Speaker 1: A desperate adventure by Max Adler wanted four persons who
Speaker 1: were bent upon committing suicide to engage in a hazardous adventure,
Speaker 1: apply et cetera to Captain Cowgill, number blank, blank, blank Street,
Speaker 1: after nine o'clock in the morning. Captain Cowgill inserted the
Speaker 1: above advertisement in three of the morning papers. But the
Speaker 1: result was that, between nine o'clock and noon, five men
Speaker 1: and two women called at his office to inquire respecting
Speaker 1: the nature of the proposed adventure, and to offer their
Speaker 1: services in the event that it should involve nothing of
Speaker 1: a criminal character. Of these seven, Captain Cowgill selected four,
Speaker 1: three men and one young woman, and when he had
Speaker 1: dismissed the others, he shut the door and said to
Speaker 1: the four applicants, what I wanted you for was this.
Speaker 1: I have made up my mind that the North Pole
Speaker 1: can never be reached by an exploring party traveling upon
Speaker 1: ships and sledges. The only route that is possibly practicable
Speaker 1: is through the air, and the only available vehele, of course,
Speaker 1: is a balloon. But an attempt to reach the pole
Speaker 1: in a balloon must expose the explorers to desperate risks.
Speaker 1: And it occurred to me that those risks had better
Speaker 1: be taken by persons who do not value their lives
Speaker 1: than by persons who do. It has always seemed to
Speaker 1: me that a part of the sin of suicide lies
Speaker 1: in the fact that the life wantonly sacrificed might have
Speaker 1: been expended in a cause which would have conferred benefits
Speaker 1: directly or indirectly upon the human race. I have a
Speaker 1: large and superbly equipped balloon which will be thoroughly stocked
Speaker 1: for a voyage to the Arctic regions, and among other things,
Speaker 1: it will contain apparatus for making fresh supplies of hydrogen gas?
Speaker 1: Are you four persons willing to make the required attempt
Speaker 1: in this balloon? All four of the visitors answered yes.
Speaker 1: Were you going to sacrifice your lives at any rate?
Speaker 1: An affirmative answer was given by the four. Permit me
Speaker 1: to take your names, said Captain Cowgill, and he wrote
Speaker 1: them down as follows. William P. Crutter, Doctor, Henry o'hagen,
Speaker 1: Edmund Jarnville, Mary Dermott. Mister Crutter was a man apparently
Speaker 1: of about sixty years, handsomely dressed, manifestly a gentleman, but
Speaker 1: with a flushed face which indicated that he had perhaps
Speaker 1: indulged to some extent in dissipation. Doctor o'hagen was thin, pallid,
Speaker 1: and careworn. He looked as if he was ill, and
Speaker 1: as if all joy were dead in his heart. Mister
Speaker 1: Jarnville appeared to be a working man, but his countenance,
Speaker 1: sad as it was, was full of intelligence, and his
Speaker 1: manner was that of a man who had occupied a
Speaker 1: social position much above the lowest. Mister Mott sat with
Speaker 1: an air of dejection, her hands in her lap, and
Speaker 1: a thin and faded shawl pinned about her, and with
Speaker 1: her pale cheeks suggestive of hunger and mental suffering. My hope,
Speaker 1: said Captain Cowgill, is that you will safely reach your
Speaker 1: destination and safely return, but you fully understand that the
Speaker 1: chances are against you. For my own protection, I will
Speaker 1: ask that you certify in writing that you go with
Speaker 1: full knowledge of the risks. I will inflate the balloon tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Day after tomorrow, come to this office at nine o'clock,
Speaker 1: and you shall then make the ascent at once. On
Speaker 1: the appointed day, the four volunteers appeared, and Captain Cowgill
Speaker 1: drove with them in a carriage to a yard in
Speaker 1: the outskirts of the city, where the balloon, inflated and
Speaker 1: swaying to and fro in the wind, was held to
Speaker 1: the earth by stout ropes. The three men were supplied
Speaker 1: with warm clothing, but mister Mott had only her threadbare shawl,
Speaker 1: and so Captain Cowgill gave her his overcoat and two blankets,
Speaker 1: which he took from the carriage. While the voyagers were
Speaker 1: taking their place in the commodious car attached to the balloon,
Speaker 1: a young man entered the yard and hurriedly approached Captain Cowgill.
Speaker 1: I am going with the balloon, he said, almost fiercely,
Speaker 1: and hardly deigning to look at the captain. Am I possible?
Speaker 1: Said the captain. The crew is made up. You don't
Speaker 1: comprehend our purpose? Yes I do, said the young man.
Speaker 1: These people are would be suicides, and they are starting
Speaker 1: for the pole. I am going along, But my dear sir,
Speaker 1: began the captain, in a tone of expostulation. I will
Speaker 1: go or I will slay myself right here before you.
Speaker 1: These people are not any more tired of life than
Speaker 1: I am. Let him come, said doctor o'hagen gloomily, but
Speaker 1: returned Captain Cowgill I am afraid the balloon will be overloaded.
Speaker 1: I am going anyhow, said the young man, as he
Speaker 1: leaped into the car. Captain Cowgill sighed and said, well,
Speaker 1: have your own way about it. My name is John Wyndon,
Speaker 1: remarked the intruder. I tell you so that you we
Speaker 1: will know if any one inquires after me. But I
Speaker 1: don't imagine anybody will. Then Captain Cowgill bade farewell to
Speaker 1: the party. The ropes were loosed, and the balloon went
Speaker 1: sailing swiftly towards the clouds. Doctor o'hagen was the navigator
Speaker 1: in charge. Presently, a northeasterly current of wind struck the airship,
Speaker 1: and it began to move with great rapidity upon a
Speaker 1: horizontal line. For a long time, nobody in the car spoke. Indeed,
Speaker 1: the voyagers scarcely looked at each other, and none had
Speaker 1: enough curiosity to peer over the side upon the glorious
Speaker 1: landscape that lay bene But after a while, mister Crutter,
Speaker 1: gazing at mister Mott, said, are you fully resolved upon
Speaker 1: self destruction? Yes, she replied, so am, I said, mister Crutter,
Speaker 1: So am, I remarked, mister Wyndon, So am, I observed
Speaker 1: mister Jarnville, and I also added doctor Ohagen. Even if
Speaker 1: we reached the pole safe and return, I shall not
Speaker 1: want to live, said mister Crutter. Neither shall I said
Speaker 1: mister Mont. Nor I remarked mister Wyndon. Nor I added
Speaker 1: doctor Ohagen and mister Jarnville in a breath. Then there
Speaker 1: was silence for the space of half an hour or more.
Speaker 1: Mister Crutter then remarked, do you know I find this
Speaker 1: to be a rather pleasant experience, sailing along here through
Speaker 1: the ether, calmly, far above the distractions of the world.
Speaker 1: If I were not so miserable, I think I should
Speaker 1: really enjoy it. I am too unhappy to enjoy anything,
Speaker 1: said mister mont. But this, I confess, is not unpleasant.
Speaker 1: Pleasant enough, remarked mister Wyndon. If a man had no
Speaker 1: anguish in his soul, I had no idea that there
Speaker 1: was so much exhilaration in the upper regions of the atmosphere,
Speaker 1: said doctor Ohagen rather cheerily. I think I feel better myself,
Speaker 1: said mister Jarnville. It is very strange, observed mister Crutter,
Speaker 1: addressing mister Mott, that young people like you and mister
Speaker 1: Wyndon here should be weary of life. That an old
Speaker 1: man like me should long for death is comprehensible. But
Speaker 1: why do you wish to die? Neither mister Wyndon nor
Speaker 1: mister Mott made any response. I'll tell you, said doctor o'hagen,
Speaker 1: throwing a bag of ballast overboard to check the descent
Speaker 1: of the balloon. We are all going to destruction together,
Speaker 1: and why should we, not, as companions in misery, unfold
Speaker 1: our grease to each other. It would be very proper,
Speaker 1: I think, said mister Crutter, And I will begin, if
Speaker 1: the rest will consent to follow. The other four travelers
Speaker 1: agreed to do so. Well, I haven't much to tell,
Speaker 1: said mister Crutter. In fact, I have always had plenty
Speaker 1: of money with which to live in idleness and luxury,
Speaker 1: and I have so lived. I have tried every kind
Speaker 1: of pleasure life can afford and money can buy, and
Speaker 1: I have reached a condition of saciety. Moreover, I have
Speaker 1: ruined my digestion, and I am now a sufferer from
Speaker 1: chronic dyspepsia of a horrible kind. This makes existence a burden.
Speaker 1: I am eager to quit it. That is the whole story.
Speaker 1: How strange the difference between us, said doctor o'hagen. I
Speaker 1: have been deeply engaged in a practice of my profession
Speaker 1: for many years, and I am utterly worn out and
Speaker 1: broken down with overwork. I am nervous, exhausted, irritable and wretched.
Speaker 1: But I have lost my savings in a speculative venture
Speaker 1: and cannot rest. I must either work or die. That
Speaker 1: is partly my case, said mister Mont. I am friendless
Speaker 1: and poor, and I cannot earn enough by sewing to
Speaker 1: buy sufficient food. And I can no longer face the
Speaker 1: misery that I have endured for so many years. I
Speaker 1: prefer death a thousand times. And I, said mister Jarnville,
Speaker 1: am a disappointed inventor. I have for years labored upon
Speaker 1: the construction of a smoke consumer, but now that it
Speaker 1: is done, I have not money enough to pay for
Speaker 1: a patent, and I am starving. After trying everywhere to
Speaker 1: obtain assistance, I have resolved to give up the struggle
Speaker 1: and to find refuge in the grave. Mister Wyndon cleared
Speaker 1: his throat once or twice before beginning his story. He
Speaker 1: seemed to labor under some embarrassment. The truth is, he said,
Speaker 1: I was rechecked last night by a young lady whom
Speaker 1: I love, and I made up my mind that life
Speaker 1: without her would not be worth having. Nobody spoke for
Speaker 1: some time, and then doctor o'hagen said, the balloon is falling,
Speaker 1: and instead of throwing out ballast, I think it might
Speaker 1: be better perhaps to let it come down and to
Speaker 1: tie it to a tree and make a fresh start
Speaker 1: with additional gas in the morning. The other aeronauts gave
Speaker 1: their approval to this plan, and doctor O'Hagan threw out
Speaker 1: the grapinal. It caught upon a tree top, and after
Speaker 1: some difficulty, the balloon was brought down tied fast while
Speaker 1: the whole party stepped out of the car. It was
Speaker 1: a wild and desolate place, but the four men started
Speaker 1: a fire, and while mister Wyndon and mister Jarnville prepared supper,
Speaker 1: Doctor o'hagen and mister Crutter went to work to arrange
Speaker 1: some kind of shelter for mister Mott for the night.
Speaker 1: After supper, the five people gathered about the fire, and
Speaker 1: there really seemed to be a growth of cheerfulness in
Speaker 1: the party. I've been thinking, said mister Crutter, what an
Speaker 1: outrageous shame it is that this poor child here, pointing
Speaker 1: to mister Mott, should actually be in want of food,
Speaker 1: while I have more money than I know what to
Speaker 1: do with. I'll tell you what, mister Mott. If you
Speaker 1: will agree to go back, you can have my whole fortune.
Speaker 1: I've left it to an asylum, but I'll write a
Speaker 1: new will now and tell you where you can find
Speaker 1: the other one, so as to tear it up. I
Speaker 1: don't want to go back, said mister Mott. I would
Speaker 1: if I were you, said mister Wyndon. It's a shame
Speaker 1: for you to go upon such an awful journey as this.
Speaker 1: And I've been thinking, mister Jarnville, since you spoke about
Speaker 1: your smoke consumer, that my father, who was a wealthy
Speaker 1: iron mill owner, has offered a large reward for a
Speaker 1: perfect contrivance of that sort. If yours is a good one,
Speaker 1: he will help you to a fortune. I wish I
Speaker 1: had known that yesterday, said mister Jarnville. Yes, doctor o'hagen,
Speaker 1: and if I had known that mister Crutter here was
Speaker 1: being driven to suicide by dyspepsia, I could have helped them,
Speaker 1: for I have been very successful in treating that complaint.
Speaker 1: Let me examine you mister Creutter, Yes, said the doctor,
Speaker 1: after expending a few moments looking at and talking to you,
Speaker 1: mister Crutter, I feel certain I can cure you. I
Speaker 1: would have given you half my fortune yesterday for such
Speaker 1: an assurance, said mister Crutter. But it's now too late.
Speaker 1: If I had met you, then, said the doctor, I
Speaker 1: should not have been here. Now. Can't we all go
Speaker 1: back again, said mister Jarnville. Impossible, said doctor o'hagen. I've
Speaker 1: got nothing to go back for, said miss Wyndon. There
Speaker 1: is no remedy for my trouble that I can perceive.
Speaker 1: There are other young ladies who would make good wives,
Speaker 1: said mister Crutter. Oh I know, but said mister Wyndon,
Speaker 1: hesitating and looking furtively at mister Mott. Mister Mott blushed.
Speaker 1: Suppose we rest for the night and sleep on the matter,
Speaker 1: said doctor o'hagen. There's no use being in a hurry.
Speaker 1: Mister Mott retired to sleep beneath the shelter of bows,
Speaker 1: where were strewn some pines and hemlock branches. Doctor o'hagen
Speaker 1: covered her carefully with the blankets, and then the four
Speaker 1: men stretched themselves by the fire and fell asleep. The
Speaker 1: conversation between the travelers must inevitably have had a good effect.
Speaker 1: The sheerst remedy for a morbid propensity to brood over
Speaker 1: one's own troubles is to have our sympathy excited for
Speaker 1: the troubles of other people. After breakfast in the morning,
Speaker 1: mister Crutter said, I have solemnly considered all that was
Speaker 1: said last night, and I have a proposition to make
Speaker 1: Doctor o'hagen, if you will return with mister Mott and
Speaker 1: mister Jarnville. You three may divide my fortune between you
Speaker 1: and mister Wyndon can give a letter to his father
Speaker 1: to mister Jarnville about the smoke Consummer and dear mister
Speaker 1: Wyndon and I will continue this journey together. How will
Speaker 1: that do? I am willing to drop off in return,
Speaker 1: said mister Jarnville. I will go only on condition you
Speaker 1: will go. Also, said doctor o'hagen. I will make you
Speaker 1: a well man if you agree. But said mister Crutter,
Speaker 1: it would be a shame to leave Wyndon here alone
Speaker 1: with this balloon. No, I have had enough of life.
Speaker 1: I'll proceed on the voyage. There is a good deal
Speaker 1: of force in what the doctor says though, remarked mister Wyndon.
Speaker 1: Why you are not thinking I'm of back and out too,
Speaker 1: are you, inquired mister Crutter. Well, I don't know, said
Speaker 1: mister Wyndon, looking half ashamed. It seemed to me last night,
Speaker 1: when I got to thinking about it, that a woman's
Speaker 1: scorn is hardly worth a man's life. And I you're right,
Speaker 1: said mister Crutter. It isn't suppose we put the matter
Speaker 1: in this way. If doctor o'hagen cures me, I will
Speaker 1: pay him fifty thousand dollars in cash, and I will
Speaker 1: go into partnership with mister Jarnville in his invention. We
Speaker 1: can see your father about it, and you can return
Speaker 1: to him while I adopt mister Mott as my daughter.
Speaker 1: I had thought, said mister Wyndon, of a slightly different plan,
Speaker 1: but possibly it could not be carried out. What was that,
Speaker 1: asked doctor o'hagen. Why, said mister Wyndon. I thought perhaps,
Speaker 1: But no, there's no use of mentioning it out with it,
Speaker 1: said mister Crutter. We want the opinions of all hands.
Speaker 1: I did think, said mister Wyndon, that possibly mister Mott,
Speaker 1: instead of becoming your daughter, would consent to become my wife?
Speaker 1: Would you entertain such a proposition, mister Mott. Mister Mott
Speaker 1: hung her head and seemed to be covered with confusion.
Speaker 1: I will think about it, she said. That means she
Speaker 1: will give her consent, said mister Crutter, smiling. Let her
Speaker 1: come with me while she's thinking the matter over. Are
Speaker 1: you all agreed to my plan? Everybody expressed a cent
Speaker 1: to it, and everybody seemed happy. Why what is that,
Speaker 1: suddenly exclaimed mister Mont, pointing to a distant object above them.
Speaker 1: I verily believe that is our balloon, said doctor o'hagen. Yes,
Speaker 1: it is gone. It must have broken loose while we
Speaker 1: were at breakfast. Oh well, said mister crutterer let it go.
Speaker 1: Who cares. I'll pay Captain Cowgill for his losses. And
Speaker 1: now let us see about getting home. Mister Wyndon and
Speaker 1: mister Jarnville started to hunt for a conveyance, and in
Speaker 1: about two hours they returned with one. The nearest railway
Speaker 1: station was thirteen miles away, but in two more hours
Speaker 1: the party reached it, and while mister Crutter purchased tickets
Speaker 1: for the coming train, doctor o'hagen went into the telegraph
Speaker 1: office and sent the following dispatch. Captain W. A. Cowgill
Speaker 1: balloon escaped party, all safe, perfectly happy. Will reach home
Speaker 1: tomorrow morning, Signed Henry o'hagen. End of a desperate adventure.