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Show f"AN EXPERIMENT IN I MENTAL TELEPATHY j j BY KNOX KALDWELL 5 (oeoccococccocooooococccoeoGsoooccccoosocccsososccov (Copyright, by Dully Story l'uli. Co.) BHfl Mr. Joseph Kelly, "vaudovlllo artist and uumologlst." ns ho modestly announced an-nounced himself In tho thentrlcal Journals, Jour-nals, tilted back his chair, elevated his feet to a comfortublo position upon the ofllce desk nnd complacently lit a huge clgur. Mr. Kelly's solf-satlsfnc-Hon, however, was only superficial Inasmuch In-asmuch ns no thermometer was necessary neces-sary to prove to him that his landlord's land-lord's cordiality had dropped several degrees since his advent upon tho scene, several weeks before. This sliding scale of affection wns duo to the fact that Mr. Kelly had apparently apparent-ly overlooked his bill for board and lodging, not to mention clgnrs and similar luxuries. To tell tho truth, Mr. Kelly's finances finan-ces wero In n sadly demoralized condition, condi-tion, and' his apparent forgotfulncss wns rational If not excusable. Threo weeks previously Mr. Kelly nnd his little band of "bain-stormors" had suddenly sud-denly round themselves strnnded and without f u nils In nn unsympathetic village. Arter telling Mr. Kelly n fow l.'itlnent facts concerning his past, Ills present, and especially his future, the troupe, having disposed of sunSry personal effects, departed singly nnd In pnlrs to take up other and less hazardous haz-ardous occupations, Mr. Kelly, however, who abhorred work In any guise, hnd. after duo consideration, con-sideration, descended upon tho hostelry hostel-ry In an adjacent village owned nnd conducted by Sllns Matthews. Now, Silas hnd, In bygone days, known tho elder Mr. Kelly, and upon this tenuous tenu-ous fact our friend based his hopes and expectations. Nor wns lie disappointed, disap-pointed, for Silas hnd received him with open-armed hospitality, whereupon where-upon Mr. Kelly proceeded to make himself thoroughly at home. However, utter n time, oven tho most honeyed words begin to pall and, ns Sllns watched tho gradual demoralization demor-alization of Ids stock of choice cigars and mellow Pickwick, a chilling politeness polite-ness began to replace his former effusiveness, ef-fusiveness, Mr. Kelly, therefore, as ho breathed out hugo clouds of fragrant smnko, perceived thnt the tlmo hnd at last arrived ar-rived when he must bo up nnd doing. "I am going to give n llttlo enter-tnlnment enter-tnlnment this evening In tho town hall, Silas," remarked Mr. Kelly, affably, "and I want you to help mo." "Coin' tew charge admission?" queried quer-ied Silas eagerly, perceiving n possible remuneration for paBt favors in tho occnslon. "Sure, sure," responded our friend, perceiving nt once the bent or his host's mind. "Fifty cents straight, and you nnd 1" hero ho slapped Mr. Matthews affectionately upon tho shoulder "nre going to divldo tho plunder; that Is. of courso. If you promise to help." Anyone observing the genial glow that overspread Silas' rnco at these words would not havo doubted Ills willingness. "Now, my little scheme runs like this," snld Mr. Kelly, accepting with dignity tho cigar Silas tendered him: "After n fow elocutionary stunts to break tho Ico, I will glvo tho crowd u song nnd dance about mind rending. Now, of course, this mind rending business Is pure rot nnd bluff, nnd that Is the reason I need you, sco? Now I want you to " Hero Mr. Kelly leaned over and whispered earnestly In Sllns' ear for a moment, whorcat Hint wor'hy turned pale and snt down limply In u chair. Gradually, however, how-ever, as Mr. Kelly unfolded his plan, tho color returned to his face nnd, when he had finished, even Sllns seemed to have acquired somo or his enthusiasm, albeit it wns somewhat sickly and weak-kneed. "Don't rorget to get tho numbors correctly," cautioned Silas as tho conspirators con-spirators parted, "and bo sure to let me know what they are beforo night." Silas promised nnd Mr. Kelly sauntered saun-tered nonchalantly away to Indulge in anticipatory dreams. Evidently tho visions wore extremely pleasurable, for ho might havo been observed to pause nt frequent Intervals and indulge in-dulge In long-drawn chuckles of do-light. do-light. A largo and enthusiastic audlouco greeted Mr. Kelly as, with faco suffused suf-fused with smiles, he enmo forward and bowed low his appreciation or the genorous applause. Ills olocutlonury efforts, entitled "Asleep nt the Switch" nnd "Cnsoy at tho Hat," wero mnsterpieccs, nnd completed com-pleted tho subjugation. Mr. Kolly therefore, poreelvlng that his audience wns In a generous nnd receptive mood, resolved to delay his "coup" no lougor. As the last plaudit following his ro-cltal ro-cltal or Casoy's downfall dlod away and "a sea of eager faces regarded him expectantly Mr. Kelly cleared his throat and begun: "Ladles and gon-tlomen, gon-tlomen, with your kind attention I shall noxt perform somo vory romark-able romark-able and wonderful feats In that realm of romance and mystery known as mind rending. Now mind reading, contrary to the gonorr.l boliof, is not a simple matter when tho operator has only one subject. 'You can readily seo, therefore, thnt 1 mn attempting an almost al-most Impossible feat when I Includo in my experiment this whole vast audience. au-dience. I shall, therefore, ask you to grant me your most careful attention "I shall first attempt to decipher the 1 numbers of one or mure hank note. carefully examined by any two per- BBB sons in tho audience, scaled In an cn- vclopc and deposited upon thin table BBB whereon I shall place my hand during BBb tho experiment. "Now, IcBt nny doubt oxlst as to tk BBV genuineness of this achievement, jnd to disprove tho Idea of deceit beiore BBb hand, I shall ask any gentleman who BBa happens to bo tho possessor of "u- BBj valuables as bank notes to volunteer BBb their use for n few momonta." BBb At this Sllns Matthews pospousfr BBb arose. "Ah, our genial and kind)? tend- BBl lord," Bald Mr. Kelly, ifUblj. "How , BH tunny, Mr. Matthews?" BBa "F-flvc," responded Silos, wlti BBl air of importance. BBJ "That makes tho experiment Terr dimcult, very dtfllcult, Indeed," said BH Mr. Kelly, with nn air of doubt. "How- BBl over, 1 shall nttcmpt It. I shall go BBl oven farther. If Mr. Matthews will BBl loan us his watch for tho ftccnslon I BBl will gladly try to discover Its numbor BJ at the same time. Will tho commit- BBj tee plcaBo tako tho nates and watch, BJ seal them In sopnrato envelopes nnd BBl placo them on the table bcsldo me." BBl With dlfllculty Sllns repressed a chucklo of mirth ns tho commlttco did BB as Mr. Kelly had requested. How ho BBl and Mr. Kelly would laugh nt theso BH dupes when they divided tho rich. BH Juicy' bag of booty after tho entertain- BBi mcnt wns over. BBl When nil preparations had boon BBl completed our friend again advancod BBl to tho center of tho stago and, amidst BBl n chorus of ndmlrlng murmurs, sold BH modestly: "Now, ladles and gentle- BH men, slnco this tnsk requires absoluto BH concentration of mind, not ntono on BH my part but on yours as well, I shall BH ask each or you to presorvo an ab- soluto silence for ten minutes and to BH focus your minds on theso two sealed HV envelopes. In addition, slnco light ! HJ n disturber of the er nctlnlc rays ot HB thought, I shall request that tho lamps HJ bo extinguished and for that spaco of I time you nelthor move nor speak. In exactly ten minutes" hero Mr. Kolly HJ consulted his watch "I shall give a H signal for the lamps to bo relighted HJ and will enumerate tho numbers of H tho watch and bank notes correctly." As Mr. Kelly finished tho sound of HJ a distant whlstlo hroko In upon tho HJ awed silence. Then rapidly, ono by HJ one, tho lamps wero extinguished. For HJ a moment there enmo to the ears of H tho tensely nerved throng tho faint H sound of footsl ps ns tho domonstrntor HJ took his plnco beside tho llttlo table, HJ then absolute sllcnco reigned. HJ Threo minutes passed, four, llvo. HJ Still not n word. Six, seven, eight. flfl Tho faint whlstlo of a departing train BJ eanio.'falntly to tho ears or theso zeal- B ouh' dlBcIpk'H or mind reading. ' Bfl Nine,' ten, eleven, twolvc, thirteen. Suddenly home one giggled nnd tho spell was broken. "Holy smoko!" shouted n man In the back or tho hall. "Wako mo up for breakfast." Everyono laughed at this excopt IJ Silas, who, with n sudden premonition Hj or evil, was stumbling about In n fran- HJ tic endeavor to llnd n lamp. At lust ho succeeded and, In its first flash, BJ looked expectantly toward tho stago HJ for Mr. Kelly. Hut Mr. Kelly was IJ gone. So wore tho bank notes, tho BJ watch nnd the receipts for tho even- BJ lug. An open window nt the back of H3 tho stage showed how tho bird had Mr. Kelly sat In the luxurious parlor BJ car ot n train fast speeding eastward BJ and, with studied deliberation, lit a BJ hugo black cigar. "Mind reading is BJ certainly a wonderful thing," ho BJ mused, ns he consulted a handsome BJ old-fashloncd gold wiitch. "I must BJ really mako n tnoio careful study of BJ Its possibilities." BJ |