Omaha daily bee., 1888-09-30

I could move stealthily about her cell at
night, could go on, silently and swiftly.
with the great work she had been plan
ming, without feeling continually spying
upon her the cold stare of this myster-
ious enemy. BY this time she had won
the entire confidence of the keeper.
She was so patient and docile.
All! more patient thar this good man
guessed, and more cautious, too. and
more f~urtive!
And; at last, it happened on a cold,
black night when the heavens were
overcast by threatening clouds, and all
earth's creatures sought shelter from
the bitter touch Of Winters hand, a
light figure crept between the loosened
bars OF a cell window and dropped noise
lessly to the ground. Swift inc straight
it took its way across the court, never
swerving, never hesitating in spite of
the impenetrable darkness; for in the
slow elaboration of this mighty idea, all
had been Observation-Disclosures
the triple patience which comes of mad
ness, OF solitude and of imprisonment.
Yelled in the darkness, No. 80 took her
silent way past the square ~garden-plot.
She moved with the noiselessness and
the certainty of "a cat, She never
stopped, but as she moved rapidly she
lifted her face to the free night air as if
she loved it and had longed for it.. Her
face was like Il moonbeam against the
shadows Of the night. Its peculiar pal
lor seemed TO radiate a faint, unearthlv
light. Almost as if she were conscious
OF this, she bent her head and quickly
covered her face with her long hair.
She passed on in the shadow of the asy-
lum walls and paused before the keep
er's quarters. Here there was a small
door. Well she knew it.! Long and
patiently had she waited to hear from
some one through which door she must
pass to accomplish her grand purpose.
She stood here listening for an instant,
then thrust into the keyhole something
she held tightly in her hand. There
was afaint clicking sound-then a sharp
squeak, which might have been made
by a mouse, and a little rectangle of
darkness opened before her.
Silencel
The clouds gathered thickly we the
mOurnful walls of the asylum. A wild
night-wind sobbed in the gaunt arms of
the leafless trees in the courtyard. A
single star trembled for an instant in
the black mass of moving clouds and
was gone.
Suddenly a woman's sharp cry smote
the night air. 1t seemed to come from
the keepers quarters, but one could
scarcely tell whence it began, for it was
instantly caught up by the startled
creatures in the asylum and passed on
from one to another with varying and
terrible modulations of fear, Of anger, of
insensate Joy! The niSSt W2s o hid
eous with their cries! The panic
spread! From every cell came curses,
shrieks, groans, wailings and sobblngs;
the sickening sound OF human bodies
beating against the invincible bars
which held the captive; despairing cries
mingled with snatches of obscene song.
The %sonorous voice of some frenzied
orator delivering his theories; the
notwithstanding prayers of maniacs beg
ging to be delivered from imaginary
tortures, all the horrors of the bestial
scene, indescribable as it IS awful, enac
ted in these living bells where men and
women live the lives OF Gagged brutes,
forsaken by Reason, and, seemingly, by
God.
The doors opened, and the director OF
the asylum made his appearance
among the keepers. His face was pale.
This was unusually bad, he thought,
ever for the violent wards. Awakened
from a deep sleep by the horrible up
roar, he had feared a general riot among
the patients. Suddenly a woman APP
peared at the end of the passage. She
was in her night robe. She held a can
die in her hand, and two children chung
to her skirts.
"Here! Monsieur the Director! Here!
And oh! come quickly"
The director moved toward her. He