The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-26
IN A POOL OF BLOOD.
THE MOST AWFUL FATE THAT
BEFELL A SPY.


Whose Throat is Cut From Ear to
Ear.
From Free Rltssi6
Il was the third day Of my imprison-
ment
A new prisoner was domiciled In our
rooms man who was aw rating Transports
ton TO Siberia There was something in
tsnsely repulsive about his ugly little figure.
His eyes had strange kind Of glitter and
wandered restlessly from object TO object.
He behaved in q curious, languid way, and
was very taciturn. In the evening we were
locked up as before, and the card and dice
playing began again. Tired with my pre-
vious sleepless night, I was glad to lie
down on q bench and instantly fell
asleep. l remember dreaming OF my wife
and my little daughter as had
seen them last-the child playing in the
corner with her dolls, making them sit up
at the table and feeding them; and there
beside the table my wife. bending over her
papers, copying. / remember seeing her
profile, her head bent down, her peculiar
slight pout of the lips as her pen moved
Suddenly an early sunbeam touched my
eyes, l awoke, and the reality around me
effaced all other impressions, except, in
deed, the sense Of overwhelming sadness
that had not forsaken me even in sleep.
Every one else in the room was still asleep.
Turning over, felt that the bench lay
on was wet. Starting up hurriedly, and
looking at it. / involuntarily cried out in
horror. l was lying, literally, IN pool OF
blood. My cry awakened several persons,
they looked at me in terror and amazement.
My clothing was soaked with blood, and the
bench was covered with great stains;
can not describe my own sensa-
ton. / was quite bewildered, but the
sight of so much blood filed me
with instructive horror. Ny next neighbor
on one side had already started up, the one
on the other still slept. In order to wake
him pulled off the cloak that covered him,
and suddenly realized what had happened.
IL was the transport prisoner who had been
brought in the evening before; he was lying
on his back with frighttul gaping wound
| across his throat. 1 have no recollection
of his face; only the great, deep wound re-
mains upon my memory.
In a moment every one in the room was
up, with bewilderment and terror In every
face. The dead silence was broken by the
| trembling voice of the elder: I'VE must
announce it." He went to the door aud
| called the sentinel. We heard q bell, then
| the fastening and christening Of bolts, the
banging Of doors, hurried footsteps, then
/ again all was quiet. | stood trembling from
head TO foot, still too confused to think Of
/ taking off my wet, blood-5tained shirt, and
unable to think clearly Of anything; but
| when l saw the prisoners all stand silent, as
| If some absorbing thought were in their
| minds, it flashed across me that l
| might be accused of murder, and
| the cold sweat broke out on my fore
| head. We heard sounds again, many
footsteps approaching; then the prison
| authorities came into our court with body
/ L. . Iafs ~
| the warder; he was still half asleep, and
| looked in at the window with dazed, apa-
theiic eyes, then ordered the doors to be
unlocked. Pass out in single fleP The
| prisoners came out one Dy one, passing be-
tween ranks of soldiers l was last, and the
warder, looking at my face, asked: "Who
is thatl' told him. why has he been
put herer he asked, turning to his assistant,
| who, however, did not know. The clerk,
who was standing by, explained that he had
received me and had placed me here because
nothing was stated in my papers.
Take him to the bath, give him back
his own clothes and put him in the mobiles
department" said the warder. Before
going out, he asked me: You slept next
TO HING The fancy that l might be sus-
pected came over me again; felt myself
turn pale as l answered, "yes.h
Did you hear anything in the night, or
can you give any explanation at allF"
| No"
| VERY well; you may 60"
| They took me to the bath, where washed
in cold water, and, still trembling, dressed
in my own clothes. | experienced a pecu-
liar sense of relief when put on my coat;
it seemed for moment as if all that had
gone before were only nightmare, though
l still mechanically shivered.
| On entering my new quarters | was sur
rounded by quite different set of people
wearing their own clothes, which, though
| they were in some cases poorly dressed
made great difference in the impression
produced by them. They were all common
law prisoners. One was Georgian prince
condemned for numbering the husband o
| his paramour; another was a superin.
tendent of police, who had been concerned
in some peculiarly shameless fraud: thirC
Ia coroner) had committed very seriou
crime-arson on his own property-in ordel
to obtain insurance money; fourth was 6
priest, accused Of robbery; and 80 on. Al
together there were eighteen persons
They courteously offered me bed, and al
once lay down to rest after the agitation
had suffered.
In this court was separate wing of tn
building, with ''secret" j. e., solitary con
finement cells for..important prisoners be
fore trial. Presently prisoner was brough
into one of these cells, and turned out to
one of the companions of the night before
He was suspected of being the murderer O
the man whom we found dead, and tn
cause of suspicion was as follows: He slep
, right in the corner with some five or six pei
sons between him and the dead man, an
yet on his shirt was found some yelloN
traces, which were conjectured to be hal
washed out blood-stains. This shirt. more
over, was still wet, and the stains wer
only on the right sleeve
The next day the guilty man confessed
and we learned the following story:
Two months before some prisoners in til
penal servitude department, where tn
, murdered man was at that time Quartered
were constructing q tunnel underneath thei
sleeping berths. The work was we'll ad
vanced, when sudden search was made b
the authorities, who discovered the tunnt
and three men working in it. AS soon as tn
authorities left the soldiers maltreated tn,
) culprits frightfully, and took one prsone
away with them to another jail. That on
was a paid spy. The escape was to have bee
effected week before che convoy starte
for Siberia; they were, therefore, YER
! hastily tried, and sent out with increase
terms of penal servitude. After that othe
parties we're sent out week by week, an
the affair appeared to be forgotten; many
indeed know nothing about it, as the prise
, population continually shifted. 1t seem!
however, that prisoners have kind c
; | organization of their own When the con