The Goose
Woman
(Continued from page two)
the ■wtorld. Your career was ruin
ed; you can’t permit his to be de
stroyed.”
'I—I only told what I saw,” Mrs.
Holmes declared, uncertainly. "I
swore to it and you know what it
means when you swear to a thing.
Why—they’d arrest me, for all I
know.”
"But there’s a terrible mistake
somewhere,” the girl earnestly as
serted. "I can’t explain the car
with one headlight—the car that
passed you after the shooting—
and yet Jerry declares he left your
house an hour before the murder
and drove straight te town. He’s
telling the truth: I know he is.”
"They claim he laid in wait.”
"But they couldn’t prove it with
out you! It’s your evidence that
contradicts him. You didn’t ac
tually recognize him—you said so!
And if it had been Jerry you’d
have known him. Of course you
would! You’d know your own boy
anywhere—”
i—was too iar away.
Hazel protested, breathlessly.
"No, no! Think! Oh, God, think
of something to show it wasn’t
he! Some action, some gesture,
some peculiarity! Maybe there
were tw« headlights on that last
car and you were mistaken. It’s
so easy to be mistaken, and just
that one point might save him.
Think! If it were me I’d—think
of something. I’d—But they’ve
discredited me; there’s nothing 1
can do. I’m utterly helpless.” She
broke down now and, hiding her
face in her hands, she sobbed
wretchedly; the tears came through
her finger. There was a poignant
quality to her griff. She was very
young and very frail. Mrs. (Holmes
realized that this tragedy had
bronken her like a butterfly. A
curse on men likg Amos Ethridge!
Yes, and on men like Vogel!
After a while the mother said,
roughly; "Go away! Give me a
chance to think. Mind you, I
don’t believe it’s any use but—”
Again she broke out in gusty vexa
tion. "Oh, why does everything I
do turn out wrong? It’s his fault
as much as mine. It’s easy for you
to tell me to lie, to perjure my
self—”
"I don’t. I merely say what
1 d—be willing—to do.
"All right! All right! Go
along now. I’ll let you know if I
can think df anything, but I’m
sick. That’s my luck. Sick!
That’s how things go with me. I—
I wish I were dead!”
That afternoon Vogel called at
the hotel in accordance with a .
request from Mrs. (Holmes, and I
after she had beat about the bush!
for a while she told him halting-j
ly that she wished to make a new j
affidavit. There were certain'^
points in her first one that she
realized, upon careful thought,!
needed explanation, modification.
Vogel listened until she had fin
ished, then he said:
"I’ve been expecting this. Save
it for the trial.”
"But—the trouble is Jerry’s being
tried now, in the newspapers. The
verdict will be in before the jury
goes out.”
"Don’t you believe he’s guilty?”
The woman averted her eyes.
"There are some people who could
n’t commit a murder, and he’s
one. There’s nothing vicious
about him. He liked Mr. Ethridge
and he knew nothing whatever
about the Woods affair.”
"Nothing vicious, eh? Nothing
vicious about his mother, either, ij
suppose?” Vogel grinned derisive-!
ly. "Tell that to the reporter you
shot at.”
Mrs. Holmes argued feebly until
he broke in: "I understand you
perfectly, and your feelings do you
credit. But I am a servant of the;
people and the law must be up
held. I sincerely regret that in
doing your duty you placed your
son in jeojardy, but it’s not the
first time such a thing has hap
pened. Justice must be served and
murder will out. Truth is more
sacred even than a mother’s love.
It’s my task to discover the truth.”
'TBut you haven’t. I was—
mistaken,” the woman protested.
'’I’m not going to let an innocent
suffer for my mistake.”
"Mistake!”
"Well, call it whatever you
want to. I gave wrong testimony.
I—lied!”
"Indeed? It’s too bad you’re so
late confessing it. Now see here”
—the speaker’s tone changed—
"we’ll end this foolishnes^ right
now. I’m not going to let you
make a monkey out of me, what
ever your natural impulse may be.
I dare say you’ll testify that I
Traveling Around America
....
■ — ■■ . — P/iolo Grace Line 1
INDIAN SHRINE
TH I S grotesquely ornamented |
cross is a native shrine near
Lima, capital of Peru, visited by
weekly cruises between New York
and Valparaiso. Religion of the In
dians in the highlands of Peru is a
strange mixture of Christian teach
ings and weird superstitions handed
down through uncosnted genera
tions. In the days before the Inca
Empire was established the gods
were almost unlimited in number—
even the family had its god. Among
the most popular objects worshipped
were trees, stones, rivers, moun
tains, flowers, and animals. The
animals were selected for certain
outstanding characteristics — the
condor, largest of all flying birds
and one indigenous to the Andes.
was revered because of its size; the
fox, for its cunning; the jaguar, for
its strength.
Rocks, caves and lakes also were
worshipped because it was the be
lief of the Indians that from such
places their ancestors had sprung.
In fact, one legend has it that the
first Inca, Manco Ccapac, made fig
urines of clay representing the dif
ferent natives he desired to gather
into his Empire; that he painted
them with the clothes they were
to wear, and told them the localities
in which the various natives they
represented were to spring up. Then
he sent them down below and they
later sprang into the world—some
from waterfalls, others from caves
and trees, thus endowing such ob
jects with the qualities of a god.
deceived or coerced you; put words
into our mouth; induced you to
sign something you didn’t read.
We’ll see! Are you going to play
straight, do your duty as a citizen
and stick to what you said, or—?”
"No. I can’t. I’m going to tell
the truth.”
Vogel rose. "Thanks for letting
me know. If you choose to dis
credit yourself in any such man
ner I’ll make a good job of it. You
see, I’ve looked up your whole his
tory and I’ll make you tell it to the
jury, with your own lips. It won’t
help the defendant any, (believe
me.”
“What do you mean?” Mrs.
Holmes faintly demanded.
"You understand plain English.
You’ll hear a lot of it if you main-’
cain this attitude.” There was a
pause. "You must have some
iffection for this—this “sons’ of
yours. That’s nothing more than
inimal nature! But the more lies
you tell, the more the jury will
oelieve in the story you told me
and swore to; the more firmly
you will convince them that you
are swearing fasely to save your
illegitimate child.”
i see. 11 l aon t ao wnat you
say you’ll tell all about—Jerry.”
"And you! Exactly. I’d like
to spare you both, but—” the
speaker shrugged.! "Better (grit
your teeth and go through with it.
You can’t save him, no matter
what you do.” With these words
Vogel left.
Hazel Woods was surprised late
that night to receive a telephone
request to come at once to the
hotel where Mrs. Holmes was
stopping. On account of the hour,
she took old Jacob Riggs with her.
She had taken Jacob about with
her a good deal this past week, riot
merely as an escort, but also be
cause he displayed such pathetic
eagerness to comfort and to pro
tect her. In these troubled cir
cumstances she was grateful for
sympathy and faith from what
ever source, and of all her friends
he alone remained loyal; he was
indeed a father. He was, if pos
sible, "queerer” than ever, more
givjtn to melantholjy quotations
from the Bible; nevertheless she
had a tender feeling for him and
her misfortune had drawn them
close together.
Hazel found a number of report
ers waiting in the hotel lobby and
was surprised to learn that Mrs.
Holmes had likewise sent for them.
Her surprise deepened, hope stir
red, when the two attorneys she
had hired for Jerry hurried in, ex
plaining that they, too, had been
summoned. It was quite a group
that finally rode upstairs and filed
into the sick woman’s room.
Mrs. Holmes wts up and dressed,
but she looked desperately ill. As
soon as her visitors had disposed
of themselves she began, in a voice
harsh and purposeful:
"Get out your pencils, boys.
There’s another 'big’ story com
ing. I had a talk with Mr. Vogel;
today and told him I had made a \
false affidavit. I told him my ac-j
count of the Ethridge murder was'
a pure invention.”
The correspondents exchanged
glances, the attorneys leaned for
ward eagerly. (Hazel ',felt old
Jacob’s bony fingers upon her arm
and heard him mutter some scrip
tural phrase of thanksgiving.
'I’m going to tell you the
whole truth and I want you to
print it. I sent for Jerry’s law
yers so they can have it put down
in proper form and I can swear to
it. I don’t know how such things
ought to be done, but—”
"Never mind. Go ahead,” one
of the attorneys urged.
I ll start at me ucgiumg mu
go along in my own way. Please
don’t interrupt me—you can strai
ghten it out later. Well, then, I
did see an automobile with one
headlight pass my house that night
—I was waiting for Jerry—and it
stopped in the pine grove up by the
lane. But that’s all I actually
saw. I didn’t see the murder; I
didn’t see the car come back. I
don’t know when it came back, for
I never stepped outside my door
after Jerry told me good night.
After he left I went to bed. I
heard some shots, but I din’t know
Amos Ethridge had been killed un
til the next morning. As soon as
I heard about it I hurried up there
and hung around all day. That’s
the truth, so help me God!”
A question or two was voiced,
but the woman did not answer.
"I talked to some of you boys
that morning and told you all I
know, but you went out of your
way to treat me contemptuously—
make fun of me. I was furious
when I saw your stories.
When I was on the stage I used
to get a thrill out of interviews; I
was crazy for publicity. People in
my profession frequently get that
way. I loved to see my name in
print. I saved every notice, every
criticism; I collected thousands of
clippings and preserved them. It’s
a mild form of disease and lots of
actors have it, for they’re always
playing to an audience. . . . I’ve
Refreshing Relief
When You Need a Laxative
Because of the refreshing relief It
has brought them, thousands of men
and women, who could
afford much more ex
pensive laxatives, use
Black-Draught when
needed. It Is very eco
nomical, purely vegeta
ble, highly effective. . . Mr. J. Lester
: Roberson, well known hardware
.dealer at Martinsville, Va., writes:
I "I certainly can recommend Black
Draught as a splendid medicine. I
have taken It for constipation and
the dull feelings that follow, and
have found It very satisfactory.”
BLACK-DRAUGHT
been acting all my life, on the stage, I
at home, before my friends, to my-!
self. When you’re in print, you’re
acting in .a way, only -to a dif
ferent audience. When I lost my
voice I lost my audience. That was
the hardest thing to bear. I used
to think I was the most tragic!
figure in the world, bu”—the1
speaker smiled bitterly—"I guess it
was largely because I never saw my
name in print, never heard it men
tioned any more. What is a car
eer except—applause? What does
a person get out of it except food
for his vanityy? I’m telling you
this to explain what happened next
for if you don’t understand the
sort of person I am—the theatrical
temperament—you won’t be able'
to understand what I did.
"Well, after I got over my first
resentment at being ridiculed, the
old disease came back. It pleased
me to be written about and to have
my words quoted, even though you
called me the 'goose woman,’ 'a
bedraggled old hag,’ 'a drunken
harridan.’ When I realized how far
I’d gone back a lot of dead hopes
and ambitions came to life. Em
bers I thought were cold . . . The
"goose woman’s! It’s a good name
for me. \
"All at once I dropped out of
the papers entirely. I got no more
thrills; had nothing to think about,
nothing to occupy me; I had to,
quit acting. I was awfully lonely.
I’d had a taste of the drug: the
habit was back on me fiercer than
ever, if you know what I mean.
. . . I dare say after this you can
follow my motives. I pieced out
a story to fit my theory of the
killing, studied the ground so as
not to contradict myself, planted
an old glove—It was very simple;
it looked perfectly easy; I didn’t
think I was doing harm to any
body for I feel sure the murder
would never be solved and I was
merely bringing Maria di Nardi
back to lifedlaying (loses on a for
gotten shirne. I don’t know and I
don’t care who killed Amos
Ethridge. Whoever did it had a
good reason, no doubt, for he was
a bad man.
'Mr. Vogel believed frrie. i He
brought me here, put me up, dress
ed me up, and I got so I believed
my own story. It was wonderful!
to come back,’ to creep out of my|
shell and become Maria di Nardi j
again, even though it was all
make-believe There’s a crab—the
hermit crab—does something like
that. He’s an ugly, soft, miss-!
hapen thing, but he crawls into
empty shells, beautiful shells, the;
owners of which have died, and he
lives there ... I had a glorious
time in my new, beautiful shell
until I realized that I had put a
noose around my boy’s neck.”
Mary Holmes fell silent. Nobody
spoke for a moment; then somebody
inquired:
"What did Vogel say when you
told him this?”
"He said I was lying to save
Jerry and he had expected some
thing of the sort. Then he threat
ened me—”
"Threatened you?” It was one of
the lawyers speaking.
"Yes, HeV holding something
over me. Now that I’ve defied
him, I’ve got to tell you what it,
is—that means telling the world—
and it isn’t easy even for a 'zed
raggled old harridan’ like me. You
see—I was never married! . . . Well
gentlemen, there you have the
whole story. Mr. Vogel doesn’t
believe it, but you do, don’t you?
And the public will believe it.
Why, you must know I’m telling
the truth.”
The speaker stared eagerly at
first one then another of her hear
ers. One of the older men an
swered her:
"It makes no difference, Mrs.
Holmes, what we fellows think.
We’re trained not to think, buti
to get the news. We’ll send out i
this story, if you say so, but are
you sure you want us to? Will it
do any good?”
"Then you—don’t believe me?”
"Let’s put it this way: we don’t
think the public will believe you.
The circumstantial evidence is too
strong and you haven’t really de
stoyed any part of it. Am I right,
boys?”
(Continued Next Issue)
—REAB THE WATCHMAN—
STAR LAUNDRY
"The Good On*’*
Laundcrers and Dry Cleaner*
Phone 24 114 West Bank St.
ONE DAY SERVICE
E. Carr Choate
DENTIST
Office Over Purcell Drug
Store No. 1
Phone_141
Office in Mocksville is Closed
Memorial Hospital
To Share in All Monies Received
Cowboys, Cowgirls, Wild Horses and Steers. High School Horses. Gaited Stock.
Fancy and Trick Riding. Fancy and Trick Roping. Rope Spinning. Amateur
Contests. Funny Clowns. Funny Mules. Many Novelties.
f" 1 ■■ ■■ J™-;11!.. . ■■ ■■■■■■ j ■■■ ■ 1 ■?
Performances
RAIN OR
SHINE
Dangerous
Thrilling
Exciting
Gate Prices
Adults
40c
Children
15c
Section For
Colored Folks
The Olympic
Games of
Horsemanship
Matinee
Saturday
3:00 P. M.
Every Nite
8:00 P. M.
Gate Opens 2-7
Advance
Coupon
Prices
10c to 40c
Saturday Mati
nee All
Children
10c
Free Parking
2 HOURS OF THRILLS, CHILLS and SPILLS, Pulse quickening stunts. Pictureque
plainsmen, King of the Lariat, Queens of the Saddle, the Best of the West for
Your Entertainment. No two Performances Alike. Come Often.
Buy advance tickets. Pull from the Coupon Book. Prices from the Book. 10c to
40c. Ask anybody if they have a Book, if not, Come to RODEO HEADQUARTERS,
empire hotel. Radio Free Every Night. $100 CASH Free Saturday
BUY ADVANCE TICKETS