day of his death he could
never again her the tolllng Of a bell
without starting up In a trembling and
unreasoning terror
(CopyriRht 1861