Evening Star Newspaper, March 28, 1896, Page 15

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 1896-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES. WITH WEIRD. WEAPOKS Se BY DUFFIELD OSBORNE, Author of “The Spell of Ashtaroth.’* —— Copyright, 1896, by Bacheiler, Johnson & Racheller.) PART I. “And so you call this Professor Roent- Ben's discovery wonderful?” said the little French doctor, who looks about twice as old as he is, and seldom talks. ‘Pardon me, monsieur, but he is an infant in science. There has béen that discovered, beside which his photographs of skeletons are nothing—things so sirange that the world will har@ly suffer them to be whis- pered. Listen, and I will tell you of an ad- Venture of my own—of truths which I alone of living men know. You are discreet, and it is not well that such a secret should Gie.” or Fournier was the leading au- ty on pathology whea I was a young He lectured at the Eccle de one of the many students whose e it was to profit by the enormous fund of knowledge he had accnraulated, and the trenchant clearness with which he could communicete it. The youth who sat next to me was a Germa:, named Herman Tocdt—a tall, graceful boy, with a remarkably handsome face and manners that were unexception- able. There wi pt a trace in him of that le coarseness which is often found in his not a shade of that aggressive con Which seems to characterize most G No, iotiy, nt, always defer though never servile- ly, polite. I think the other students liked and looked up to him, not excepting certain Americans, who had, after their fashion, christened him Even the profes- Sors seemed to regard him with pride; more «Toedt was than imated that he would bring high to the ol, and I firmly be- lieve not a person in the worid 1 him excepting Professor Four- er and myseif. The way I came to know that Fournier felt as 1 ci@ was on ight at a cafe. I was tting at a ith two frien: While Toeit was the center of an admit Mrele just beyond. It was then, day, the f. siers in What is human life!" hands siasm. fice an ad Ww cried Toedt, me face flushed with boy “Would any of us hesitate to cri- animal his own or another's to ance the cause of science or humanity? id then, should criticise a poor wre +h ke cor nee to stand in the path ef human prosrese? The buzz of approval which greeted these Words was suddenly broken in upon by a ¢lear. sharp voice, familiar to us 211: “Gentiemen, I am Sorry to hear you talk- ing such criminal non- sen: = As I glanced up I saw Prof. Fournier leaving the cafe. Pass- ing their tabie unob- served, he had evi- dently . Toedt’s speech, had shot this Parth shaft into the of would-be soc we ch who takes a Ife wh overheard and ppeariny to be a crim- Then he laughed scornfully, and two or three of his companic fol- lowed his examp! theugh with more con- in their tones. and so our wis sor stands in the Well, the cnar- jot may run over him,” he said. Even Toedt, however, could not urance to the party, so were they by Fournier's blow. utes later they broke up. Several y q my degree from thé Ecole, but had not en- upon the practice of medicine, being ed in certain chemical and physical restore demoralized A few min- sed. I had received slight repute. One day I was surprised and compliment- ed to receive a letter from Prof. Fournier, in which, aiter stating that he had ob-! served my progress with deep interest and ommendation, he ended by proposing that I should enter his private laboratory—per- hars the best equipped in Fran ‘To be known as Fournier's assistant was almest to become famous, and you may ve- lieve I accepted prompi Then followed the happiest years of my life. Only a small portion of my time was taken up in work for my master, while facilities which I could never have afforded | were placed at my disposai for the prose- ution of my private experiments. In fact, if there was any cloud upon my horizon, it was in the form of a regret that the pro- fessor did not put more upe' shoulde end one day I ventured to take to ta: for his assumption of detail from which I stood ready and willing to relieve him. He sat silent for some minute said: “E hope you do not "e upon your honor, discre “Not in the least.” | hastened to say. “Had TI done so I should not have spoken es I have.” ier smiled r friend, shoulder. nd nodded. he s Believe me, I have a icwle. I am ‘0 remark- ions and so range in their possible. re- were I to make even you my lant, you would simply assume that I taking leave of my senses. I do not wish you to think that. Therefore, it is Letter to keep silent until I can lay the fore you supported by evi- ich no man of scierce can gain- dence say. After this {t sible for me not my ements more closely, and I soon found that he spent rh of his time in a certain room, reached oriy by the winding stair at one end of the main laboratory. When I came there, I had dit te be a store room where he e y material and old junk, but no sconer did I begin to realize that he was engaged in secret investigations, than I felt sure it was his private work shop. ‘Then, cud; = my brain, I recalled that T had frequently seen him mounting the stair, carrying instruments or parts of in- strume often of strange shapes, but which my al knowledge told me must e heen de: ed for electrical work. I also quite positive, from similar gb- tions, that photography bore no small share in his experiments. Meanwhile his y increased. He now ally entered or left his sanctum bear- on his arm a covered basket, from h on one oceasion I heard the plain- tive mews of an imprisoned cat. This sur- prised me more than I can tell, for it seem- el to indicate experiments in the line of vivisection, to which Prof. Fournier had al- ways expressed himseif as unalterably op- sed. PTO make a long story shert, I was pos- sessed night and day by a furious curiosity until at Iast I did what, even as a young man and an eager searcher for scientific truth, I was taoroughly ashamed of. I had a key fitt to the lock of this room; one day I took advantage of my mas- ter’s absence to mount the stairs and open the door. As I did so, however, there came to me a full appreciation of my treachery. I stepped quickly back, closed the portal, descended to the main labora- tory, and, placing the key, the silent in- strument of my guilt, in a small blast furnace, reduced it in a few minutes to a shapeless lump of metal. < Sul it had been impossible to control my eyes for the instant I had stood in that threshold, and it was equally {mpossible, however I might try, to banish from my mind a recollection of objects I had seen. Some of these were what I had expected io sce, electric and photographic apparatus. Several things, however, were mi inex plicable: A rabbit lying upon the table, dead, but without sign of wound; a serap basket full of dead flowers and plants, and, close to the rabbit, a photographic plate which seemed to contain a very poor negative of somo animal. A «That was all I saw. As you may imagine, it di¢ not help mte much in my surmises. Some days later, Fournier astonished me w = by coming down the stairs in great haste, carrying in his hand a dead guinea pig. ‘May I ask you to put this animal into the furnace, or have it buried or thrown away,” he said, hurriedly. “I eee I am al- ready five minutes late for my lecture,” He was gont ere I had time to think, but, as I sat with the guinea pig before me, I began to wonder whether iny master had not acted wit, design, and intended either to put me in“the way of suspecting, or,- at least, to prepare me, in a measure, for some coming announcement. The more I cons‘dered, svrer I i ore could be no other Treason for his not leaving the animal for a few hours, un- til he eould dispose of it himself. Convinced of th’s, I ventured to make a careful examina- tion of the body. I soon found, as I e: pected to find, that its death had been occasioned by no nd, blow or oth- ernal physical ; but I was ratner surprised te discover that ail symptoms of death through the medium of electricity were also lacking. » theory seemed to r main but that poison, and, ful determined ‘to ex haust all the ev dence which had been placed in my beds, the brain, stomach and intestines and pro- subject them to a thorough no sign upon which t suspicion of the use of There seemed to be no rom the dilemma that either Prof. ‘ournter was the most*accomplished tox- icologist ever known or that th guinea pig had died from purely natural During the time cccup‘ed { : iments the professor had not alluded to the subject, though I purposely allowed him to observe my employment. Some days, how- ever, after I had reached the end of all the means of investigation at my command, nd was absorbed in what seemed a hope- less attempt to deduce a conclusion, he came to me while at work in the labora- actor,” he sa!d, placing his hand fa- miliarly upo: my _ shoulder, are you minded to take part in a little adventure ies before me?” With the greatest pleasure rld,”” I exclaimed. ‘I will not conceal from you,” he contin- ed, seriously, “that there is considerable anger involved. “You are ecing to face it?” I queried. He nodded. “Then I seé no reason why I should not,” I said, “unless you would intimate that’ I possess less courage than yourself.” You see, I was young, and inclined to be er-sensitive in those days. ‘Not at all,” he replied, kindly. “I have ‘een requested to undertake this task un- der circumstances that admit of no hon- orable refusal. Otherwise, I very much doubt—"” “And I,” I interrupted, “have been placed in precisely the same position.” “Well, well,” he said. will not quar- rei in the dark. It is 'y fair that I should explain the situation. The fact is, I have been askedeby the ministry to go to Ar- and investigate tnis new epidemic. ‘And you dream for a moment that I would hesitate to accompany you!” I ex- claimed. in. the oO he said, and then, after a short ‘but Iam not sure whether I want altogether a secondary cons‘d- t ‘Tcemorrow moraing,” he replied, ab- senily, but at the same time grasping my hana. é A few minutes later he left the room, nd I sat dewn to ponder over the situation and to consider what I should need to take h me. . he town of Arteuil was one of those places wh:ch had shot up within the last decade. Situated in the midst of a large nufacturing district, it formed a sort of is in the desert of hideous factories and toil-sodden humanity. The country round about was flat and uninteresting, but Ar- teuil itself lay among a little nest of hills forded fresh cool air and a prospect attractive and salubrious. It had been selected, therefore, by several of the large mill owners for their summer homes. These had been foliowed by others, until the -pk now contained a large number of magnificent residences surrounded by Well laid out parks. Such a population, of course, attracted the usual quota of tradesmen, mechanics, and so forth, and an active and flourishing town had resulted from the desire of a few manufacturing magnates to have their pleasures somewhere near their business Interests. searcely a month since this spot had given birth to an ep demic which bade fair to more than dec! mate its population, and whi had utterly baffied local and extra-local professional Xo one seemed to know how it had and, worse yet, no one had method of fighting it that prom- much less accomplished, the most t succes: was the situation when, on the morning following our conversation, Prof. Fournter and myself took our seats in the tment which had been especially reserved for our use, and saw Paris drop , as the train rattled out into the ‘or a while we sat in silence, which he was first to break. “Have you followed especially the ac- ceunts of this Arteuil epidemic?” he asked. Closely,” I said, bowing. ‘Have you noticed the curious features nected with it?” “I hardly know what you refer to,” I i, impr d by the seriousness of his . “It is, of course, most remarkable in thfs epoch that a disease unknown to the faculty should suddenly break out and approaching to make,” he you not observed somet able about those limits?" I stopped and thought for a moment. Then I seemed to catch his idea. Why, yes,” I said, “now that you speak of it, itis remarkable that the disease has eized upon and confined itself to what should be the most healthy town in the en- tire provi It must come from some- water supply,” I added, with ction. You follow me in part,” he continued, ‘but if you had considered the reports a ttle more closely you would not have drawn your last conclusion. You would have noticed that not only was the disease cenfined to the healthiest town, but that it was practically confined to what ought to be the healthiest portion of the town. Look at the list of deaths. It is not B—, the draper; J—, the butcher, and C—, the plumber. It is M. de L—, owner of the chemical works at C—. It is Mile. G—, only daughter of M. G—, general manager of the P— print mills, or Mme. D— and M. Jules D—, wife and youngest son of the junior partner of V-—— & D—, the great silk manufacturers. Will you give me any Yational explanation of this phe- nomenon?” I shook my head, deeply puzzled by the proposition. Furthermore,” he continued, “are you positive that the disease is new? “Certainly not,” I hastened to say. “I cannct for a moment presume it to be. I merely said that it had not heretofore been diagnosed by the faculty.” “Do you recall those cases at Montre- vault two years ago?” he asked. With something of an effort I remember- ed the three or four cases he referred to and that their described symptoms had closely resembled those of the disease now ravaging <Arteuil, I called his attention, however, to the fact thet the Montrevault cases had not been seen by any but second- rate country practitioners. “Do you include your classmate Toedt in that category?” he asked, smiling faint- ly the point I id, eagerl, “Have mg very remark- I confess I had forgotten that Toedt was at Montrevault,” I said. “Ho is at Arteuil, too, Is he not, fighting the disease there?’ Prof. Fournier inclined his head. “He is a brave fellow,” I continued, “and his experience, under the- circumstances, must be invaluable. “He does not succeed, though, any better than anyone else,” remarked Fournior. “It's a curious thing, too,” he added, hal? to himseif, “that all the victims at Montre- vault“wore members of the family of Count de G—, the Iate minister of war. /This epidemic is certainly an aristocratic com- plaint, ike gout.” E He relapsed into silence with these words and, as they had given me much food for reflection, I did not try to renew the con- versation. Half an hour later, he broke suddenly in upon my thsughts with a re- mark to the effect that Inbor troubles seem- ed to have decidedly fncreased since the death of Count de G—— and the cessation of his stern repressive measures. As he spoke, a sudden light seemed to flash through my brain; a thought too dreadful to be even put into words. PART I. Gripping the arms of my seat with both hands and leaning forward with a face from which I felt all the blood had vanish- ed, I stammered out: “You do not—you cannot think that— that—" ss “That closely. ‘That these people have been- but for the life of me I could not get the word out. : “Murdered?” he queried, calmly. “Poisuned!” I at last managed to ejacu- late. “Well,” said Prof. Fournicr, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back among the cushions, “we shall see. I confess that I have certain ideas on the subject which I am hardly ready to formulate just yet. This much I will say for youry guidance; that I do not suspect the presence of any ordinary poiscn administered by any or- dinary polsoner. In fact, the case is such that, if I find my ideas substantiated, I | shall consider it my duty to humanity to take upen myself the punishment rather than the exposure of the criminal.”” From this time until our arrival at Arteuil no conversation passed between us. Four- nier seemed wrapped in thought, and my n mind was busy with the awful sus- picion his words had suggested. I could not but acknowledge that the facts strongly what?” he asked, eyeing me favored my companion’s apparent theory, but the difficulty was to realize what polson could have been used, and how any polson could have been administered In such a vast number of cases. It secmed to argue a con- spiracy of impossible dimensions, and at this point I was flound, our train drew into the station. Our coming had been duly heralded. Sev- eral physicians were waiting on the plat- form, and, among them, I saw the handsome Intellectual face of Toedt. He ri ‘d to embrace us. t the same moment, but whether } dent or design I could not fathom, Four nier turned to give some direction to a ter and ignored the friendly greeting. I a queer look come over Toedt’s face, he made no motion to renew his advance, a the incident would have left little or no imp sion on me had it not recalled to my memory that scene in the Paris cafe. As a matter of fact, however, the pro- ssional situation was of a nature to ban- ish eve thing else from our minds. The condition was indeed frightful. Hardly a family of wealth or standing but had lost one or more of its members, and, in some instances, the entire household, including the servants, had been simply obliterated. The symptoms were horrible in the extreme, you are not a medical man, and to de: scribe them in detail would not make my story any the more comprehensible to you. Suffice to state that they indicated a malig- nant decay of the mucous tissues of the body, and, worse than all, there was not a single record of a cure. Night and day we worked—at first with feverish enthusiasm, then with dogged perseverance; while our efforts slowly dwindled from attempts to save down to mere endeavors to alleviate the sufferings of the stricken ones, until the Great Alleviata of all human suffering should press His cooling hand upon their Meanwhile, sirange to relate, the and laboring quarters of the town still remained exempt, but for a few sporadic cases. rather imagined, at first, that Four- nicr might have observed in the mptoms something akin to those produced by the new poisons with which I had believed him to have been experimenting, but I soon that this supposition was ground! he apparently natural death of the Guinea pig was as far as anything could be from the horrors of these dissolutions. W id attempted no autopsies. The physician who, before the coming of the fashionable ved one, been pest, shared with Toedt the praetice of Arteuil, ha taken down himsel Later, one of the first of the visiting men had braved the same danger, with the same result to himself and his assistants. Since then au- eee had been abandoned. au ations with my former classmate when relieved for a few moments from my labors, and I found, to my surprise, that he had not entirely yielded to the despair which the rest of us felt. He had first believed, he that the best mst the con- t in view, had said, practice was to fortify ag: tasion, and, with this objec made it a point to visit most of his padients at the time of the outbreak of the epidemic, He admitted, however, that his efforts to Ward off had, thus far, proved about as an. availing as ours to c “I confess te you,” he said, at the con- clusion of cne of these talks, “that 1 have little or no hope which is not based upon a discovery of the true nature nd ca Ss of the disease itself—facts which can be gotten at cnly through an exhaustive au- topsy of a well-defined case, made by a leading pathologist. That the experiment is dangerous, I admit; but there are many reasons why such an autopsy as I suggest need not be looked upon from the stand- ponit cf the non-results and perils of its predecessors. The former operators were neither of them first-class men, nor did they realize the danger they ran. Be assured, I Would attempt it myself were I more able scien’ ‘ally, or less run down physicaily. It should be done by a comparatively new man in the field, and by a great man.” I went back to my lodgings considerably impressed by these words. They seemed to point detinitely to Fournier as iheir object, and I hesitated to repeat them to him. Convinced at last, however, that he was not the man to be led blindly into the us less and fooihardy experiments that might attract a young aspirant for fame, I ac- quainted him that evening with the sub- stance of Toedt’s opinions. His face wore a look of grim humor when I had finished speaking. veanee do you think of his idea?” I quer- hat it is an excellent one from his point of view,” rejoined my friend, imper- turbably. “Bye the bye, did you bring your pistol with you frem Paris E “No. Why should I have?” I asked. “Can I trouble you to get two in town the first thing in the morning end a box of cartridges. I anticipate that we shall need them in our investiagtions.” You can, perhaps, imagine the condition of utter astonishment into which these words plunged me. At first I was even too much dumbfounded to question him, but when I recovered my senses suftici do ‘so, I soon discovered that he had all he then intended to say on the subj The next morning Isaw that his sug- gestion was corm- plied with, for I knew he was not a man to speak such words lightly. Thai night two o: the leading practi- tioners who had come to Arteuil cailed upon Four- mier, and a long discussion of the siltation and pros- pects ensued—a di eussion which end- ed in a suggestion, rather intimated than actually made, to the effect that he should under- take an autopsy upon the body of the next victim. My companion drew his bi «5 and looked seriously at the fire. “You think, gentlemen,” he said at last, “that there is a reasonable prospect of good results from such an experiment? “If made by you, yes,” replied one of our visitors, frankly. “iStestdes, put in the other, “do you not think the dangers which the earlier ef- forts have ma apparent could be suc- cessfu'ly guarded against by a fully fore- warned science?’ . was not thinking of the danger,” said Fournier, slowly. “Of course I should need several assistants in order to undertake such a work with the best prospects of success.”” “Permit me to offer myself,” exclaimed the two physicians in a breath. “Thank you, gentlemen,” sald Fournier, with some show of feeling. “Do you not think we could also obtain Dr. Toedt’s aid? It would be invaluable with his knowledge of the difficulties to be combated. “Beyond doubt he would feel highly flat- tered at such a suggestion coming from you,” said tke older of our visitors. . “In fact, "I may say that the idea of a new autopsy to be made by you is largely his. Naturally, however, ‘he hesitated to broach such a subject, and I do so myself only upon the distinct understanding that I should consider you fully justified in ignor- ing it.” T haa been silent ever, I said: gether thus far. Now, how- “Dr. Toedt seems to think that the dan- ger of an autopsy may be minimized to next to nothing, but he frankly admits that his preventive tactics have availed no bet- ter than his curative ones in actual prac- tice. Fournier cut nfe short with: “The question of risk, doctor, ts-hardly to be considered by us.” Thith,Jturning to the others, he added: “‘May I ask you to re- quest Dr. Toedt to call upon me at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. I should be pleased to discuss this matter with him}: ~ When the two doctors had Aaken their leave, Fournier turned to me.,.; Bou purchased the revolvgrg?” he ask- e I noddza. ae “Good! Load them both andi give me one. Place the other in your pocketg be in this Toom:by a 8:45 tomorrow morning, and sce that your nerves are in g¢od. condition. By the bye—” he added, as I rhowed and turned to fulfill his directions, “and will you procure a good coil of stout rope?” I retired that night in a rather perturbed frame of mind. oe Morning broke, bright and eloudless, and, at a few minutes after 6:30, I entered the reception room. Fournjgr was pacing the floor with quick nervous strides. “Ah, doctor,” he said, coming forward and grasped my hand. ‘You are on time, I see. And now, may I ask you to help me make a few preparations to receive our guest. We will see him in the studio room.”” The apartment alluded to was at the top of the house and quite separated from it. It formed, in fact, a sort of a cupola, with a skylight roof, and had been built for a Paris artist who spent some months of each year in Arteuil. By my friend’s directions I carried up- stairs the coil of rope I had secured. A photographic camera, with several curious attachments, stood at one.end of the room, and near it was a deal board iable, be- hind which Fourner seated himself, having first placed a stout wooden chair under iO middle skylight for our expected vis- tor. Scarcely had I thrown myself upon a cor- ner divan before ‘Toed: was aanounced. “Have the goodness to request him to step up here,” said Fourn A moment later my classmate entered. I noted two things. One, that his face was rather drawn and haggard, and an- other, that the door had been provided with a spring and an automatic catch, so that it fell to and clicked fast behind him. Naturally he took no account of this, and, having greeted us both, sat down upon the only free chair in the room—that which Fcurnier had placed for him. Then follow- ed what seemed to me an awkward silence. “Iam here, as you requested, Prof. Four- nier,” began Toedt at last I understand, doctor,” said Fournier, “that you have expressed opinions to the effect that I should undertake an autopsy upon the next victim of this epidemic.” “By no means,” replied Toedt, quickly. “That would be a piece of presumption of waich I trust you acquitted me at once. I merely remarked that I belleved a careful autopsy: by a first-class pathologist might give very valuable results. I would not even go so far as to believe it any man’s duty to undertake such a task. It is un- questionably dangerous.” “You knew, though,” said Fournier, stern- ly, “that what you sald would be reported to me, and that, if I acquiesced in your reasoning, I would consider it my duty to ignore the element of danger. Pardon me for saying so, but I consider your words in the nature of a direct challenge.” “I can only protest that they were not so intended,” replied the visitor flushing. “Will you act as one of my assistants?” queried Fournier, sharply. uredly, sir,” said Toedt, after an irstant of almost imperceptible hesitation. “You have no suspicion of the nature and origin of this disease that would render an autopsy unnecessary?” was the next ques- “I certainly have not,” said Toedt, with a calmness that surprised me, in view of the pointedness of the interrogation. “What would you say this was?” sued the questioner, still more sharply. As he spoke, he drew from the drawer of the table a smail tray containing fras- Inents of thin glass with several flu cotton adhering to them. Hee pur- “E should ” replied Toedt, wel; c : . welghin each word h cool deliberation, “that there are the rim, stopper and fragments of a germ-culture tube.” “You are perfectly’ co: Pour- and I imagined that ". s0 seemed ed the S easy manner; n you oblige me further with e of the bacillus has been cul- i pace in this ves- e The visitor ac- tually threw himself back in the chair and laughed. “I beg your don, doctor,” he said at last. $ for your question, let me re- mind you that I took my degree at Par‘: in the nineteenth century, not at Sala- manca in the thir. teenth. I ama phy. sician, not a necro- * mancer. “Twill something are,” said “You are the greatest villain the world has r seen. Sit still! If you stir hand or will shcot you like a mad dog.” PART HI. Toedt made a motion as if to spring from his chair, but he settled back before the muzzle of the revolver, smiled, and said, with a nonchalance that fairly staggered me: “You have original ideas of hospitaiity, professor. May I presume so far as to ask an explanation of this performance?” “Will you oblige me by tying that man in that chair,” said Fournier to me, ignoring Toedt’s last remark, and still covering him with the pistol. “‘Tie him as if for an old- time amputation—so that he cannot move a muscle.” During all this I had been sitting spell- bound. From the preliminaries, I had, of course, been led to look forward to some- thing startling, but the form in which it came took me entirely by surprise. I thought I knew Fournier well enough to be sure that he would not venture upon such a step hout very strong evidence, but the assur- ance of Toedt’s manner was so perfect that I felt myself questioning whether my friend might not have made deductions. I was ev as to whether the strain of the last few days had not unhinged his mind, but I put It aside in view of the deliberation and coolness which had marked all his acts, Picking up the coil of rope. therefore, I approached our visitor and proceeded to tie him hand, foot and body to the chair in which he sat. His self-possession was simply superb, and, as I worked, I fell to doubting more and more, “I depend upon you,” he whispered, “to see that the performance of this* maniac shail have no serious results. It is better, though, that we humor him to a degree. When you have finished, try to persuade him to give you his pistol. Have you ever had reason to suspect such a tendency?” My job was soon done, and I turned to Fournier, half with the idea of following Toedt’s suggestion. As I did so, he laid the pistol down on the table, and I heaved a sigh of relief. Then he eyed me closely for a moment with a grim smile. * “Now, may I ask you to search his pockets. carefully? There may be some:fragile ar- ticles there.” if “Pardon me, doctor,” I said, again turn- ing to the prisoner. “By all means,” replied Toedt, but I im- agined that hig face blanched a trifle. ‘The result of my search was hdt remark- able—a pocket case of instruments, a purse, keys, handkerchief and a small germ-cul- ture tube filled with some gelatinous sub- stance and stopped with a wad.of cotton. “I thought we would find this,”*said Four- nier, picking the last article up from the table where I had placed it, and holding it to the light. “I’hardly think that autopsy will be necessary, do you, Dr. 'Toedt?” Toedt looked at me and siniled slightly. “Really, professor,” he said, :addressing Fournier, ‘in conciliatory tues, “you are the best judge of that. I defer to your opinion.” “Very good,” replied Fournier. “I am glad that you ccencur to that ex‘ent. I do not believe another autopsy necessary or desirable. We have this disease pretty well under control, I think,” (I glanced quickly at him in mute amazement and perturpa- tion). “There is another little experiment, though, which T do consider highly desir- able, both scientifically and criminally. May I ask you gentlemen to assist me?” I bowed without speaking. Toedt laugh- ed again, and said: “I am afraid I can’t help you very much in my present condition.” “I only desire your passive assistance,” said Fournier, coldiy, and he began to ar- range his photographic -apparatys, adjust- ing thereto what seemed to be an electric appliance, but with the form and uses of which I was unfamiliar. Then he request-. ed _me to aid him in moving the stand a trifle, so as to get a better focus upon our captive. While all this was transpiring, I had been r ‘cot IL thinking very hard, and had about made up my mind not to allow the affair to be carried to extremes. It was with an in- descriable shock that I found myself in- clining more and more toward Toedt’s view of my friend’s acts. They certainly did not appear to be those of a sane man. What he was doing now, however, celled for no interference. To take a man’s pho- tograph under such conditions might be considered an indignity, bu: Toedz evident- ly regarded the whole performance with that indulgence with which we view the vagaries of a lunatic. In fact, he seemed decidedly relievel that the professor's mania had glided into such a .harmless channel. Let me also add that I had taken advantage of Fournier's employment to pick his revolver up from the table end piace it in my pocket. “Will you oblige me by seeing if this orcs is éntirely correct?” he said, turning 0 me. : J applied my eye to the instrument. “Absolutely so,” I replied, stepping back. A smile that was more than half a sneer curled the corners of Toedt’s mouth. Suddenly a luminous glow filled the apart- ment. It was in no wise like the effect of a flashlight. There was nothing blinding about its intensity, and yet, during the few seconds while it lasted, it gave you the im- Pardon me, doctor.” pression of a penetrating intensity, incal- culable and mysterious. In that light a the world ond its secrets were ss tra parent as crystal. All this I felt on the irstant. By .wkat mechanism Fournier had pro- duced this effect I had not observed, but the form of Toedt seemed to occupy the central point of illumination. Then the light as suddenly went out, and the bright- ness of the sun seemed dull and dingy. The professor had merely touched a short lever and placed the cap over the lens. ‘That much I saw, for my eyes were upon him at the moment. A second later I turned toward Toedt, and an indescribable dismay seized me. His body hung Imp in its bonds, and his face was set in the same half smile, half sneer I had noted a few moments earlier. I sprang towards him and grasyied_ his pulse. There was not the faintest flutter. Never in all my experience have I known death to be so absolutely instantaneous. “He Is dead!” 1 exclaimed, staring at Fournier, with an expression of horror. “I know it,” replied he. “You might loosen him, if you will.” eur peep oy} piel pue sedos oy3 no LINSeU sy wi Asnq sem ay ‘eyods ay atu AL T Atdax oy Sujnjyusa ynouway “snqvavdde upon the floor. “You had better notify some one,” con- tinued Fournier, in the same yoice. “I sball be very much occupied for the next twenty-four hours—and pray do not judge of my sanity or commit yourself, until I See you agaia. By-the-pye, may I ask you to call upon my patients today?” He placed the now detached camera under his arm and hurried out, leaving me alone with the corpse. How I got it downstairs and on the sofa in the recep- tion room I do not know, but it was cer- tainly there when I roused the household and sent them scurrying hither and thither to notify several of our confreres. These dropped in, one by one, during the course of the next hour. It was quite evi- dent that no suspicion crossed their minds. When they heard the news they naturally assumed that the plague had claimed another victim. When they viewed and ex- amined the body, however, they agreed that it was unquestionably a case of heart disease aggravated by overwork and anx- jety, in which latter supposition I wes more than half inclined to concur. A post mortem was not even suggested. We were too busy to care to gratify professional curiosity, and there seemed to be no other ground for one. Faurnier had excused himself to all on the plea of important work which could not be laid aside—a course whose very suspiciousness might rave tended to allay suspicion had any existed. Men were buried promptly at Arteuil in those days, and the following morning saw the remains of Dr. Toedt committed to the earth. Fournier did rot attend the service, but, upon my return, I found a message from him requesting me to step up to his room. I did so with feelings which it would be hard to describe. “Dector,” he began, when I had seated niyself, “have you row any theory as to the nature of this epidemic?” I shook my head, partly because I had nothing definite to say and partly because I was anxious to learn the truth as soon as possible. “Are you familiar with the effects upon the human system of anthrax bacilus?” “I know little or nothing on the subject,” Leaving Me Alone With the Corpse. said I, for bacteriology was then practi- gally a clésed book. “If I told you that the symptoms in- duced by a certain very rare bacillus closely allied to the anthrax but capable of attacking the mucous membrane of human beings, would be precisely those of this disease; that fragments of germ tubes had been picked up in several of the houses whose inmates have dicd; that a similar tube containing thece bacilli was found upon the person of Dr. Toedt, and elabo- rate apparatus for their culture in a small laboratory in his house—” “Is that latter the fact?” I interrupted. “I obtained entrance there last night,” went on Fournier, “and made a careful in- vestigation, which resulted as I tell you.’ “But the object!” I gasped, beginning at last to half catch his drift. “If I told you,” he pursued, “that this epidemic had been practically confined to the families of wealthy persons and large employers of labor who inhubited the most salubrious part of the region and town; that Toedt had, by his own admission to you, visited, on the plea of taking pre- verte measures, most of the residences where the disease afterward broke out; that this man had professed anarchistic principles of the most advanced kind; that papers showing his connection with certain anarchistic bodies had been found in his house, and that the only known record of the same disease is that of the cases at Montrevauilt, where Toedt was located before he came here—f I told you all this, and you realized it to be the truth, what would be your verdict?” : “That the man was a monster,” I fal- tered, while I felt the cold sweat burst out upon my forehead. * ‘Pleasé examine this photograph,” he sald, handing it to me. “I did not know : " Highest of all in Leavening Power—Latest U.S. Gov't Report Yal ARGATUITERY Baking Powder RE yesterday all that I know now, but I felt justified in taking it—bound to take it, in fact, although I was certain that the re- sult would be fatal to the sitter.” I glanced once at the vague, mysterious shadow upon the card in my hand—oh, the unutterable horror of that one glance! Hidecus distortion; fiendish malignity; ab- ject terror; mortal agony—then I fainted. When I came to Fournter wes lower:ng my feet from the cha'r upon which he had raised them. “What is it?” I whispered, eyeing my master fearfully. His solemn accents fell heavily upon my brain as he answered: : Ss a photograph of Herman Toedt’s —-_—.—— GIRL LIFE IN INDIA. Sketched in Somber Colors by a Re- turned Woman Missionary. From the Buffalo Courter. Mrs. Libbie C. Griffin, a graduate of Keuka College and a returned missionary from India, delivered an entertaining lec- ture in the conference at the Second Free Baptist Church last night. Mrs. Griffin spent the greater part of her life in Bengal, and is thoroughly conyersant with all that pertains to the customs, morals and life of the Hindu people. In her lecture last night she drew the picture of a girl's life in India from the time of her birth until her death. ‘The portrayal which Mrs, Griffin made was a horrible one to contemplate, although she assured her’ audiences that it was really brighter than the tgue picture of the life of the average Hindu girl. Mrs. Griffir. told of the sorrow of the mother of the girl when it was born. All of a Hindu woman's life, and, indeed, that of her husband, is bound up in the hopes of having a son. According to the Brahmin religion, a man can with certainty escape heil if he has a son living at the time of his death. Where a woman does not give birth to a son in eleven years, her husband must cast her aside and choose another wife, by whom he may possibly have a son, A® vivid comparison was made between the lives of a boy and girl. On the sixth night after the birth of a child the mother and child lie down together in the same room and sleep. An inkstand and pen are placed in the room, and a midwife watches the sleep- ers. If the child moans and tosses, the gods are writing a sorrowful existence on its forehead. If it smiles, the opposite may be awaited. At the end of a month the astrologer comes and seeks to solve the fate of the child's life. At the end of six months the child is given the first taste of rice and water. In all these ceremonies there is much feasting and celebrating in the case of a boy, but nothing except the ceremony self in the case of a girl. : aN girl has a miserable time of it ail her life. Only at night is a mother allowed to kiss or caress her child. The boys are al- lowed to roam at will; but girls must re- main indoors, and can only get out at long e] Is for short periods. : rats years of age the child is married, i.e, the first wedding ceremony takes place. It is more of a formal betrothal, but with all the binding of a genuine wedding. The child must now remain indoors, and her face must be hidden from all men. If she is the daughier of a cast-off wife, that is, one who for eleven years has borne no son, she has to suffer many persecutior which eventually lead her to almost any vil or sin. “vat twelve years of age the husband, too often a very old man, comes to take the child to his home. Often the child does not wish to go, and shrieks while she vain tempts to escape from the messengers to bring her to the waitigg husband. “The hardest things about this awful cus- tom cannot told,” said Mrs. Griflin, R. cently the English passed a law which fc bade a husband to take a wife to his home until she was twelve years old. There’ were many objections to the passing of this law, and among them was one which said tl. it was contrary to the Hindu religion. an impressive voice Mrs. Griffin said: wonder if there are any advocates of the so-called higher religions, Buddhism, Brah- minism and Hinduism, in this reom. If 50, to them I say that these religions should be swept from the face of the earth, if for nothing more than because they permit these horrible child marriag Continuing, Mrs. Griffin drew the picture of the child wife in «her. new home; the early birth of a son, and the broken health of the mother, due ‘to this early birth, the water famine, such as there was four years ago, and the breaking out of cholera, re- sulting in the death of the husband. When the husband dies the wife is shut up in a room, sometimes for years, where she sees no one. Her imprisonment depends on the e of the mother-in-1aw. 5 “Very suggestively, Mrs. Griffin sald the child she had been describing had had a happy life as the life of Hindu girls goes. She has never been burned with red-hot irons by her husband, and her husband has not beaten her as much as other wives have been beaten. Beatings she has re- ceived, but the red-hot irons, although com- mon, she has escape®@ ‘ ‘As a widow, however, she {s in diszrace, and the sooner she dies the better for her. It is bad luck to look into her face first on arising in the morning. She is allowed one meal a day, and all delicacies needed, owing to her broken health as the result of early births, are withheld. The reason is evident—widows are not wanted, and they can never remarr: AFRICAN MISSIONARIES. Henry M. Staniey Pays a Tribute to the Great Work They Have Done. Stanley in the Century. % I was the only white man during 1876 in equatorial Africa, but In 1877, when only a short distance from the Atlantic, e firs missionaries landed on the east coast in sponse to an appeal that I had wr! rom Uganda. During the yea to IS8t missionaries follow: my tracks up the Congo, and as a hundre? influences were in the course of a few yeai enlisted in the cause of Africa, Land and the eastern and southern part of central Africa began to be studded with Christian missions. and missionaries have continued to enter Africa ever since, until now there must be about 30) of them, and the number is still increasing. They are not all reputed to be first-class men, but it is wonderful what earnestness and perse- verance will do. We have only to think of Uganda, with its 200 churches and cathe- dral and its 59,000 native Christians, read the latest official reports from Nyassa Land, and glance at the latest map of Africa, to be convinced of the zeal, devo- tion and industry of the missionaries. Mission houses do not grow of thom- selves. Gospels are not translated into African tongues, nor are converts sponta- neous products’ of human nature. I aim somewhat familiar with African facts, and to me these things represent immense bor, patience and self-sacrifice; but others expect Africans to fall in love with the missionary’s eyes. It is true, though strange, that for the first six years or so very little visible effect is produced by missionary teaching ani in- j fluence. The mind of a-pagan descendant of innumerable centuries of pagans ap- pears to be for some time impenetrable io the Christian doctrine, and no matter how zealously a missionary may strive with him, he continues to present a wooden ¢ ness, until by and by there is a gleam of interest; he catches the idea, as it were; and the interest becomes infectious and spreads from family to family, and con- verts multiply rapidly. “Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.” I have in my mind, as I write, the ex- amples furnished by the Waganda, Wan- yassa and Bakongo. At the town of Ban- za Manteka, for instance, one day 900 na- tives camé to Mr. Richards, the mission- | ary, and requested to be baptized by hit. He had labored among them ‘many years, | but hitherto converts had been few. The missionary imposed conditicns on them. He said that they must first assemble their fetishes, idols and stores of gin, and de- stroy all in the market place. And they went forthwith and did it. FOR NERVOUS DEPRESSION Use Horsford’s Acid Phosphate. Dr. W..E. PITMAN, Lynchburg, Va., says: “I have used it in nervous sion aud dyspeptic treubles, with good recults.” ANOTHER LINCOLN STORY. About a Roy and Gingerbrend, but It Mlustrated the Point. From the Burlington (lowa) Hawkeye. Mr. Linccln was one of the rare talkers who could always point a moral with an adorning tale taken out of his own experl- eee. Everybody has experience if he only knows it. Most of us are so much in the habit of taking in wisdom and fun through the printed page or the story as another man tells it that we lack the capacity to see it for ourselves. The story teller is the man who finds his own material. An old southern politician was moralizing thus a few nights ago and falosizing the man the south used to dis- “Waen Lincoln first came to Washington I went to see him, so prejudiced against hm beforehand that na man with less genius could have overcome it. I left that first interview nd. No man ever came under the charm of Lincoln’s person- ality without respecting him, and, if allow- ed, loving him. “One day, after we had become fatrl ed friends, I told him of my early pre. Mr. Lincoln,” I said, ‘I had he mean thing on earth about you except one. I never heard that you were too fond of the pleasures of life.* Mr. Lincoln sat fora moment stroking his long cheek thought- fully, and then he drawied out in his pe- cul iar western Voice: ‘That reminds me of something that bey said to me when I was about ten years “ “Once in a while my mother used t some sorghum and some ginger and tone us up @ batch of gingerbread. It wasn't often, and it was our biggest treat. “One day I smelled it and came into the house to get my share while it was hot. I Lene oan ene me three gingerbread jen, an ook them out under a hickor one kok out under a hickory yenere was a family near us that was a littlespoorer than we were, and their boy came along as I sat down. ‘Abe,” he said, edging close, * ard every ‘imme a fave him one. He crammed i his mouth at two bi Freee tes and looked at me ” he said, “gimme that other'n." ‘I wunted it, but I gave it to him, an as it followed the first one I sala: #4 You seem to like gingerbread? “Abe,” he said, earnestly. “I don’t S'pose there's anybody on this earth [kes Singerbread as well as I do,” and, drawing a sigh that brought up crumb: “I don't S'pose there's anybody gets less edhe And the old politician said M Lincola looked as though the subject was ended. — wee. How to Trap the ki ine of Beasts, From Fliegende Blatter.