Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-23
THE STRANGE OCCURRENCES
CANTERSTONE JAIL.

tulS OCChSlOu tuCAC was Nv
officer in charge of Markell, who possibly
wanted his dinner, put in his oar:
TELLING fortunes, sir"
Telling fortunesl Obi Dear mel How
sadl You see what telling fortunes brings
you to? There will be no difficulty in
telling your fortune if you don't take care.
will see you tomorrow morning aftei
chapel"
The chaplain turned away. But his pre-.
diction proved to be as false as Mankell's
were stated to have been. He did not see
him the next morning after chapel, and that
for the sufficient reason that on the follow
ing morning there was no chapel. And the
reasons why there was no chapel were very
curious indeed-unprecedented in fact.
Canterstone Jail was an old-fashioned
prison. In it each prisoner had two cells,
one for the day and one for the night. The
day cells were on the ground floor, those for
the night were overhead. At A. NJ. a bell
was rung, and the warders unlocked the
night cells for the occupants to 90 down to
those beneath. That was the rule. That
particular morning was an exception to the
rule. The bell was ruHg as usual, and the
wsrders started to unlock, but there the
adherence to custom ceased, for the doors OF
the cells refused to be unlocked.
The night cells were Theoretically sealed
by oaken doors OF massive thickness, bolted
and barred in accordance with the
former idea that the security of prisoners
should depend rather upon bolts and bars
than upon the vigilance of the officers in
charge. Each door was let into a "a
inch brick wall and secured BY two
ponderous bolts and an enormous lock
Of the most complicated workmanship.
These locks were kept constantly oiled.
L. -, ~; 1-o, al -
turned as easily as the key of a watch
that was the rule. When, therefore, on
inserting his key into the lock of the first
cell, warder Slater found that it wouldn't
turn at all, he was rather taken aback.
"Who's been having a game with this
lock?" he asked.
Warder Putin, who was stationed at the
head of the stairs to see that the prisoners
passed down in order, at the proper distance
from each other, replied to him.
Anything the matter with the lock? Try
the next"
warder Slater did try the next, but he
found that as refractory as the other had
been.
perhaps you've got the wrong key?"
suggested Warder Putin.
SCOT the wrong keyp' cried Warder
Slater. "Do you think don't known my
own KEYS Wneu i see tQem!
The oddest part of it was that all the
locks were the same. Not only in Ward
A, but in Wards B, G, d, e and Fin all
the wards, in fact. When this became
known a certain sensation was created, and
that on both sides of the unlocked doors.
The prisoners were soon conscious that their
guardians were unable to release them, and
they made noise. Nothing is so precious
to the average prisoner as a grievance; here
was grievance with a vengeance.
The chief warder was a man named Mur-
ray. He was short and stout, with a red
face and short, stubbly white hair-his
very appearance suggested apoplexy. That
suggestion was emphasized when he lost his
temper-capable officer though he was, that
was more than once in a while. He was in
the wheel-shed, awaiting the arrival of the
prisoners preparatory to being toled off to
their various tasks when, instead of the
prisoaers, Warder Slater appeared. If
Murray was stout, Slater was stouter. He
was about 8 feet s, and weighed at least $50
pounds. He was wont to amaze those who
saw him for the first time-and wondered
by assuring them that he had brother who
was still lstouter-compared to whom he was
a skeleton, in fact But he was stout
enough. He and the Chtef warder niaue
pair.
: "There's something the matter with the
locks of the night cells, sir. We can't undo
the doors"
Cant undo the doorsl" Mr.. Murray
turned the color of q boiled beetroot
"What do you mean?"
"It's very queer, sir, but all over the
place it's the same. We can't get none of
the doors unlocked"
f. cforfo1 rfT Tof onad
pace, Slater following hard at his heels.
The chief warder tried his hand himself.
He tried every lock in the prison; not one
of them vouchsafed to bulge. Not one,
that is. with single exception. The ex-
Murray had tried all the other doors in
the ward, beginning with No. 1-tried
them all in vain. But when he came to
No. q, the lock turned with the customary
ease, and the door was open. Within it
was Oliver Markell, standing decorously
at attention, waiting to be let out. Mr..
Murray stared at him.
"Humi there's nothing the matter with
this lock, at any rate. You'd better 60
down."
oliver Markell went downstairs-he was
the only man in Canterstone Jail who did.
"well, this is a pretty goi" exclaimed
Mr.. Murray, when he had completed his
round. Two or three other warders had ac-
companied him. He turned on these.
I'Some one will smart for this-you see if
they don't. Keep those men still"
The din was deafening. The prisoners,
secure of q grievance, were practicing step
dances in their heavy shoes on the stone
floors; they made the narrow, vaulted cor
ridors ring.
"Silence those menu shouted Mr. Jarvis,
the second warder, who was tall and thin as
the chief was short and stout He might as
we'll have shouted to the wind. Those in
the cells lust close at hand observed the
better part of valor, but those little dis
tance off paid not the slightest heed. II
thew were locked in the officers were locked
out.
"I must go and see the governor" Mr..
Murray pursed up his lips. Keep those
men still, or I'll know the reason why"
He strobe of, leaving his subordinates to
obey his orders-if they could or if they
couldn't.
Mr.. Paley's house was in the center ofthe
iail. Paley, by the way, was the COVER
nor's name. The governor, when Mr..
Murray arrived, was still in bed. He came
down TO the chief warder in rather primi-
tive disarray.
"Anything the matter, Murray"
"Yes, sir; there's something very much
the matter, indeed"
"What is it?" ..-.
1--WE can't get any of the doors of the
night cells open."
"You can't get-whatP'
"There seems to be something the matter
with the locks"
"The locks? All of them? Absurdp'
"well, there they are, and there's the
men inside of them, and we can't get 'em
out-at least I've tried my hand. and
know can't"
"Pll come with you at once, and see what
Won mean"