Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-09-24

uVe. Inc upper Dertn was shut.
had made mistake. In hideous,
moving tomb, swung, like Mahomet's
coffin, between heaven and earth, | had
buried the girl alivel For a moment it
seemed as though the arteries of my
throat would burst; my heart beat with
quick, sharp pangs; my skin had all the
icy contraction of a sudden plunge into
cold water. 1t was then that sort of
secondary intellige ce seemed to work
within me, and, while my senses reeled
with fear and horror, impelled me to
push up the berth in the old mans Sec
ton and get away. l scarcely knew
what was doing, but Bliss noticed moth
ing and grumblingly crawled into his
berth, while l hurried out to the plat
form.
Why did 1 not open upper fve9 Be-
cause realized instantly that the victim
was long before dead. In a sleeping
car space is economical to the utmost ex-
tent. The swinging berth fits into space
like a ball in a socket The elasticity of
the mattress and the slight figure of the
girl alone made it possible for me to
close it with her inside. l gave one hag-
gard look at my watch. An hour an a
half had elasped. She must have died
In the first three or four minutes.
| stood on the steps and tried to
think, but I cou d not control my mind
In swift defile it pictured to me the dis
covery, the blackened corpse tumbling
from the blankets, the stiff fingers clutch
ing at nothingness, the mothers shrek,
the CONSERVATION of the passengers, the
excited theories, the quick conception of
the truth, the search, the denunciation,
the awful machinery of the courts, the
prison! By violent effort l surveyed
the situation from several standponts.
They all led to one flight.
There was but one time when / could
have taken the benefit of the accident
that was at once, when l made the dis
covery-and Ireallzed the impossibility
of explaining my hesitation. These
things passed through my mind like
fla hes of lightning. There was not an
instant to lose. Mrs. Paxton might at
any moment awake and call her daugh-
ter. Just then the engine slowed up a
trifie. saw indistintly in the gloom
that the ground was level, swung off,
and watched the dim outline of the
train, carrying its burden of sleeping life
and silent death, grow faint and fainter
and disappear into the night.
The place where I jumped was near a
water tank. presently made it out and
walked wide around it to avoid possible
Waterman. 1 knew the lay of the land
in general way and that I could not be
far from the little town of Mohawk Sum-
NIT. To get out of the country the
quickest way possible was my dominant
thought, and old Mexico suggested itself
at once. l realized that l NUT avoid
the railroad with its accompanying tele-
graph lines, and l started, as nearly as I
could Judge, southeast. As | walked
along | cut the gilt buttons off my coat
and vest and threw them away. l did
the same with my cap and tore the gold
braid from around the brim.
| shall not go into the details of that
night, nor the many days and nights that
followed it. l was full of wild regrets
at the course I had taken and saw a
million defects in my plan. With agony
| realized that my flight destroyed the
theory of innocence. l could see dozen
ways that l might have remained upon
the car-now that it was too late. MY
journey south was through innumerable
hardships, and the ever present and sick
ening apprehension of pursuit. In the
camps where hunger drove me it seemed
to me that everybody looked strangely al
me. If man turned his head my heart
bounded with panic. Twice l was lost
on the arid, sage grown plains and once
l wandered without water and burning
with fever for two days.
| had 1914 in my pocket when Jumped
from the train, but when I finally made
my way to Guaymas l had less than fifty
cents. Then was forced to come into
town and go to work Tan and latter.
hal pretty thoroughly disguised me, bu
l was still haunted with the fear of ar
ress. 1t was long time before | could
look at a newspaper at all, and when
finally plucked up courage to open ont
it was with the gingerly caution of per
son who lifts garment expecting to fine
snake underneath. I had terror o
see ng the details of the tragedy in print
and, believe, much as it might hav,
aided my escape, I would not have hat
the moral courage to read paper con
tanning them.
After good many months a grea
longing seized me to see my own countr,
again. The adobe houses and the foreign
chatter to which could never train m,
tongue were on me like nightmare.
was misarably poor, but managed t,
make my way to Paso del Norte. Oh
the other side of the Rio Grande is E
Paso, the American town, and, although
l never ventured over the sight of Wis
itors of my own nationality delighted
excited and frightened me by turns.
hung about the place, living from hant
to mouth, until one day a great even
happened.
At the end of the main street is TIL
principal curiosity of the town-the oil
cathedral. 1t is venerable pile, bull
time out of mind, and falling into de
liberate and respectable ruin. The whit
stucco that once covered the walls ha
peeled off in places and given it an al
of picturesque dilapidation, and insid
are curious effigies Of Saints and the cru
cited Christ. In word, it is the obiec
tive point of all tourists. and visitors.
was in the place one afternoon in August
half doing on one of the old carve,
benches, when party of ladies and gen
tlemen came in. Back of me was tn
holy-water urn, and they were inspectin
it when looked up. At the sight O
one of the ladies felt as though ha,
received galvanic shock. l tried t
rise, bit could not. / shut my eyes an
opened them again to find her still there
1t was no hallucination, no apparition
it was Miss Paxton.
why, mamma" heard her say, 18th
gentleman is unwell, believe"
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