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About Harrison press-journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (June 6, 1901)
J5he Bondman , Dy HALL CHAPTER II. (Continued.) So with Jason in the bouse by the sea, and Sunlocks in the house by the lake, the weeks went by; and the summer that was coming came, and 'ike a bird of passage the darkness of night fled quite away, and the sun shone that shines at midnight. And nothing did Jason see of the face that followed him In visions, and nothing did he hear of the man known to him as A25, except reports of brutal treatment and fierce rebellion. But on a day a month after he had returned to the stockade he was going In his tired and listless "way between ward ers from one solfatara at the foot of be bill to another on the breast of Jt, when he came upon a horror that blade bis blood run cold. It was a man nailed by his right hand to a great socket of iron In a Jog of driftwood, with food and drink within sight but out of reach of him, and a huge knife lying close by his side. The man was A25. Jason saw everything and the mean ing of everything in an instant, that to get at the food for which he starv ed that man must cut off his own right hand. And there, like a devil, at his elbow, lay the weapon that was to tempt him. Nothing so inhuman, so barbarous, 30 fiendish, so hellish, had Jason yet Keen, and with a cry like the growl of an untamed beast, he broke from the warders, took the nail In his fingers like a vice, tore it up out of the Weeding hand, and set Michael Sun looks free. At the next Instant his wratch was rone, and ho had fallen back to his jlsticss mood. Then the warders hur ried up, laid hold of both men, ar.d bustled them away with a brave shrw if strength nnd courage to the office cf the Captain. Jorgon Jorgcnscn himself was there, and It was he who had ordered the ruthless punishment. The warders told their tale, and ho listened to them with a grin on his cruel face. "Strap them up together," he cried, "lag to lex and arm to arm." And when this was done he said, bitterly 1 "So you two men are fond of one another's company! Well, you shall bave enough of it and to spare. Day after day, week after week, month cftc.r month, like as you are now, you shall live together, until you abhor and detest ami loathe the sight of each other. Now go!" CHAPTER III. THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH. Red Jason and Michael Stinloeks. now lashed together, were driven back to their work like beasts of the field. They knew very well what their pun ishment meant to them that In every hour of life henceforth. In every act, through every thought, each man should drag a human carcass by his side. The barbarity of their doom was hideous; but strangely different were the ways they accepted it. Michael Sunlocks was aflame with in dignation: Jason was crushed with shame. The upturned face of Sun locks was pale, his flaxen hair was dishevelled, his bloodshot eyes were afire. Hut Jason's eyes, full of con fusion, were bent on the ground, his tanned face trembled visibly, and his red hair, grown long as old old, fell over his drooping shoulders like a mantle of blood. And as they trudged along, side by side, In the first hours of their un natural partnership, Sunlocks strug gled hard to keep bis eyes from the man with whom he was condemned to live and die, lest the gorge of his very soul should rise at the sight of him. So he never once looked at Ja son through many hours of that day. And Jason, on his part, laboring with the thought that it was he who by his rash act had brought both of them to this sore pass, never once lifted his eyes to the face of Sunlocks. Yet each man knew the other's thought before ever a word had passed between tbem. Jason felt that Sun locks already abhorred him, and Sun locks knew that Jason was ashamed. This brought them after a time Into sympathy cf some sort, and Jason tried to speak and Sunlocks to listen. "I did not mean to bring you to this," said Jason, bunrbly. And Hun locks, with head aside, answered as well as ho could for the disgust that choked him, "You did It for the best." "Hut you will hate me for it," said Jason. And once again, with that com posure he could command, Sunlocks answered, "How could I hate you for saving me from such brutal treat ment?" 'Then you don't regret It?" said Ja son, pleadingly. "It Is for you, not frr ma, to re gret It," said Sunlocks. "Me?" said Jason. Through all the shameful hours the sense of his own loss hail never yet com to him. From first to last he had thought only of Sunlocks. "My liberty was gne already," snld Sunlocks. "Hut you were free free as anyone can be in this hell on earth. Now you are bound you are here like thls-snd I am the cause of It." Then Jason's rugged face was sud denly III up with surprising Jay. "That is nothing," he said. "Nothing?" said Sunlocks. "I mean that 1 care nothing, If you don't," snld Jason. It was the turn of Hunl-icks to feel surprise. He hnlf turned towards Ja son. "Then you don't regret It?" he Nsked. "No," said .lawn firmly. "And you?" Sunlock fill t hat tears, not disgust, were ch ;i1 I rig him now. "No," ho answered shamefacedly, turning his head away. "March!" shouted the warders, who had been d ir'.clng their smuggled Miens while ihe.'r prisoners had been talking. That day, Jorgen Jorgensen went Hhck to Reykjavik, f'jr the tlmo of AJthlrg wui near, and he had to pre Coatiauef Story. CAINC. pare for his fourteen days at Thing velllr. And the Governor being gone, the Captain of the Mim made bold so far to relax the inhumanity of his sentence as to order that the two men who were bound together during the hours of work should be separated for the hours of sleep. But never for getting his own suspicion that Red Jason wa san ally of Michael Sun locks, planning his escape, he ordered also that do speech should be allowed to pass between them. To prevent all communication of any kind he direct ed that the men should work and sleep apart fro mthe other prisoners, and that their two warders should at tend them day and night. But though the rigor of discipline kept them back from free intercourse, no watchfulness could check the stolen words of comfort that helped the weary men to bear their degrading lot. That night, the first of their life to gether, Michael Sunlocks looked into Jason's face and said, "I have seen you before somewhere. Where was it?" But Jason remembered the hot words that had pursued hlu on the day of the burning of the beds, and so he made no answer. After a while, Michael Sunlocks looked closely into Jason's face again and said, "What is you name?" "Don't ask it," said Jason. "Why not?" said Sunlocks. "You might remember It." "Even so, what then?" "Then you might also remember wlnt I did or tried to do, and you would hate me for It, said Jasou. "Was your crime so Inhuman?" said Sunlocks. "It would seem so," said Jason. "Who sent you here?" "The Republic." "You won't tell me your name?" "I've got none, bo to speak, having had no father to give me one. I'm alone In the world." Michael Sunlocks did not sleep much that night, for the wound in Ills hand was very painful, and next morn ing, while Jason dressed it, he looked into his face once more an.l said "You say you are alone In the world?" "Yes." said Jason. "What of your mother?" "She's dead, poor soul." "Have you no slater?" "No." "Nor brother?" "No that's to say no, no." "No one belonging to you?" "No." "Are you quite alone?" "Ay, quite," said Jason. "No one to think twice what b'.comes of me. No body to trouble whether I'm here or In a better place. Nobody to care whether I live or die. He tried to laugh as he said this, but in spite of his brave show of un concern his deep voice broke and his strong face quivered. "Hut what's your own name?" he said abruptly. "Call me brother," said Sunlocks "To your work." cried the ward ers, and they were hustled out. Their work for the day was delving sulphur from the banks of the solfat aras and loading It on the backs of their ponies. And while their ward ers dozed In the heat of the noonday Klin, they wiped their brows and rested. At that moment Jason's eyes turned towards the hospital on the opposite side of the hill, and he remembered what he had heard of the good woman who had been nurse there. This much at least he knew of her, that she was the wife of his yoke-fellow, and he was about to speak of her trouble and dishonor when Michael Sunlocks said: "After all, you are luckiest to be alone In the world. To have ties of affection Is only to be the more un happy. "That's true," eald Jason. "Say you love somebody, and all your heart is full of her? You lose her, and then where are you?" "But that's not your own case," said Jason. "Your wife is alive, is she not?" "Yes." "Then you have not lost her?" "There is a worse loss than that of death," said Sunlocks. Jason glanced quickly into his face, and said tenderly, "I know 1 under stand. There was another man?" "Yes." "And he robbed you of your love?" "Yes." "And you killed him?" cried Jason, with panting breath. "No. Hut Ood keep that man out of my hands." "Where Is he now?" "Heaven knows. He was here, but he Is gone; for when the Republic fell I was Imprisoned, and two days be fore that he was liberated." "Silence!" shouted the warders, awakening suddenly and hearing voices. Jason's eyes had begun to fill, and down his rugged checks tho big drops were rolling one by one. After that he checked the Impulse to speak of the nurse. The wife of his yoke-fellow must be an evil woman. The prisoner priest must have been taken In by her. For once the warders must have been right. And late that night, while Jason was dressing the wounded hand of Michael Sunlocks with wool torn from hit, own sheepskin Jeikln, he eald, with his eyes down: "I scarce thought there was any thing in common between us two. You're a gentleman, and I'm only a rough fellow. You have been brought up tenderly, and I have been kicked about the world ever since I was a lad In my poor mother's home, flod i rest her! Hut mv life hnn been liu,. I yours in one thing." "What's that?" said Michael Sun locks. "That another man has wrecked It," snld Jason, "f never had but one glint of sunshine In my life, and thnt man wiped It out forever. It was a woman, and she was all the world to ra. Hut she was proud and I was poor. And he was rich, and he came between us. He had everything, and the world was at bis feet. 1 had notn ing but that woman's love, end he Wok it from me. It was too cruel, and I could not bear H God knows 1 could not." "Walt" cried Michael Sunlocks. "Is that why you are here! D.d you you did not no " "No, I know not what you mean; but I did not kill blm. No, no, I have never seen bim. I could never meet, him, try how I would." "Where is he now?" "With her In happiness and freedom and content, while I am here in misery and bondage and these ropes. But there will be a reckoning between us yet. I know there will. I swear there will. As sure as there is a God in Heaven, that man and I will one day stand together face to face." Then Michael Sunlocks took both Jason's hands. "My brother," he cried fervently. "Brother now more than ever; brother in suffering, brother in weakness, brother In strength." "Silence there!" shouted the ward ers, and the two men were separated for the night. The wound in the band of Michael Sunlocks grew yet more painful, and he slept even less than before. Next day the power of life was low in him, and seeing this, Jason said, when the warders stepped up to lash them to gether, "He is 111, and not Bt to go out. Let me work alone today. I'll do enough for both of us." But no heed was paid to Jason's warning, and Michael Sunlocks was driven out by his side. All that day, the third of their life together, they worked with difficulty, for the wound in the hand of Sunlocks was not only a trouble to himself but an Impediment to Jason also. Yet Jason gave no hint of that, but kept the good spade going constantly, with a smile on his face through the sweat that stood on it, and little stolen words of comfort and cheer. And when the heat was strong est, and Sunlocks would have stumbled and fallen, Jason contrived a means to use both their spades together, only requiring that Sunlocks should stoop when he stopped, that the warders might think he was still working. But their artifice was discovered, and all that came of It was that they were watched the closer and driven the hard er during the hours that remained of that day. Next day the fourth of their direful punishment, Sunlocks rose weak and trembling, and scarce able to stand erect. And with what spirit he could summon up he called upon the warders to look upon him and see how feeble he was, and Bay If it was fair to his yoke-fellow that they should compel him to do the work of two men and drag a human boy after him. But the wards only laughed at his protest and once again he was driven out by Juson s side. Ing and heavy were the hours that followed, but Sunlocks, being once started on his way, bore up under it very bravely, murmuring as little as he might, out of thought for Jason. And Jason helped along nls stumbling foot steps as well as he could for the arm that was bound to him. And seeing how well tbey worked by this double power of human kindness, the warders laughed again, and make a mock at Sunlocks for hl3 former cry of weak ness. And so, amid tender words be tween themselves, and Jeers cast in upon them by the warders, they made shift to cheat time of another weary day. The fifth day went by like the fourth, with heavy toil and pain to make It hard, and cruel taunts to make it bit ter. And many a time, as they delved the yellow sulphur bank, a dark chill crossed the hearts of both, and they thought In their misery ho.v cheerfully they would dig for death itself, if only it lay In the hot clay beneath them. (To be continued.) Ancient Qnarrfel. The stono for the great wall of the dam across the Nile at Aasuan is be ing obtained from the quarries of which the Temples of Phllae are be lieved to have beeu built the unhap py Phllae which, when the dam is completed, will be submerged and part ly disappear from sight for the first time In its 1,000 years of existence. The granite blocks that are being quarried for this, the first great engl7 neerlng achievement of the twentieth century, bear the marks of wedgo used thirty centuries ago. Slitr-Two Tear Married. Near Attica, the other day, when tha neighbors went over to congratulata Grandpap and Grandma McDanlel on. the sixty-second anniversary of their marriage, they found grandpap out in the field planting corn, while grandma was cleaning up the breakfast clutter In the kitchen. When the good folk told grandpap the object of their visit, he said: "Lordy, lordy, how tlmo does fly!" Kansas City Journal. Mrllran Corktall Ara Powerful. American barrooms are multiplying In the City of Mexico. Their so-called "American drinks" are almost as dead ly as knockout drops, and the Imbibers of them are very likely to bo given, tho chance to sober up In tho police station. Three Mexican cocktails are usually powerful enough to paralya a mule. I.lkv to sa iha Hun It I.e. President McKinley and party reach ed Altoona about C this morning on their way to Washington. The presi dent had arisen at 5 o'clock to view tho sunrise on the Alleghanles. "That Is a sight I never miss," ho remarked to tho Pullman conductor. Philadelphia, North American. Cuar Ha TwentT-"een Phrtlrlan. The czar of Russia has twenty-seven physicians, and they are all selected from th medical cclebretlcg of Russia. There la a first physlclan-ln-chlef; then come ten honorary surgeons, two oc ulists, a chiropodist and honorary chir opodist, two court physicians and three specialists for the cza.-lpa. SCIENCE CONVULSION. The sight of a person in convulsions Is terrifying, but in the great majority of cases the sufferer is in no immediate danger. Whether or not the convul sion foreshadows a serious ending de pends upon a variety of causes. As a rule, convulsions are more serious In adults than in children, especially very young children. Two things are nec essary for the occurrence of convul sions: First, an unstable condition of the nervous system, the predisposing causeand secondly, some exciting causa sufficient to disorder the weak ened nerve centers. The instability of the nervous system is more pronounc ed in children than in adults, and seems often to be hereditary, the mem bers of certain families being more prone to fits than others. Certain chronic diseases of nutrition, such as rickets, are associated with an irrita bility of the brain and spinal cord, and convulsions are peculiarly frequent in children suffering from such diseases. Convulsions in children are very com mon at the onset of one of the acute fevers, such as scarlatina or measles. At that time the convulsions have no special significance, but when oc- curlng later during an attack of scarlet fever, they may point to the existence of kidney disease. In whooping cough convulsions are sometimes produced in consequence of deficient aeration of the, blood, owing to a partial collapse of the lungs. In children convulsions are perhaps most commonly the result of some disorder of the digestive tract, caused by the presence of indigestible material in the stomach or bowels, or of Intestinal worms. Inflammation of the ear Is another common exciting cause of convulsions, but teething. which Is blamed for so many fits, very seldom causes convulsions, unless the eruption of the teeth Is exceedingly difficult and painful. In children, as In adults, convulsions may be due to hysteria or to epilepsy. They may be caused by a great shock to the nervous system, such as a severe fright. Men ingitis or a tumor of the brain may also cause them, both in children and in adults. Whatever the cause, It will be safe to put a child with convulsions Into a not too hot bath say at a temperature of about ninety-six or ninety-seven de grees. Nerve sedatives are usually prescribed In the hope of preventing a second convulsion, but the cause, if discoverable, must of course be re moved. ABMOKKI) MOTOR CAR. One of the latest war devices is an armored motor car designed by an En glish engineering firm. It Is intended for use in the time of war in protect ing railways, and during peace to serve as a pilot for ordinary trains. for inspecting the road, or for the sending of dispatches. The car is propelled by a seven . horse-power water-cooled motor, which Is entirely automatic in action. It produces its own igniting spark by means of a magneto-electric machine, can be started in a minute, and Is fed either by petrol or ordinary petroleum. Owing to the" absence of any open flame no danger from fire or explosion AS THE CAR APPEARS. exists. The armor Is constructed in two parts the under and upper parts the latter being of a crinoline shape. The under part of the armor, protect ing the machinery, is constructed of heavy nickel-steel plates. Owing to the great care In the design and the construction having been used the car runs almost silently and without vi bration, thus enabling accurate aim even while traveling at a high speed. Sufficient room has been allowed for about 40,000 rounds for the ordinary machine gun of 30.1 type, and the oil tanks contain sufliclent fuel for 200 miles At night searchlights may be used in connection with the engine. The total weight of the vhlcle, com plete with armor, Is 28 hundredweight. The car carries a ono-pound Maxim gun and a small machine gun is manned by one officer nnd two or three men, and la capable of a speed up to 30 miles an hour. Tho idea Is that a railway line extending over 500 mil" could be held by 2H of these tars. KITES IN ftlCARCIf EOR POLE. Cant. J. C. Ilernler of Quebec, who is one of the adventurers now planning a fresh attack upon tho North Pole, thinks that, even If he falls to rench the pole, or Its Immediate neighbor hood, he can at least bring back pho tographs of Inacceslblo places nnd scenes by employing kites cnrrylng photographic cameras. Within a few years past photographs of the earth's surface taken at high elevntlons by tho aid of kites have become comparative ly common. Capt. Bernier believes that the method will prove practicable in the Arctic. He also intends to dis patch small balloons each month car rying records of the progress of tho expedition, hoping that some of these balloons may drift far enough to the south to be picked up by vessels or in inhabltated lands. IMPROVED FIbHINO REEL. There are a number of reasons why the Improved Ashing reel shown in the accompanying illustration should prove of value to the fisherman, the WINDS UP THE LINE EASILY, chief of which seems to be that the reel does not project from the slda of the pole to prevent packing in small compass. Then the winding mechan ism is operated by reciprocating tho casting instead of turning a small crank, and the inventor claims im provements also In the drag and line laying mechanism. The reel proper Is mounted on a rod passing lengthwise through the reel and is revolved by a system of gearing at one end of the casing, the train of gears being in turn actuated by the reciprocating mo tion imparted to the reel casing by the hand. The line enters the casing at the end and is guided in winding on the spool by a sliding eyelet, which prevents kinks in the line when It is desired to pay it out rapidly. As the reel forms a part of the pole, it is not necessary to detach it and pack it away by itself when the day's sport is ended. THE TRUMPET OK A MOTH. The late Professor Moseley; the Eng lish entomologist, maintained that the noise produced by the death's head moth comes from the insect's pro boscis, and Is caused by blowing air through it. Recently Professor Poul ton employed a stethoscope in the examination of a living specimen of the moth, in the presence of the Linnean Society, and proved that the sound really does come from the proboscis; and then, by showing that the sound ceased when the end of the proboscis was dipped in water, he supported Professor Moseley's opinion that a blast of air was the cause of the noise. CANADA'S NICKEL PRODUCTION. Although nickel was not discovered in paying quantities in Canada un.il 1887, ft is said that that country now produces 40 per cent of the world's supply of nickel. The deposits of the metal are in a district near Sudbury In Ontario, covering an area of about 70 miles by 40. The ore contains about three per cent of nickel and about an equal quantity of copper, together with considerable iron and sulphur. The nickel and copper are not extracted In Canada, but in the United States. One mine has already reached a depth of 1,100 feet. SCIENTIFIC JOTTINOS. We Ar Ear Ahead. Americans are twenty years in ad vance of other nations In the art of bridge design and construction. Tho steel of which a bridge Is made repre sents about half of its cost. Steel is now made in the United States at much less cost thun in any other coun try. Light ami Hllk Worm. M. Camllle Flammarion, the oela brated astronomer, has been studying the effect of colored light on silk worms. White light yields the max imum and blue light the minimum production of silk. Next to white light the purple of the red end of the spec trum gives the best results. A ftiibmltute for Coal. A workman In a German chemical works has Invented a substitute for coal, which costs about 25 cents per 220 pounds to manufacture,' Peat is (he basis of the fuel. It gives out great heat, burns with a bright flame and leaves no sing and only a small quan tity of white ash. TIip pe.it Is dried. chemicals and pressed Into brick shape. The largest gulf Is the Oulf of Mexi co, which has an area of about 800,000 square mlleB, double that of tho Bay of Bengal and nearly one-third the nrea of tho United States. Some people- don't know very much, nnd what little they do know they are not altogether sure of. V-v SI PISH THAT CLIMB STAIRS. lu Traveling- to banner Ilaaat The IMaplay Acrobatic Ability. It is not an uncommon thing to see on pleasant days, when the flsh are running at East Taunton, hundreds of men, women and children clustered around the fishway watching the flsh struggling up against the strong cur rent and trying to get into the smooth er waters above the dam, where they may shoot off at leisure to the spawn ing place in the Nemasket, says the Boston Herald. The fishway Is so con structed that it is impossible for tho fish to make a clear swim from top to bottom or vice versa. They must work up the river in the eddies, for the tide is also very strong there near the dam and until they reach the lower part of the fishway. Thence they struggle and wriggle into the lower entrance of the fishway, thus making sure of at least a chance to rub up against the boards and rest before they begin their wearisome fight for the top and smooth water. It is in the fishway that the interest of the average spectator Is centered, since here the flsh can be seen plainly In bunches almost thick enough for one to walk across on their backs, and where one may easily reach down and pull tbem out of the water. They are generally packed in so thick that they cannot escape the quick moving hand of man or boy. From right to left and from left to right, steadily, slowly, they keep on in the effort to get out of the fishway, and it is one of the prettiest sights imagin able to watch the little fellows.plucky and game to the last, as they almost imperceptibly work out of one passage way into another and crowd each other against the corner. No matter how many people are close to them, so close that they could be touched with the hand or cane, they appear to pay no attention to their interested audience, but keep right on about their business. A watchman is on duty at the fishway all of the time to see that no one dis turbs them, but when his attention Is taken up by questions that are asked frequently, those who like the fish right out of ihe water smuggle them out and are away before they have been apprehended. It is understood that there are thousands of these her rings stolen in this way and other ways before they get to the clear water but there doesn't seem to be any help for it. TALLOW DIPS IN MEXICO. Olil Commercial Houaei Adhere to Primi tive Method of Lighting-. Electric lights are coming into more general use all the time in the City of Mexico as the various companies add to the capacities of their plants. Three companies are now furnishing electric light and power. An American com pany is preparing to erect a modern as nlant. Several paanlino inmn paniea are operating in the republic through local agents. Candles, how ever, remain in very general use among all classes. Petroleum costs from 60 to 70 cents a gallon, while tallow candles of local manufacture can be purchased as low as one cent each, this price nat urally for a small taper. Mexican workmen can get along with less light, apparently, than any other class. In some of the old fashioned offices of im portant commercial houses no other light than tallow dips is ever known. A bookkeeper may be seen making his entries in a great ledger with the light of a single candle, and the wealthy proprietor may be found bending over his big mahogany desk flanked by two tall and stately candelabra. A Mexi can printer can work with a candle stuck carelessly into one of his boxes, and two tailors in the small shops can be seen sharing the rays of a single lip. The opportunities for the sale of better lighting apparatus in Mexico will be great when it can be provided cheaply and of simple construction. The great difficulty experienced with most of the gasoline lights that are on the market here Is that they require careful attention, and in the hands of ignorant Mexican servants they soon get out of order. Pennsylvania Grit. Artificial Mile In Valuable. Artificial silk apparently can be made, but it answers to the real thing as oleomargarine answers to butter. Going the rounds of the papers of Con tinental Europe is an item that three factories for the production of artifi cial silk are in operation; that one, In V.'olston, England, produces 6,600 pounds a week; one in Besancon, France, 12,000 pounds, and one In Spreitenbach, Germany, 3,500 pounds. It Is stated, furthermore, that other factories will soon be built in Belgium and In Germany. Before tho Frankfort Society of Natural Philosophy Dr. Freund, in a recent lecture on the sub ject, said that though artificial silk can compete with natural silk. It is not as valuable. Artificial silk has been used as a covering for rabies and as a substitute for horsehair, but It has a tendency to break If wetted.and, there fore, It must usually be mixed with natural silk and cotton. The artificial Bilk Is cheaper than the natural, and more brilliant effects can be produced with it. This industry, which Is said to bo purely chemical, Is expected to b developed to Its fulleset extent In a few years. New York Press. Mllllnna Inelnrt In Teia Oil. Since the big Lucas oil geyser was struck In the Texas oil fields lost Jan uary nearly 100 companies have been organized to sink wells, with aggrega'n capital of nearly $.10,000,000. Six of thn companies are capitalized at $1, 000.000 each. Many a stylish hut covers an empty head.
