It
did not last more than a minute or two, for almost instantly the
engine was stopped, and with its stoppage the light faded and soon
disappeared. The next day Dr. Syx gave it out that on starting up his
engine in the night something had caught fire, which compelled him
immediately to shut down again. The few who had seen the light, with
the exception of your humble servant, accepted the doctor's
explanation without a question. But I knew there had been no fire, and
Syx's anxiety to spread the lie led me to believe that he had narrowly
escaped giving away a vital secret. I said nothing about my
suspicions, but upon inquiry I found out that an extra and pressing
order for metal had arrived from the Austrian government the very day
of the pretended fire, and I drew the inference that Syx, in his haste
to fill the order--his supply having been drawn low--had started to
work, contrary to his custom, at night, and had immediately found
reason to repent his rashness. Of course, I connected the strange
light with this sudden change of mind.
"My suspicion having been thus stimulated, and having been directed in
a certain way, I began, from that moment to notice closely the hours
during which the engine labored.
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