THE COURIER
"I met a man once, up in New England, who discovered that I had
the requisite temperament and gave me a little instruction for ten
dollars. It was the best investment I ever made."
"And you have never found anyone possessed of sufficiently great
er power to influence you?''
"Never; when I chos to exert all my strength."
Mr. Southinead bad been watching the broad line of sunlight
creep slowly along the window casing until at last it touched the
edge of a glass prism on the electric light bracket. When he saw
that it would completely illumine it in another moment, ho asked
carelessly:
"Have you ever noticed the peculiar mesmeric effect produced
upon the human eye by a brilliantly lighted object, placed somewhat
higder than the head?"
"Never that's something new to me. Don't think I quite under
stand what you mean, but I should say it was impossible for an in
animate object to exert a mesmeric influence. Vital strength is ab
solutely necessary."
"Oh, of course. Anyone knows that. But let me illustrate my
point. You seo that piece of glass np there on the bracket? Well,
you can distinguish all the prismatic colors in it, can't you?"
"Perfectly."
"Quito so. But if you look
at it steadily for a few mo
ments, the colors will all
merge into a vivid orange,
and two black spots will ap
pear in the center. Those
spots are caused by the par
alysis of certain nerves. Ah,
I see you catch the idea."
Braume, becoming inter
ested in what he took to be
scientific phenomena, had
been looking fixedly at the
sparkling prism until he saw
the color and spots Mr.
Southmead had described,
and a peculiar sensation
Beemed to be soothing him
into drowsiness. He made
an effort to shake it off and
look at the millionaire, but
it was difficult to look away
from the beautiful bit of
glass, and he was conscious,
by means of a secondary
impression, that the other
was leaning comtortubly
back in his chair, apparent
ly thinking of nothing but
the subject under discussion.
His eyes, however, were look
ing steadily into Braums's;
"Those spots," ho continued, will remain, growing slightly larger
as long as you stay at the same distance from the object, but tho
moment you approach it, say to within three feet, they will disap
pear, and the soporific effect will be entirely dispelled. Try it and
see if I am not right."
f'But this is, as you say, merely the effect of parlysis upon certain
optic nerves. I see nothing mesmeric about it."
"Of course you don't yet. But you will in a moment. Try it.
Perhaps it would be just as well to leave your bag on the floor. If
you should happen to stumble against anything the result might be
more or less uncomfortable."
Braume gently placed the satchel on the floor by his chair and
started to walk toward the prism. He had a feeling all the time
that he was doing an unwise thing, but Southmead was so appar
ently harmless and the glowing light seemed to exert such a power
ful fascination over him, that he did as the other suggested. When
he approached the window hiB brain cleared in an instant, and with
a powerful effort to pull himself together, he turned to spring back
to his chair. But that fraction of time was all that his cool antag
onist needed. He drew a revolver from underneath the check books
in the drawer, and warned Braume not to move a step. Then he
advanced upon him, forcing him back until he stumbled against a
heavy chair. Before he could recover his balance tho millionaire
struck him a powerful blow which stretched him upon the floor, par
tially stunned, and when tho clerks rushed in to see what tho trou
ble was, his arms were tied behind his back with a silk handker
chief and their employer, cooly brushing his clothbtt and re-arranging
his necktie, was saying:
"I took lessons of that ten-dollar man of yours myself, Mr. Braume,
and the last time I saw him I made him hold an old boot in his
arms and dandle it under the impression that it wub one of his own
children. The general depression has Btruck your business as well
as other lines."
AFTER MANY YEARS.
With a sad cry she fell forward in the direction of tho man she
had spurned less than a quarter of a century previous.
"I havb changed my mind." she faltered, turaultuouBly, before he
had a chance to say a word.
"I am glad," ho answered in a hollow voice, "I felt hopeful all
along that you would reconsider your determination to keep that
ring."
With a look, aseisted by the janitor, she froze his blood.
1
THAT YOUNG NAN.
Santa Claus There's something wrong here A boy with one
cut off by a threshing machine and two stockings hanging up.
leg
"Did you ever pay any at
tention to theosophy, Mr.
Slogo?" she asked with a
deadly sweetness in her
tones.
The young man admitted
that he had not.
"Oh, its just lovely," she
continued.. "I have often
thought how perfectly
charming it would be to send
one's astral self down into
the parlor to entertain,
while one's real tired self
was sound asleep."
The ticking of the little
clock became so painfully
loud that the young man
was forced to look at it and
suddenly discover that it
was really growing bo aw
fully late.
The Coouiek voting con
eat closes Monday, when
the prizes will be. awarded
to the successful contestant.
The young man who is continually looking for a soft thing
find it under his hat,
will
The young man who is looking for the
have his clothes made will find it at
best place in the city to
L H. MEYER
1111 O STREET.
Don't revenge yourself on your pocket book by paying more elsewhere.
The boundless variety, the dazzling aggregation of holiday goods
should not let you forget the practical goods for holiday presents for
which Herpolsheimer & Co. are headquarters.
aWMWWQparati
