Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-12-10
WITNESS 70 THE DEED
BY M. QUAD.
COPYRIGHT 1900, BY c. D. LEWIS.
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thief was the parlor maid. knew it
from her actions, and three months
after l left the house she was caught
in n similar offense and owned up to
the first theft. However, the crime
was laid off on me- and because l
made indignant and perhaps impu-
dent protest l was flung out of the
house at half an hours notice and re-
fused a character. l was idle for the
next three months. The first thing de-
manded when l applied for place
was a character. AS soon as it was
learned that l had none it was useless
to talk further. 1t was for this reason
that l finally paid a fee to all intelli-
gence office in Margate street and was
at length sent for to take n place at
general housework. 1t was an old
man named Dyson who wanted me.
He was willing to take me without
character because he would have to
pay less wages and because, as he
grimly asserted, there was nothing
lying around loose in his house for one
to steal AS we sat face to face
blAth lllll UP llNaill anu llGuuIlOuS,
but l did not see any evil in him. He
had an aged and infirm wife, he told
me, and | would be the only servant
1t was not for me to pick and choose
l must have Il place and hold 1t long
enough to get a character again.
went with him miles and miles out on
the Holborne road, and we at last ar
rived at the cheaply built and cheap
looking cottage he occupied. 1t was
place devoid of almost all cOnveniences
and had been selected for its cheap
rent l found the old wife deaf, almost
blind and palsied, and it was apparent
that she had no care whatever. She had
become childish and petulant and be-
fore | had been in the house half an
hour Mr.. Dyson whipped her with
strap for saying that she was hungry.
AS he whipped her | saw him look at
her in way to give me a chill. In the
course of three or four days | made up
my mind that he regarded her with de-
testation and adherence and was hour
ly hoping for her death. l wondered
that he had not pushed her down stairs
or found other means to bring about an
bNNib'Itai htdlll, bul llle Olu man
was full of craft and cowardice.
soon had evidence that he was in love
with widow in the neighbOrhood or
at least he desired to be free SO that he
could marry her. The man had no oc-
cupation and seldom left the house.
During my first two weeks in the place
he never allowed me to see the wife
except in his presence and found fault
II l cooked anything extra for her or
expressed my sympathy. He had a
way of whispering to himself, and
dozen times over heard him say:
i've waited for five years, but l
won't wait much longer I'll get rid of
her and be happy"
My natural impulse on finding out
now he felt toward his wife was to fly
the house, but | have explained how |
was situated And, too, | soon got the
feeling that | ought to stay to protect
the poor old woman. | figured it out
that, while he might thirst for her
death, he would not proceed to eX-
tremities while / was in the house. 1t
seemed as if he would have lived on
alone, as he had done for the last two
months, if he meditated ANYTHING OF
that sort. / didn't know the depth of
his craft, however He had brought
me there to work her death through
me. The first thing | suSpicioncd this
way was one morning when he asked
me to help her down stairs. The stairs
were steep and shaky, and he had pried
one of the steps loose, that it might
slide from under our feet. AS mat