PAOLINA. OR THE MILLIONAIRE'S PLOT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10140, 18 January 1911, Page 2

PAOLINA. OR THE MILLIONAIRE'S PLOT.

(OUR SERIAL..

By MARIPOSA WEIR, Author of "Evadyne's TemptatSon," aI A Chase Round the World," etc.

CHAPTER. IV.—Continued. It was beard by Punclerson, who, glancing upward, with an expression of suspicion and enquiry, deftly replaced the pistol in his pocket. 'I did not mean to lay violent hand.? on yon," said Seth, as he haard Punclerson struggling to hit feet, "but it angered ine to have you suggest any villainy in connection with my sister." "Then you refuse to help me in the matter I have proposed?" "Yes, most emphatically." "Hark," exclaimed Punclerson, "I think I heard some one at the door. I expected another party. Wait for ma a. few moments." He passed into the front room, hurriedly secured a hammer and a few nails, unlocked the door, and softly went out, closing the door behind him. In a few moments he was in the rear of the house, on the upper round of the ladder by which Zip ihad ascended to the window which admitted him to the loft. To deftly close the stout shutter, and nail it fast, was the work 'of three minutes, the noise Punderson made in the act being rendered inaudible by the fierce rain storm then proceeding. His absence was unnoticed by Seth, who still remained in his chair when Punderson returned. Seth was in deep reflection, and did not notice that Punderson heid in his hand an iron bar, about three feet long, and about an inch square. Zip saw that Punderson's lips were firmly compressed, and that his face was deadly pale as he nofseiessly laid the ..iron, bar on a barrel out ; of sight of Hagburn. Zip would have cried out to alarm Seth, for. the latter had done him many a favour* and he respected both his mother and his sister, and was in the habit of visiting them : frequently. But speech was at that moment j impossible. His vocal organs seem- i ed paralysed. "Well, I must be off," said Setlj, *as the last stroke of tho little hall clock proclaimed the midnight hour. He arose as he spoke, and com-, menced buttoning his coat. "Better stay here to-night," said Punderson, "the, police will he likely to nab you if you go out." "No; I shall find some obscure lodging, -and to-morrow night shall start for the interior. Good night," and Seth turned to go. "Good night, Seth," said Punder-'j 'son, in a tone that was slightly tremulous. As. the younger man moved to-, ward the door, Zip saw Punderson lift the iron bar, and steal behind the unsuspecting Seth. Zip gave a piercing shriek of wild alarm, and leaped to his feet. The warning was too late. w Once—twice—thrice the murderous ! bar struck the, unfortunate Seth, I and he dropped unconscious to the floor. There were a few feeble moans,' and then silence reignca in the house. "Murder! murder!" shouted Zip, fully comprehending the foul deed that was done, and hastening toward the window. To his horror he found it nailed j last!. . ', Spurning ' to his former post of { observatioji," Z-iP - v . . £uni e rs°h i emptying a five-gallon.can 4 of kerosene'on various boxes and other | light'combustibles he had. gathered near the body of his victim, I His purpose was evident to Zip. He , was 'about to set the house on fire! "It can't be Kinge who has been ' spying upon me," muttered Punderson. "It sounds like the voice of a boy. But, man or boy, he must not live after what he has heard tonight." He i meant to destroy both the living witness and the dead! CHAPTER V. DOCTOR GUBERLEY'S EXPERI- . ■■; : ■ MENTS... Doctor Goethe Uuoehey was seated hi a huge armchair in the dingy little den which he called, his laboratory, surrounded hy.a chaos of-books, papers, alembics and retorts, when a slatternly looking, but rather pretty German girl entered, and announced that a gentleman wished to see him. "Did I not tell you that I was not to be disturbed?" The untidy handmaiden seemed to be quite undaunted by this reception. "It is the handsome gentleman," she said, "whom you always re-j

ceive." 'Ah! the patron," growled Guberlet, closing the volume with a sigh of resignation. "Bid him enter then!" The girl disappeared, and the next instant Graniia was shown into the apartment. "How do you get on with your experiments.'' was the question of the visitor, after the two had exchanged salutations. The doctor arose and walked to a corner of the room, where there was some object covered with a piece of .cotton cloth. ' Removing the cloth a large dog was disclosed to the view of the visitor. The clog was stretched out upon its side, as if asleep or dead. "It is now four days since I tried the anaesthetic upon this animal," said the doctor. "During all that period he has remained as you now see him. Yet the vital functions of respiration and circulation have gone on. Animation has been suspended, not destroyed. The costly recipe which I obtained from Dr. Spiretti has perfectly done its work; yet it has wrought ,no permanent injury to the organisation, as you shall now see." So saying the doctor took a small vial from a case upon a table near the corner in which the animal lay, and, having removed the cork, held it close to the creature's nostrils. Before thirty seconds had passed, a nervous shiver ran through its irame, then it made a low moan, and. opened its eyes. The doctor next applied a sponge moistened with water. t6 the'nostrils and mouth, when it attempted to , get upon its legs, But failed through apparent .weakndgs. ".' ■ , Guberlet. now .brought .a saucer of milk from a cupboard, and placed it on the floor in sight of toie animal, whereupon it made another effort' to ri e, and presently succeeded in dragging itself to the dish, from which it lapped greedily. "It is not surprising," said Guberlet, "that the beast is faint and hungry, seeing that it has fasted now for a space of nearly on ehundred hours. But in that state life can be sustained an almost incredible length of time without sustenance ; for the condition closely resembles that of cataleptic trance,' in which there is little waste of the tissues, and consequently little need of food. In the case of persons lying in the cataleptic state, apparently lifeless, and without any power of speech or motion, it has often happened that animation has remained suspended for weeks together." .Grandin listened with eager attention, and with the air of a man who is thinking while Jie listens. ' 'Did one application or* the anaesthetic suffice to keep the dog in this state during the time you mentioned?" asked Grandin. Assuredly not," returned the doctor, "it had to be renewed several i times." "What advantage has this discov- ■; ery of the' Italian doctor, then, over ordinary anaesthetics— over chloroform, for instance?" "This, used in proper quantity, can produce a sleep that closely resembles death, and cannot by the ordinary tests be distinguished from it. It has also certain other very interesting properties." As he spoke, the doctor waiked to another corner of the ropnr, where Graridiu now saw a second dog, partially covered with a shabby garment. "Examine this aiumaV' feiud the savant to his patron, lt llnd pro-' nounce tipon his condition." "I should say without Hesitation,'' replied Grandin, after a careful examination, " that he is dead, if I were not aware that you had been experimenting with him. I cannot discover any sign of respiration." "I think," remarked Guberlet, 'that a man in his condition would be pronounced dead, and given over to the undertaker without hesitation, by any ordinary practitioner." " Grandin seemed to ponder deeply for. a while, then he asked whether a person could be placed in that condition without danger to life. ■ •"The danger would be,slight," re-, turned the doctor, "if the patient were closely watched, and the process conducted by a skilled physician. , You shall see how speedily this animal can be reanimated." To be Continued.