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r AC3 EXX. THE GASTOXIA GAZETTE. TVE&DAY, MAY SO, ,191a. SYNOPSIS. Mary Pace, m-tress. is an-uwd of the tnurder of Judca I'oli.x U and is defended by her lover. Philip I-anu'lon Pollock a intoxicated At Mary's trial she ad mit she had the revolver. Her maid testifies thai Mary threatened rollnck With it previuuslv. an.) Mary's leaJing man Implicates l-ansdon. How Miry d.s Sppeared froru the m-ene of the crime Is a mvatery. Brandon tells of a strange hand print he tav on Mary's shoulder. Further evidence shows th.it horror of drink pro duces temporary insanity in Mary. The defense Is 'repressed psychosis" Wit nesses described Mary's flight from hr in toxicated father and her father's miiclde. Nurse Walton describes the kidnaping of Mary by Pollock, and Amy Barton tella of Mary's struggles to become an actress, of Pollock's pursuit of her and of another occasion when the smell of liquor drove Mary Insane A NEW CLEW. N ATURE with her prodigal cre- ativeness sends every human being Into the world differing In some fashion from his fel- . low men and women: not merely in . feature but In emotion nud character. Stt, taken In the aggregate, all these contrasting personalities may be sway ed as one man. -. It was not merely sympathy for Mary that awayed the crowd on this partic ular morning, however: it was expec tancy- psychic sense of something impending and there was a whisper that might have been excitement or a mere composite. "I told you so," when Langdon, a bundle of papers in bis band, stepped forward and addressed the court. Your Donor and gentlemen of the Jury," be said quietly, "it bad been my .Intention to call upon Mr. Daniels. .manager for tbe defendant, as my next witness. But" be paused dra matically "Mr. Daniels bas disappear- ed! And in searching for him such Important facts have come to light that a crave ine inuuigeuce 01 me court 10 recall some former witnesses in order to Introduce fresh testimony for the defence. It has been learned that, un known to Miss Page. James Pollock supplied the money to back Tbe Seek ers. In which the defendant was star red, and there are such suspicious fea tures connected with tbe partnership of Daniels and Pollock that I" V "I objectr interrupted the District Attorney hotly, leaping to his feet "If there are suspicious features or new - 1 ' 1 ' L ' r' j "Mr. Daniels has disappeared!" facts let Mr. Langdon introduce them as testimony. Your Honor, this is a palpable effort on the part of iay learn- ed opponent to mislead the Jury." "On the contrary," stormed Langdon. '"I stand ready to bring out each one , of these facts In the testimony of my Witnesses." Langdon turned to the bailiff with a mile of satisfaction. ; "Call George Brennan," he said, and . flashed a look of encouragement at . Mary. "Mr. Brennan," said Langdon. when the witness had given bis age as thir ty and his state as unmarried, "will . you please tell tbe Court the result of your investigations Into tbe disappear f ance of William Daniels 7" v. I called at the Daniels apartment," Mid -the detective quietly, "at Mr. .:' Langdon's request lie wanted Mr. Daniels as a witness and also wanted nlm to call at his (Mr. Langdon's) of flee." -' "Who was In the apartment when yoo called?" ... "Mrs., Daniels and her daughter. A young girl of sixteen or seventeen. "Did you notice anything unusual In their behavior r "Well I don't know As Td calf' if on usual,' air, r in the circumstance, but Tie, wet terribly upset Mra. Dan - tela said, that her bus band had cone The Strange Case of MAS The Great McClure Mystery Story, Written by FREDERICK LEWIS In Collaboration With JOHN T. M'INTYRE, Author of the Ashton Kirk Detective Stories. Head the Story and See the Etsanay Moiling Pictures 1 Copyright. 191$. bj McClure Publicatioa out two days before and nobody bad seen him since." 'Had she no inkling of his where abouts?" "No. She Raid tie had left as usual to go to his office in the Covington Theatre and that was the last they had seen of him. Then I asked her If 6he bad notified the iolice, and when she said. 'No.' I told her I was a de tective. and had come seeking her hus band as a witness in this trial. She said th-U be couldn't tell anything, she was sure, but that the murder of James Pollock had killed him too. 'I'm sure that it's Just the murder and tbe trial that have driven him away.' she said. 'He's been almost insane ever since it happened." With tbe belp of Mrs. Daniels and the daughter I went through bis paers there at the bouse, and then Mrs. Daniels and I went to the theatre and got the watchman to open his office for us." "Did you find anything Important among the papers in Mr. Daniels' desk?" "Yes. In one of the drawers were some torn scraps of paper. Looked as if the drawer might have been open when the letter was torn up, and some of the scraps fell in it. I pieced them together and found they were part of a note from Mr. Daniels to Mr. Pol lock." "How did you know It was Mr. Dan iels's handwriting?" "His wife recognized it at once and told me." "Can you remember the wording of that letter?" "Yes. It said, 'My dear Pollock: As lessee of this theatre, I, too. am finan cially Interested in Miss Page. Should your persistent attentions cause her to withdraw from tbe cast after tonight's performance, I frankly warn you' The rest of tbe page was torn off. It bore tbe date of the opening of 'The Seekers.' " "Was this the note?" Langdon's voice rang out triumphantly, as he , neiu up ueiore tne witness a sheet on , which some torn scraps of paper had , been pasted, and when Brennan had identified them he turned to the jury, and cried: "Gentlemen of the Jury, I offer this threatening note written by Mr. Dan iels to James Pollock, as an exhibit in the case of the defence !" The next witness was no other than Joe the bell-hop. "Joe," Langdon began very gently, "you have already told us bow Mr. PoiloVk gave you a'ruessage to take to Miss Page, and how upon receiving it she left the banquet in the Hotel Re public and went down the corridor with you and into the room where Mr. Pollock was waiting. What did you do then ?" "I started down the hall towards the stairs." said Joe In his boyish treble. "Did you look back?" "Yes; I was kind of curious about wot was goin' on." "Was there anyone in the hallway when you looked back?" "Yes. the fat man who had leen at the banquet, the one they called Mr. Daniels, was standing close to the door of the gray suite with his ear against it as if he wuz listenln'." "Joe. do you recognize this picture?" Langdon's voice changed sharply and he thrust a photograph into the boy's hands. The latter nodded. "Sure:" be said. "That's him-Dan-lels. That's the feller I seen In the corridor all right." Hut now the prosecutor was on his feet, and though bis voice was Just as friendly as Ijingdon's, the bell-boy eyed him with some trepidation as he asked suavely: "Joe, how does it happen that you never told any of this before?" "I forgot." said the boy sullenly. "Well, we all forget sometimes," went on the District Attorney In that honied voice. "But I supiose you re meiuliered it again when Mr. Langdon reminded you that you had seen Mr. Daniels. Wasn't that it?" "Wot's eatin' your scoffed the boy heatedly. "How could Mr. Langdon remind me of suthin' he didn't know I'd seen, till I put him wise?" "Well, suppose you tell us how you came to er put him wise." "You see." he piped, "me and Mr. Langdon wuz talkln' things over. 'Cause you see I wuz right there when It all happened, and he says to me, he says, 'Joe, I'd like you to go over to the hotel with me. and let's take another look at that corridor.' "When we got there, we did every thing all over Just like it had happen ed, and then when I wuz comln' down the ball I looked back Just like I did before, and Mr. Langdon says. 'Joe. when you looked back did you see any body? And I says. -Only that fat guy, Daniels,' and he says. Oh. you saw Daniels! Wot wuz be dolnT And I says. GettJn an earful at the door.' Then he says, 'Are you surer And I says. 'Yes,' and he says, 1 guess yon better tell that in court. And I says, I'm on, and that's alL" J he prosecutor turned awav with a shrug amid a ripple of smothered mirth and I.angdon. laughing himself, putted tbe boy encouraginglv on the shoulder as he sent him back to the witness room and called in bis stead Randall Williams, tbe erstwhile leading man of Mary's lll-futed company. "Mr. Williams, bow long did you re main In the banquet-room of the Ho tel Republic on tbe uight that Miss Page was sent for by James Pollock?" asked Langdon. "Why, I was there from the begin ning of the affair till Just before we heard tbe sound of the shot." "Did ail the other guests remain ex cept Miss Page?" "Yes. That is. everybody except Daniels." "Oh! Mr. Daniels left, did he? When?" "A few minutes after Miss Page had gone. He said he was going to see "Joe, how does it happen that you never told any of this before V where she was, and would try to bring her back again." "Where were you when you heard the shot?" "Just outside the door of the banquet-room." "What did you do?" "I ran down the hall In the direction from which the sound came." "Did you meet anyone?" "Yes. I ran bang into Daniels at the corner where the corridor turned. I nearly upset him. I guess, for he caught at my arm and held on as if to steady himself." "Did you say anything?" "Yes. I said. 'Did you hear a shot? Somebody's killed.' And Daniels said. 'Oh. my God! I know it.'" "Did be seem very much excited?" "Yes and sick. He was almost green, and be kept saying. 'God God I must pull myself together.' But for that matter we were all pretty much upset, and when we got to the door of of the gray suite he wasn't any more ex cited than the rest of us." "that Is all, thank you, Mr. Wil liams." said Langdon; but while the words were still on his lips the prose cutor was on his feet. "I petition the Court," he cried in ringing tones, "to have all the forego ing testimony, together with that of the detective Brennan and the boy Joe Murphy, stricken out as Irrelevant. All this is wasting the time of your honor and the gentlemen of the Jury. It is not what this man Daniels did but what Mary Page did on the night that James Pollock was brutally murdered with which we are concerned. The State has proved that this woman. Mary Page, entered the room where James Pollock awaited her. That a shot and a scream came from that room, and that the defendant was found in the room with the dead body!" "And I say," stormed Langdon In re sponse, "that Mary Page neither saw nor heard what occurred in the gray suite that night And if it please your Honor, I will call as my next witness, Dr. Foster to testify to the inability of the defendant to understand events that were happening." "I see no objection to SUCH testi mony," said the Judge thoughtfully. There was a breathless tension in the room when Langdon, addressing his new witness, said vibrantly: "Dr. Foster, you have told the court that the defendant, Mary Page, is a victim of attacks of 'repressed psycho sis,' superinduced by the sight of in toxication, and the smell of alcoholic concoctions. When sufferiag from such an attack would tbe patient be conscious of what went on about ber?" "Certainly not No more than a per son in delirium." A lon quivering- gasp of Ineffable cm i (m i -I' relief floated from Mary's pale lips at tbe words, and two little flames of hope and excitement leapt into her eyes. Cveu Langdon bad seemed at times to cherish vague doubts and bad press ed her cruelly to try to remember- even hazily tbe events that were a blank to her; and in consequence the words of tbe great alienist were balm to her aching heart and seemed in truth a woudrous vindication. Langdon, watching her In amazed concern, saw her slender body shake like a reed in a storm of emotion, and reading In it not tbe breaking of the icy fetters of immobile despair, but tbe shattering of a wonderful self-control. hastened to her side, with an admoni tory and reassuring whisper of encour agement To his surprise she smiled at htm through tbe unshed tears aud caught his band for an instant in a feverish grip as she murmured tremu lously. "There's nothing the matter. PhlL I I am just hoeful." "I may have to call you to tbe stand for a little," be went on anxiously "Do you think you you will be able to?" "Why. of course," she answered, with such a 'surprised note In her voice that Langdon was iierforce reassured, and turned his attention again towards Dr. Foster, who was flushing angrily un der the badgering of the prosecutor. "What you tell us Is very Interest ing," tbe latter was saying vireastlcal ly. "And so you followed re life of the defeudaut, or let us say you traced her life back year by year. And did you decide which event was the direct cause of her er peculiar mental breakdowns?" "I did " "What was It?" "Her father's brutality on the night 6he fled from the bouse In wild terror. Miss Page bad suffered from her horror of alcohol from a baby." "Then it was her father's treatment rather than his Intoxicated condition. that drove her iusaue?" persisted the prosecutor; but Dr. Foster saw the drift of the question and shook his head emphatically. 'It was not it was the sight of his Intoxication, and the reek of the wbls key on his breath. The pain of his brutal grip on her shoulder, and the sight ef his ill treatment of her mother naturally had their effect but they were not the main causes of her de lirium." 'How do you know that Mr. Page gripped her shoulder brutally? Isn't that merely hearsay evidence?" "No. The marks of the band were plainly visible on the shoulder of Miss Page when she was brought to me. These heavy bruises overlay a curious birthmark that came and went and the nails of Mr. Page's hand had dug such furrows into the flesh that the scars still remain." "I have here a copy of this morn ing's News which bas an article in it entitled. 'What Is Repressed Psycho sis? by Dr. Foster. Is that your bro chure?" "It is." "In it you say. The cruel grip of Mary Page's drunken father left its mark Indelibly upon her shoulder, for under the stress of Intense excitement that mark reappears.' Is that hearsay or have you seen it?" "I have seen it" With a sneer that brought a hot flush of anger surging into the doctor's face, the prosecutor turned and handed the paper that he held to the foreman of the jury saying slurringly: "Gentlemen of the Jury, in this news paper which I offer as an exhibit for the state, you will find aMong article by the learned witness, which is pal pably an effort to rouse cheap sympa thy for the prisoner. In it he says substantially what he has said in court "I said, 'Did you hear a shot TV but In both instances, gentlemen, he has failed to prove the truth of what he says." "My unsupported word has been tak en in the court room without question before this," thundered Dr. Foster. "What I have written "and said would be accepted before any medical board in the world" "But this." interrupted the prosecu tor suavely, "fe not a medical board. This Is a court of law; and I petition his honor to strike out the evidence advanced regarding this mental state of tbe prisoner. I contend that unless the facts can be PROVED before bis honor and the gentlemen of tbe jury that the entire, testimony is most ques tionable and of no value," With 4 little moaning gasp of dis may , Mary half? rose from her chair, her Hps forming a mute appeal against t 1 iWkA it&t&Pt, :&,:-9- M. "' i'-4 I : MA this drastic threat' Those who were atching her saw in the movement no more than a hysterical impulse, bom of the legal wrangling, but It .was 'some thing far deeper and greater. . For to Mary. Dr. Foster stood ss.the key tone of ber proof of Innocence. He believed ber and to strike out bis evi dence meant that there was no on no one left who understood. Langdon. knowing that he must catl ber to the stand next, was aghast at her agitation and. fearing a general breakdown, sent the bailiff for smell Ing salts and a glass of water. He bad tio fears that tbe evidence of the alienist would be stricken out. but be was nevertheless racking his brains for some method of proving the recurrence of that strange bruise upon Mary's shoulder when, with the abruptness that characterized him. the District At torney dismissed the witness. And now it was Mary whose name was called by the bailiff, and the little quickening titir of interest aud sym pathy that never failed to greet her swept through the room and seemed to give ber a momentary strength. But her face was so white and her hands so unsteady that the bailiff, without waiting for another order from Lang don. hurried after the smelling salts his exit through the door Into the prison letting In an incongruous burst or Hilarity that urougut an angry frown to the Judge's face. He was. however, the only one who noticed it. for the attention of every one else was fixed upon Mary, who stood swaying in the witness box. her eyes turned appeallngly toward Lang don. But though he read their mute prayer correctly he dared not hesitate. and the very first question was the one she had Iieen dreading. 'Miss Page, will you try to tell the Court as fully as possible exactly what occurred on the night wheu you left the banquet and Joined James Pollock In the Hotel Republic?" It swept away all her new found hope and plunged her dizzily down into despair. To her It seemed to prove that even Langdon placed little or no cre dence upon the words of Dr. Foster, and she bad a feeling of being sudden ly isolated alone In a world of hos tile faces. A sob caught In her throat and the room grew black lefore her and when she spoke her words came slowly one at a time, and sounded strange to ber own ears as though coming Trom a great distance. I left tbe banquet room and went into that other room. Mr. Pollock was there. He wouldn't let me leave. He he tried to kiss me. Then he threatened me. II had a glass of whiskey. I saw him coming towards me and that's all I can remember!" Her voice rose shrilly on the last words, and she re peated them, tbe tears running down her cheeks. "That's all oh. you KNOW that Is all that I remember!" Startled by her outburst and her pal lor. Langdon went quickly to her side and laid his band on hers. "Of course I know." he said reas suringly. "I Just wanted you to repeat it to the court That was all and I won't ask any more questions now." But I have one or two to ask.' broke in the prosecutor, exultant over the opportunity to cross-examine Mary now that ber composure had given way. And. In spite of the whispers of "Shame! He's no right to torture ber now," that drifted from the spectators and brought a warning rap from the Judge's gavel, he stepped briskly for ward and asked: Miss Page. pr. Foster bas told a re markable story of your strange sus ceptibility to the smell of alcohol. Can you yourself tell of any definite occa sion other than the two that have been mentioned when you were overcome In this well, very peculiar manner?" Tbe biting sarcasm of his rasping voice acted upon Mary like a dash of Ice water. She straightened up haugh tily aud her voice was so cool and quiet that the bailiff, who was banding Langdon the smelling salts, made a comic face as if mocking their precau tion. I have been overcome in that "pe culiar' manner on several occasions." "Will you name one?" "Yes. If you will look through the files of, the Rochester papers of two summers ago. you will find that I had an attack while playing in stock in that city." "Will you describe the circumstances, please?" "There was a big supper scene In the play which dealt with city life. The company were supposed to be drunken revelers, and I was to Join them and drink too. As usual, I bad expected to find cold tea in my glass but for a Joke real champagne had been sub stituted. I remember only a sickening rush of horror as of some awful im pending disaster. I know I screamed but the next thing I remember was being home in bed. They told me I had rushed from the stage like a mad woman. That of course can be veri fied by the papers or by any member of that company." The prosecutor laughed Insultingly. "And you," he taunted, "you who gt mad at tbe smell of alcohol are yet sunlciently familiar with It, to recog nize real champagne the moment yon lift your glass I" "I didn't KNOW it was champagne," she protested. "I merely knew it was wine of some kind. It's it's the smell"- i "The bouquet is the term more fre quently used." badgered the prosecutor. 'And can yon tell us . some other oc casions, Miss Page, when yon drank in that perfume and were overcome?" The sneer in his voice was becoming a torture to Mary. She Telt Ilka ono beating herself against a atone walL She was bruised and weary, and her agony found Tent la a sadden pathetic UU1 cry: . ' "What is the use of toy telling-you Ton won't believa me!" , : , , , "What I believe bas nothing to do with tbe matter." cried the prosecutor. "Ton must answer the questions put to yot while yoo sre on that stand." - "I' tell yon" began Muy, Then, with a little choked exclamation she' caught at the rail with groping hands. "Phnipr she called. "Philip ! And as be sprang to her side, she Jllapsed ' half fainting into his arms, shuddering and sobbing in such obvious hysteria that it did not need Langdon's plea for a short recess to make the Judge say briefly: "Court will adjourn for fifteen min utes or until such time aa Miss Page is In a condition to he brought back to tbe stand." With a grateful glance at his honor, Langdon half carried, half led Mary toward the prison door. Then, as the bailiff came forward to relieve him, he turned sadly back toward bis table to try again to think of some new wit ness, or some method other than by j f ' , V (i J 'J wTv l ..... '. i.Y,,, f B J At 'He had a qtass of whiskey.' torturing Mary herself upon the witness-stand to prove the truth of the statements of the alienist. Halfway to his seat, however, he was arrested by a long, low wailing scream that echoed and throbbed through the stone walled corridor. Twice It came the horrible scream of a woman in mortal agony or in the throes of delirium. The Judge halted midway as he was leaving court stood as if frozen, and even the prose cutor dropjied the papers that he held and stared horrified at the door to tbe prison, which was suddenly flung vio lently open, revealing Mary struggling In tbe grasp of the bailiff. Her face was livid, her eyes wide, and her hands were clutching, clawing and beating at tbe stronger ones that held her. Then again she screamed and wrenching loose, took two or three lurching steps forward, panting like one whose breath is almost spent With a hoarse roar of excited horror the spectators sprang to their feet and surged forward; but Langdon was quicker than they, and in three strides was beside her. his arms around her. calling her name with a poignant agony that filled the courtroom aud echoed for days in the memory of those who beard it. It even pierced the mists of delirium in which Mary's tortured soul was sunk, and for a moment she lay quiet supine. In his arms, moaning softly. In the Instant silence which fell over the room, two voices in the corridor rose with unexpected shrillness. I didn't mean no barm!'' cried one hotly. "I saw the lady was faint like and I thought a bit of liquor would pull her round. That's all. so help me Gawd, and the minute I puts the bot tle In front of her it it happened." With sudden harshness his honor. stepping back to the bench, said: "Bring in those men from the hall. And let everyone in the room be seat ed immediately." Awed by his tone, the spectators slunk back, while two of tbe court of ficers hurried into the hall, returning with a pair of sheepish policemen, one of whom was hastily thrusting a bottle of whiskey into bis breast pocket At the sight Langdon gave a cry ef triumph. Your honor that man has a bottle of whiskey. What la more be is drunk and his presence In the corri dor through which the defendant'had to pass, explains her condition. That your honor, and gentlemen of the Jury, Is surely proof enough of the truth of the statements made by Dr. Foster!" The Judge, obviously impressed, frowned down at the policeman, whose flushed and unsteady gait made his condition impossible to disguise. "Were you in the corridor when the prisoner was led from court?" be asked sternly. "Yesh, your honor," stammered the policeman. "Did you speak to her T "Yesh shir. I I seen she wuz faint like, and I .says, says I, a nip will do 'er good. So I Jhush offered her a bit, and she screams and flies at me like a wil' cat" As if to illustrate his words he went towards Mary and gestured as if again offering her the bottle, and Instantly that walling cry rang out again, and. N struggling desperately. Mary twisted herself in tbe grip of tbe kindly hands that held her. The grasp of one bailiff was indeed too kindly, being no more than a hold upon tbe thin silk of her blouse, and as she twisted the staff gave wsy and tore leaving the white- -ness of her shoulder exposed. At the sight the prosecutor suddenly gave a -hoarse cry and pointed at if For there against the pale satiny tint of the skin lay a hideous braise tbe shadow of a man's hand, with livid scars where the naSs cutcruelly into the delicate flesh. " To be eontinued.1 ' ,.-.v.
Gastonia Daily Gazette (Gastonia, N.C.)
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May 30, 1916, edition 1
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