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