Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / March 3, 1907, edition 1 / Page 20
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Hie Story of Two gowned Hgii . Dy ROLAND IWBNIS.Iil flOLINCAU Author of "Tho Room With the' IJttle Door," Tli6 Vice Admiral of th ;?" "" . Blue," Etc Illustrations by J. VS. Marchand . i t 5ik 1 if! ,; SSL 'i V Y 1 ,w ' " I! 5.- .if ROLAND E. MOLtNEUX . I never heard so mad a storm an raged that njght II flung Itself nKalnnt the death house walls with fierce aban don, as though the hungry future, to which we were individually consigned, had tired of waiting on the laws de lays and had come to take uh all to gether. It In not cheerful In dfiilli i num ber on Huch a night, tvon though o were entertaining f-oinpany. Two of us. Frank Kohl and WIlllHin l'ulllfi ter, wero noon to go through the lit tle door into etrrnlty, and mo the death watr-h animated ihc nren". The elder man, gnunt and sallow, aa viol In; d In the majely of a Keep er' uniform The guard was a young fellow, recently appointed, strong and tall, with the country tun of health Upon hi cheek. The guArd had eHt en hi upper and lighted hln pipe. The keeper wan resile. Kvery now and then lie would go to the large double door, unlock and opn them and look out The emotion which affected him, however, were not ukln to ourx. al though something )i;id gonn wrong with his affair. Had he not known It from the position of the hand on hi watch face, hla Ktomach would have reminded him. To speak plainly, the keeper wa hungry. HI nupper had not come and It wa nearly 9 o'clock. ' It I Ktruage from what trivial con currence mighty happenings will Hprlng Not that the keeper' appo tlle wn a trivial matter. The lze of the bixket he awulted would have disproved that, but because the Htorm had delayed It arrival he wag Impa tient and went out to Investigate. Th.' guard, left ulone In churge, locked the door after his senior. The key ;i! on the Inside. Then he, start ed to stroll up and down the corri dor,' The KU.'trd was bored and tired. The toim had got on his nerve. He turned his head sharply ut the Round of a slight cough, then went on again Indifferently. He had riot noticed the soft Hlgn.ll In reply. Perhaps II would not have told liltn anything If he had. There Is not much danger n beln.g left ulone with 10 men nil securely locked In 10 strong cells Imagination might make one afraid. Reality would demonstrate the absurdity of th faar. . . At the farther end of . th death chamber were the, two men he must keep his eye on. . Both had been desperate character. Both were etlll desperate, Of the two, Frank Rohl waa short and stout, thick of neck ana heavy of Jawl. His arms were like si edge hammers, hla hands were enor mous. When the doors had closed be hind the keeper Kohl had filled his mouth with soap and the Juice from a ripe red tomato; he threw himself upon the floor, screaming and froth lng at the mouth. The guard rushed to the cell. He waa a new man, a nervous man, a foolish man, a kind man, not at all the sort of man to be left alone in the death chamber, and he was only a guard. It was absolutely against the rules for a cell In the death cnamoer to be opened unless two keepers were preeent they take no chances, there. But Rohl apparod to be dying. His cries were piteous. There was bloody froth choking him. The guard hesi tated no longer. He unlocked the door and entered the cell. He bent over Ronl and raised his head. In an Instant Kohl had him by the throat. Never before has such a struggle taken place, and amid such strange surroundings. In the same room nine men condemned to death, each looked In a little oron cage, pressed their faces against the bars and listened, l'hey could ee nothing. And all the time the thunder and the wind and rain applauded and urged the combat on. The guard and Rohl grappled fierce ly In the cell Rohl fighting for his liberty, the guard for his life. There could be no help for either. The death chamber is completely separated from: the rest of the prison, and the build ing which has been fashioned so se curely to hold the men society wishes to kill would Just as securely keep as sistance out. True, the keeper would be coming back, but the key was on the Inside. Would the guard be able to reach and unlock the ' double doors? We could hear their heavy breath lag, the sounds of blows and curses. Grappled together, they rolled out In to the corridor. Then we saw them as they swayed In front of our colls primeval animals, all the man gone from them In this last light for exist ence. The guard was trying to get his revolver out of his pocket, while Rohl was biting and striking him. The guard was weakening. Slowly but surely we saw that Rohl waa forc ing him, inch by Inch, toward Pallls ter's cell, where Palllster, with a fear ful expression on his face, his long, lean arm, the arms of a gorilla, stretched out through the bars, wait ing to grasp the victim. They caught him at last. The hairy hand slipped around the guard's neck and under his chin. They clasped in front of his throat and drew him back against the Iron bars nnd began to garrote him. Vainly the guard sought to break that hold. Then Rohl. released, took the revolver and the Keys from the guard and opened Ralllster's cell. Together they bound and gagged the guard with a sheet. While doing this the keeper returned and knocked on the outer door. Inside the death house It was sil ence now. Rohl and Palllster crept down the corridor and opened the door. The keeper entered. He carri ed ihe Inrjrc basket containing his delayed supper. They slnmmed the door behind hU,, and while Rohl held tn guards ptntol to the Keepers head l aili;iter locked him and the guard In tho culls they had Just'va- catea. : It wns 9 o'clock. There Would be no relief until 6 in the morning. They had the night before them In which to .work. ' ' '. . I Chance plays strange tricks .. with some men. Rohl had been a convict In Sing Sing shortly before .he arriv ed , as a candidate for the honors of the ."Frying Pan." 'As a convict he was put to work. The warden assigns the men to those duties which they are best fitted to perform. Rohl was a oricKiayer so they put mm to worn on the new death chamber then In course of construction. Consequently he knew It from the first brick to the last. He knew of one weak spot It was between the top Of the wall and the roof., . . ; . f - ' t-':-;fi .V; For that weak (7 spot the two out- taws made. They were on top of the cells In s, moment. Rohl, lifted on Palllster's shoulders, began to pry th $io& ' u iff ' hon ( they .took a bo-it an 1 ot . y. Truth 1m atranger tlian notion, but truth does not Mop even there. So far I have described exactly whftt occur red. No olllclal will depute the facta. They are matters of record. But as to how the warden csptured these two men there are conflicting; versions. This Is they official .account, the one the warden tells. , , i . While Rohl and Palllster were go ing down the river In the stolen boats they were soon and followed. Bhots were fired after them. The overturn ed boat was found: A few weeks af terward their decomposed bodies were recovered , from : the Hudson river. They were almost unrecognisable, but the warden naa tnem taken to the pri son morgue. 1 There were the bullet holes In their backs this was the warden's proof. ' " - Bat there is Another story which is only, whispered along the gray corri dors when no official la near. It Is one of the choicest traditions of the hospital, whicn coma ten many tales If tt only would. The. version has been Li Is. i m. V m- -V bv Tii:; cii:c:ci:t ox this i:::a: t;i:. .sTTS-. ' The College Girl aank thoughtfully Into her cushioned corner. "But Is It right, or Quite fair to herself, f her own Individuality 7 Should she per mlt herself to be why, to be absorb ed by other people like that? It Is almost like being digested and asslm ulated by ones friends. One thinks of -those horried sea monsters Just lean lng up agalnt their prey and positive ly absorbing tnem alive 1 la Miss Mat tet fair to her own Individuality?" The Quiet ; Man' shook his head. "That Is a question that has .nothing to do with th on ewe've been trying to answer, , Besides you have .turned my roses Into , sea monsters, thus changing ' the figure of the petoh. which, is aa tro pardonable offeitoe. Tm not prepared to go with, yon any and has knowledge of her possibili ties. 6he knows full well that she Is not a rose, but she knows- that a suitable background la necessary for the showing off of th roses and 'she wisely becomes that background, for a larae numocr. . ' ., r . s" I doubt If the roses are conscious w vtttv, . xjui invy " w, AMmw uor lirtparts to the timid a wholesome self confidence. ' Her quiet word of com near them- without going Into, reasons. Perhaps she, too, Is unconscious of It ; That does not affect the . truth. She is a most effective background. Bh sever attempts to outshine, sn never thrusts herself forward, she Is never boldly In evidence or obtru sive, but. as has been remarked, sh la always ther. , - 3&,'jf iS ' - V" .'.jl. ; : ..i: '. 'v.:1 j" ' fi' ...,,,v.r " . ' .'. . ' " iliii-tl.1 ' ' i W X-K-' v.- ; K i . ! 3p.' , tfv- 1 f bricks from tho top of the wall, Just under the beams which held the cell ing. When the hole was large enough they sat down and ate the keeper's supper. There was enough for two, and with the crusts and apple cores left over they pelted the outraged repre sentatives of the law. Then they wished us all goodby and crawled out to freedom. Over the roofs of the buildings they went, the blackness of the night and the noise of the storm preventing their discovery. From the warden's hoath- ukdr- , jJ IZ ,,J J1r, f ill mMm: n--J TKcVojiVy KndU linyod ojrounnd tlie - rv3ji&c,'nbc hit chbx n ; 4. ,1 ,"f, f.. !' denied many times, but it lives still. Rohl and Palllster had accomplish ed the Impossible. They had "beat" the death chamber. For the honor of the prison they must be caught some how. But they had gone. What would the public say that public which de crees that there shall be a death chamber and demands that there be only one way of exit from it, and that by the way of the little door What would those in authority do those at Albany who looked after the work ings of the "chair" for the great and generous public? The warden sat down In his office and pondered over these things. He was in an unpleasant state of mind. His subordinate had no wish to In trude upon him. The principal keep er, however, had to make his dally re port. Very gingerly he entered, mop ping his forehead, and laid the pris on census before nis chief. So many In the prisons, carefully counted all correct. Death chamber two escaped. The warden swore. , Hospital one death. The warden arose and threw his arms about the "V K- a neck and wept for Joy upon his bosom. That night they prepared the man who had died for the part he was to play In the comedy. They shot his back full of holes. They treated his featuros with a rasp file. Then they threw his body into the river with a string to It. They buried a coffin In which the hospital patient should have been. They filled It with the proper weight rocks. They put his number on the empty coffin, and Interred it In the prison graveyard. But there must be two bodies, and twotho warden would have. That night the warden Dassed through the hospital wards many times, scanning the patients with un heard Interest. Ho looked long and anxiously at several Of his charges. Now It's sll very well to play off 111 for the sake of getting out of a few day's work, but when men are need ed for river Jobs like the one Just mentioned it looked like flying In the face of Providence to be 111. Mirac ulous were the recoveries. It was all right, though. Another wretch died In time after being help ed a bit which was considerate of him. He received the same careful treatment and went to Join the first In the river, and ther was another merry little funeral over an empty coffin. When th water had done Its work they fished them up. I mean they recovered Rohl and Pallister's bodies. Just to make the identification com plete, satisfy reporters and stop the public clamor, the warden sent for Pallister's old mother. Sh cam. Th warden asked her If she could Iden tify her son's body. The good old v had Just left her boy alive and well, locked up In a tiny garret under the eaves, but would sh 11 about It? The warden banked on th love which never falls, and he was right, lie removed his hat aa she wept over some other mother's son and then hurried homo to her own son. The State was satisfied. Rohl and Palllster were' dead as far as it was concerned. The warden was satisfied he kept hla Job. And the two drowned men who got away were Ui most satisfied of all. . Toaalng th Pancake. London Dally Mall. v The ancient custom of "tossing th pancake" was observed yesterday in the great hall of Westmlnaten School. There were the usual ceremonies. - Th school cook threw the pancak Into th air over th beam, and ther was great struggle by th boy for th eoveted prise. I. Alnger threw himself on tho cake, and when th sliotud period expired he waa in pos session of three-quarters of It A the wlsnev ho reostwd th oustomary arrest me for ;;fraa,-;: ; s'- father." And he- covered his retreat with the silence that had so often been his protection. "Then I shall continue to believe that Miss Muffet Is not fair to her self." the College Girl declared firm ly. "But you know," the Motherly Wo man said gently, "why it is that she goes everywhere, why all the people want her, and It Is only a question now, whether she would better live for them or for herself. If you should Instead of a rose, why, the lesson may turn out to be a bit of background be profitable I The Plain Little JWoman looked sadly down at her picture. "I sup pose," she said patiently, "If on can't bo the rose, it is worth some thing to be quite near the rose.' " With a little impatient gesture th college girl threw aside the news paper that she had been reading. "For the life of me I can't see," she said with an odd pucker between her straight slender brows, "how it is that Little Miss Muffet Is such a very pop ular young lady. I have been read ing about five receptions and a ger man and she was at every one of them. She has recently been elected president of her book club, she's on ly Just home from that house party and she has simply loads of flowers. candles and books sent to her." The Plain Little Woman, who sat before her easel In the west window for the sake of the last bit of day light looked up. "I, too, have some times wondered at that She la not pretty." "No," agreed the College Girl quick ly," nor rich, nor talented, nor gifted In any special way. She Is not what people describe as accomplished, she doesn't sing, she never touches a piano, she doesn't recite and she can't even dance. She didn't finish school, she doesn't dress particularly well and her people are well, they are Just barely passable, you know." The Plain Little Woman sighed. "It is a mystery. One rarely knows a girl who Is popular with both men and women," she said with a regret ful note In her thin voice. "And with all classes, too," the Motherly Woman put In, smiling In genial fashion. "I saw Miss Muffet calling the other day at one of our pleasant homes, and It was neither a business, nor a chanty, nor a church call, but Just a friendly, straight across visit. A town futt of girls Ilk that would mean something." The Quiet Man laughed amusedly. "But how Is it to be accounted for?" The College Olrl Insisted. 'Think of five receptions! And I dare say she wore the same gown to every onyof them. And a ball and all the rest of of It. There is a reason for every thing, a cause for every effect Sh smiled quizlcally at the Quiet Man who was gravely contemplating th finished plctur over In the west win dow. "Those roses are very beautiful," h said Irrelevantly. "Who would suppose that all this time they have boon shut up In those tight little tubesl Have you noticed how th background harmonise . with each tint and color? It Is quite wonderful how It throws out and enhances th peculiar and Individual beauty of th rose,' H waited while the Plain Lit tle, Woman blushed delightedly and th College Olrl went over and studied the beautlfui drift of roses In th sun-J set glory of th west window. ;. "Now th casual, observer," went on the Quiet Man," would hardly think of or notice th neutral tints of th sombre background, and yet much depends upon ft Tou will no tic how It changes slightly for ach rose. . A little darker, here, for th proper outlining , of that exquisite Bride, paling against that splendid -Jack.' s But .all through -its xmany changes ther Is perfect harmony "is a : satisfactory background Now that is precisely what Miss Muffet la Sh Is a background. Sh la not pretty, nor clever, nor any of those things, but ah Is adaptable. - ' "Now her adaptability may: b a natural gift or an soqulred grace. That makes little difference;, sh has It . Bhe understands fter limitations "A girl like that, you see. Is a splendid foil against which beaotles shine. There Is no rivalry. She takes the least conspicuous places every where good-numoredly and does pleasantly what nobody else wants do. She doesn't mind being the old woman In a play, or having for her partner the most undesirable man at a dinner party., She talks smilingly to people that 'nobody else will be bothered with. Since many of these must always be invited by every host ess. Miss Muffet is simply invaluable. She must be Invited also. Sh can never be safely overlooked. "It Is true that she has never learn ed to dance, but she knows how to koep the wallflowers fresh and sweet; she can smooth the ruffled plumage of a dethroned " belle and make an antiquated beau forget that his day Is passed. Therefore every entertainer smiles sweetly upon her and heads every list with her name. "She has quick perceptions, a sense of humor, tact and a kind heart And " she knows what to say. Possibly there may be a trace of flattery In word or voice or manner. The flavor of that spice mingled In the cup of Ufa. shall linger even to the dregs, and still be tasted with a welcome.' But If her words are not always bluntly sincere, nor her motive purely unselfish, she rubs people the right way, and as we all know, 'Oft times to the slug gard and the dull, flattery hath don good service, quickening the mind to emulation, and encouraging the heart1 that failed 'Praise Is precious to a man, though uttered by a parrot 1' Miss Muffet never Irritates. Bhe Is never cringing, else would sh. Indeed, be left soon quite alone. Bne makes peo ple respect her and then leave off rhlnklng about her. Sh -puts you In a good humor with yourself. Indeed she takes pains to find the good that's in us and keeps us thinking of that. "If you will notice, Miss Muffet never gossips. She has hosts of intl msta friends but she never forgets that confidences are sacred. She nov- er tells skeleton-in-tne-cioset stories. I have notloed that she has a very beautiful way of overlooking things that people would like to keep hid den. She absolutely doesn't see them." It waa Just here that th College Girl stirred uneasily. "Sh nvr seems to know when people are out ot humor, you know. I have two or three times seen her walk serenely right into a heated quarrel as It everything was perfectly pleasant, and I remember now that pretty soon It I" she said frankly. "And yet you apoke of her as hav ing no special , gift or talent!" th Motherly Woman laughed. "Hav you noticed." th Quiet Man went, on1, "How people Ilk to . talk about themselves and th thing that Interest them personally?" Well, Miss Muffet fauna tnat out in in nursery, I should say, for she is past mistress of th art of getting people to talk. J3ut sh can draw out a man who Isn't positively aear ana aurno ana make him happy In the discovery that he la a brilliant conversationalist "As I said in tha beginning, she Is a foil or background for mor bril liant air la. She halna them to mika th most of their attainments and rnendatton has strengthened many a ttmia or nervous glrL "I heard a man say of her:; 'She aoean i expect a leuow to say sniy things to her. It's a comfort to know a plain girl who doesn't want to be considered pretty And I happened to know that Miss Muffet had been- able to help that country boy Into good society. If I war a woman I'd rath er hav tact for my dower than beau ty, miss Murret has it Bh under stands Intuitively th weaknesses cof the people that sh knows. Now w lr all egotist, mor or less. .. . "A weak and timid llttl man likes to. feel noble and brave. He feels o when he's with Miss Muffet. 8h never talks to nw Mnnl. hhut in. cestnr, nor to a self-made man about naredity; On- feels Instinctively that it? in Mwt muiiiM .1, nnoBTHr warn minoa ed places, everybody trusts her, very body needs her and, sh goes very,,
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 3, 1907, edition 1
20
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