The Dispatch. [volume] (Provo City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1891-05-23


cause this poor, hereayed woman-this
neart stricken mother-gives way to he,
natural grief when the damnable crime
/ that robbed her of her darling is brought
/ to her mind, you, you, sir, who should be
/ the last man to make sound, go to blnb-
! bling about sensationalism Why, sir'--
THAT will do, gentlemen" said the
4 judge quietly, but firmly, for Mr.. Lang
was actually bounding about in his anxiety
to make a retort. GO on, sir" he added.
turning to the defendant, who during the
discussion had busted himself folding the
red handkerchief into neat, square pack.
age.
''Since working for Messrs Rocker 8
Coe," Cephas Love continued, II have
been in the habit of walking down to the
store along Pine street each morning from
my boarding house, at the corner of Lar
kin and James streets. On the 10th of
June last, or it might have been the Eth,
! noticed that No. 863, after having been
vacant for many months, was about to be
tenanted. The next morning, and it WAS
FRIDAY, | remember, my attention was
again attracted to No. SGD, and this time
by q very peculiar incident. The two win
dows on the ground floor, where the par
lor was evidently situated, were draped
with heavy curtains of some maroon col
ored stuff, after fashion which used to be
in vogue for dining rooms when | was
boy. As | was passing the house, the cur
tain nearer me was drawn aside and Il face
peered out-such face as frightens a
child in what are called its bad dreams. ,"
Describe 1t, Mr.. Love-" said Attorney
Lang
II cannot, said the witness, putting out
10Th hands in u gesture OF repulsion that
WIS strangely energetic in a man seeming
Il so placid and undemonstrative; sit was
more of a mask than q face. Not one of
these grCtesque masks, you understand,
but one Of utter vacuity-a blank, an
emptiness, a soulless nothing. The eyes
were big, wide open, with the white show
ing all around the pupil between the fixed
lids; the cheeks pale and fiabby, the nose
a line, and the mouth half open, with the
lower lip dropping"
Here strange thing happened for while
the prisoner described the face his own took
on that Of the creature he was delineating
until in the place of the little old gentle
man of semi-clerical aspect there appeared
the doddling head of moving idiot The
red handkerchief had been snatched up
from where it lay smoothly folded over on
his knee and was now grasped in both
hands like ball
Il could only see his face" said Love
dropping back, so to speak, into himself,
because he brought the curtains close up
about his neck, like q garment-like a
dressing gown. After l had moved on a
few PAGES turned round, for so strange
was the impression produced on me that
can liken it to little less than fascination.
The face had not moved, but the great
1ring eyes were still fixed on me as the
s of a portrait done in oil painting al,
Ways seem to be, no matter where the OBJ
server may move. More than once during
she day found myself thinking OF this
vacant, fatuous face, and then toward the
afternoon | managed to dismiss it with the
resolution that it undoubtedly belonged
to some poor, unfortunate being, whose
friends preferred to take private charge of
him rather than to send him to an asylum,
and that his presence Ut the window was
due to the temporary absence Of those
whose duty it was to look after him But
with all this common sense view of the
matter, | found myself stupidity excited and
nervous rs / drew near the house mex.
morning. Well, sir-I mean your honor
the fellow must have been watching for
me, for as | came opposite the windows
again thin, white hand parted the cur
tains and the vacant face was turned once
more upon me. This time | thought that
the eyes, though fixed snA wide open, had
the light of a nasty smile - hem and that
the dropping lower lip was not out in q
grimace of contempt. had a stout walk
ing cane in my hand" said the witness,
jumping up, land l threatened the fellow
with it in this way" Here he shook out
the red silk handkerchief and waved it
rapidly toward the jury box as though 1t
were danger signal.
Control yourself, Mr. Love" said he.
and tell your story as calmly as possible"
Il will, your honor" he replied, with
meekness and an instant change of de
meanor, although il was noted that great
beads of perspiratiOn had broken out on
his forehead, and that, now and then, these
merged themselves one in the other and
then ran trickling down his face like an
oyercharEed raindrOp on window pane
For two or three days | changed my
way to the Office" he continued, land took |
another street. so as to escape the sight of |
this oppressive face 1t was a useless pre-
caution, however, for what had been a day |
horror now became nightmare. For the |
first time in my life l became the victim of |
insomnia. The horrible blank features |
covered the walls like patterned paper;
they were as visible in the darkness as in |
the light, they kept my eyes open and |
stared into them, and they covered me like |
waves rolling over my bed. The void, |
face was with me in a hun |
dred fantastic and distressing shapes, and |
l felt that could have strangled the beast |
of a pOssessor had he come within nv |
grasp"
The little mans voice rose into screech.
the dull blue eyes flashed like moving |
mirror, and his chest heaved, while he
twisted the red silk handkerchief into a
scarlet rope,
ION the morning of the third sleepless
night, he went on, sinking his voice into
A hOarse whisper while the crowd in the
court room leaned forward as one man to
hear what was being said-"on the third
morning / got up and determind to put al
end to it all. took out razor, threw
back my collar in this way, and was going
% cut my throat, when the idea entered
ny head that would first go and squeeze
he life out of my tormenting devil, and
hen come back and make way with myself
Dressing hurriedly ran downstairs and
nto the street. l was in front of No. SS5
ike flash of double creased lightning
Quick as was the monstrous villain was
ust as quick Back went the curtains, as
,hough ierked by red Zamiel himself, and
put shot the face-a scarecrow that would
brighten the very blue birds Of heaven. No
loubt about it, the ghost like thing wa.
hooking me now-mocking my misery
1nnl.incr rnnnr old LII -. |