The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-10-15

X W2H1t OBTAIN his oIlQS, IL 10 clAAAOSS
III uncomfortable in these days
that any man, even nongol
fanatic, should adopt the horrible ex-
pedient Of torturing q woman. Yet
this is what this flend did to his own
niece. His merciless purpose was not
to be stayed by considerations of sex
or family relationship.
When the unhappy girl was brought
into the torture chamber. She found
herself IN a large, square room, de-
void of any furniture or fittings save
a notwithstanding contrivance. some
what resembling a loom, which stood
in the middle of the floor. From a
stout wooden platform rose two
heavy upright beams bolted together
in the center.
They were also attached to per-
pendicular stanction about half their
length. At the back of the beams
powerful gear of iron bars connected
with a pulley. which in turn was at
tached to a twenty horse power cleo
trio motor. From each end of the
beams depended chain shackles. and
anyone who had seen the Internal de-
vices used for the subjugation of po-
litical prisoners during the middle
ages would have recognized that Ali
Singh had constructed most effec-
tive rack, which, instead of being
dependent on a windlass manipulated
by hand, was controlled by the great
est scientific force known to modern
man.
Malta was dragged forward and
the chains were fastened to her
wrists and ankles in such wise that
she was forced onto her back, While
the crossed manacles held her down.
"You wretched apostate" he
scowled at her. Call on your Chris
tian God for mercy. You Will get
none from Ali Singh"
And then. when the torture was
becoming almost unbearable, mir
acle happened. The motor stopped!
For some inexplicable reason the
electric current had failed!
At that instant the girl tainted.
Ali Singh snarled furiously at the
man in charge of the dynamo.
II cannot understand what has gone
wrong, o Mighty One!" muttered the
thug nervously. 1.-THE motor seems
to be in perfect working order. I
have tested all the connections. and
there is no fault"
Ali Singh worked the governing
switch backward and forward, but the
dynamo did not respond.
There is q temporary breakdown
In the electrical supply" he growled.
"Ihese white devils are incompetent,
even in their own scientific achieve
ments. Take that poor fool away, and
let her chosen friends learn from her
own lips what it costs to defy me.
Make an occasional test of the electric
supply; when it returns bring her
back here and the torture will pro-
ceed."
However, she slowly came back to
life again, awaking into world of de-
lirium and pain. At first her eyes
failed to take in her surroundings, as.
even in normal conditions, the gloom
OF the place rendered all objects in
distinct. When she heard those we'll
remembered voices and realized that
she was no longer in the torture cham
Der, she fancied, in her innocence,
that Ali Singh's resolution had given
away.
In broken accents she told the
others what had occurred. She was
too distraught to grasp the essen
tial fact that the mere recital of the
horror was enough to drive her hear
ers into q frenzy of apprehension.
And thus the slow hours sped for
these three unhappy girls. though
fate was indeed kind in leading them
to believe that Ali Singh had verita-
bly hardened his niece, whereas, her
respite was due solely to a lnechan-
ical defect.
Two people had listened to Naj!a's