Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-11-08

ward the door leading to the stock
room, the man OH the platform watched
him closely from between half-closed
lids.
A guard who had come round from
behind the broom bins noticed the way
in which the foreman followed every
movement Of the convict, and stepping
over to the platform asked, In an un-
dertone, Anything wrong, Bill?"
That's what don't know, George"
the foreman replied. THAT man
Riley's been acting queer Of late. I've
got an idea there's something up his
sleeve. There's not harder nut on
the contract than that, fellow, and by
the way he's been carrying on, sullen
like and all that, I'm fearing some
things going to happen. You rem m
Der him. don't you? What, no? Why,
he's that Riley from Acorn. He came
in two years ago on a burglary job in
Give, where he shot drug clerk that
offered objections to his carrying off
all there was in the shop. They made
it manslaughter, and he's i'll for 10
years. And I'm told there's another
warrant ready for him when he gets
out, for a job done four years ago in
Kentucky. He's bad one. A fellow
like that is no good round this shop"
The guard smiled cynically at the
foreman's suggestion that convict
may be too bad even for prison sur
roundings.
1t was quarter to four by the fore
mans watch when the door at the
head of the stairway opened and the
warden entered, accompanied by two
friends whom he was showing through
the plant" as he always persisted in
calling the prison. The warden was
stout, jovial man, who looked more
like bishop than second father to
800 criminals. The foreman did not
observe his entrance into the room,
and only looked up when he heard his
voice.
This is where the whisk- brooms are
made" the warden was explaining to
his friends. ''On the floor below which
we just left, youwill remember we saw
the boys turning out broom-h handles.
Well here, the brooms are fastened to
those little wooden handles. Some of
the work, you see, is done by machine.
The brooms are tied and sewn, though,
by hand over at those benches. In the
room beyond. through that door, we
keep the stuff handy that is called for
from time to time, and in Il farther
room is stored the material used in the
manufacture of the brooms, the tin
tons of broom straw"
AS the warden ceased speaking, the
foreman leaned across the desk and
tapped him OIL the shoulder. "Riley's
coming in to see you this afternoon.
He's been acting queer-don't answer
the call, and the like. l thought may
be you could call him down."
The warden only nodded, and contin-
ued his explanations to the visitors OF
the work done in the shop.
Now he said moving away to-
ward the door leading into the stock
room, "if you will come over here Ill
show you our storerooms. You see we
have to keep lot of material on hand.
Beyond this second room the stuff is
stored up. and is taken into the stock
room as it is wanted. Between the
rooms We have arranged these big slid
ing iron doors that, in case of fire,
could be dropped, and thus, for Il few
minutes at least, cut the flames off
from any room but that in which they
originated. See"
He pulled lever at the side of the
door. and II heavy iron Siding sheet
dropped slowly and easily to the floor.
the WALL
The visitors nodded Now come on
through here and looS at the straw and
velvet We have stored away in bales"
The visitors followed the wald II
through the second room. and into the
third. There arranged regularly OH the
floor. were huge bales of broom-straw,
and against the walls of the room, boxes
upon boxes Of ofvelvets. tacks. ornament.
al bits of metal and all the other separ-
ate parts of the commercial whisk-
broom.
The visitors examined the tacks and
the tins and felt the bales of straw.
Very interesting" observed one of
them. as he drew his cigar-case from his
pocket, and biting the tip from one of
the cigars it contained, struck Il little
wax match on the sole of his shoe He
held the match in his hand until it had
burned down, then threw 1t on the
floor, and followed the warden and the
other visitor under the heavy iron
screen into the workroom of the fac
tory.
The foreman was busy ut his books
and did not observe the little party as
II passed through the shop OH the other
side Of the broom-blns and out the big
door.
Two minutes later, 203i happened TO
look out through the window across
his bench. and he saw the warden with