Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1901-02-14
AN UNPOSTED LETTER
BY NEWTON MACTAVIyH.

through the iron bars OF the prison WINDOW
shone few struggling shafts of sunlight.
My client rested on his elbow, his chin in
his hands. The light glstened deadly on
his matted hair. He heard the hammering
outside.
81 guess may IS well write line to Bill"
he said, not raising his head. kin you git
pencil and paper?"
/ got them, and then waited until he had
written:
Dear Bill-By the sound of things,
reckon I've got to swing this trip. I've he'd
q hope all along tibet they might git scent
on the right track; but see that Six-Eye IL
be biged to kick the bucket, with head up
the galleys is goin' up mighty fast.
81 say, Bill there amt no good in bur-
glarin'. 1 swore once I'd quit it, and wish
/ had But a Teller can't allus do just as he
fancies; guess he can't allus do it, kin he,
Bill? You never knew how l got into this
scrape, did you?
Zone day l was standin' around, just
standin' around nothin' doin', when saw a
span of runaway horses a-comin' down the
street like mad. jumped out and caught
the nigh one by the bride. l hauled 'em up
mighty sudden, but somethin' swung me
round, and I struck my head agn the neck
yoke kersmash.
"When / come to, was sittin' back in
| the carriage with the sweetest faced girl
bendin' over me and wipin' my face with
| cool water. She asked me where she would
| drive me home; and do you know, Bill for
| the first time, was ashamed to say where.
| But [ told her, and, so help me, she came
clear down in there with me, and made
| Emily put me to bed. She left money, and
every day till | got well she came out and
| l. L. ILL +Lo,., l,,.<r.
Do you know, Bill, it wasn't long afore
things seemed different. l couldn't look at
her pure, sweet face and plan job. The
last day she come | made up my mind I'd
try somethin' else-quit burglarin'.
'I started out to get work. One man
asked me what I'd served my time at.
said I'd served most of it in jail, and then
he wouldn't have anything to do with me. A
chap gave me couple of days breakin'
stones in a cellar He said did it so good
he guessed l must have been in Jail. After
tibet | couldn't get nothin' to do, because
no one wouldn't have nothin' to do with a
jail bird, and | had made up my mind to
tell the truth.
cat last Emily began to kick and little
Bob to cry for grub. l got sick of huntin'
for work, and it seemed as if everybody was
pushin' me back to my old job | got dis.
gusted. 1 hedto do somethin', so sot down
and planned to do big house in the sub
urbs. I'd sized it up afore.
"The moon was high tibet night, so
waited till it went down long after mid
night. found the back door already open
so it was snap to git in.
II went upstairs and picked on side
room near the front. I eased the door and
looked in. A candle fickered low, and
flames danced from few Goals in the fire
place.
81 entered noiselessly.
ga high backed chair was in front of the
hearth. l sneaked up and looked over the
top. A young girl, all dressed in white
with low neck and bare arms, laid ther'
asleep. Her hair hung over her shoulders
she looked as if she'd come home from
dance and just threw herself there tirec
out.
Gust as | was agoin' to turn away tn
flames in the fireplace fickered and
caught the glow of rubies at the girl
throat. How they shone and cleaned ant
shot fire from their blood-red depths Thu
candle burned low and sputtered; but tn
Goals on the hearth fickered, the rubie
glowed and the girl breathed soft in he
sleep.
cts an easy trick said to myself, a
I leaned over the back of the chair, m.
breath tanning the light hair tibet fell owe
her marble shoulders. I took out my knit
and reached over. just then the fire burned
I'D a bit. As leaned over / saw her sweet
girlish face, and, so help me, Bill, it was her
her whose face couldn't look into and pla1
job.
"I looked at her, and gradually closed m,
= IL l. l.
in shape Teller gets into. l remembered
verse that she used to read to me: 'Ye shall
not go forth empty handed so l said to my
self I'd try again. But just as | was turnin
to 90, heard a shot in the next room; the1
heavy tbud l stood stock still for ;
jiffy, and then ran out in time to see some
one dart down the stairs. At the bottom
heard a stumble. l hurried along the hal
and run straight into the arms of the butler
81 guess some one else was dom tibet jol
tibet night. But they he'd me slicker n {
whistle. Twas no use; everything wen
agin me. | he'd on my big revolver, the matt
to the one you got. As it happened, on,
shell was empty, and the ball they took from
the old mans head was the same size.
had bad record; it was all up with m,
The only thing they brought up in cour
to the contrary was the top of an ear the,
found in the hall, where some one mus
have hit agin something sharp. But the!
wouldn't listen to my lawyer.
"Give up burglarin', Bill; see what Pv'
come to. But | hope you do turn for Emil,
if ever she's in need, and don't learn littl'
Bill filchin'. Do this for an old pals sake
B L."
The doomed man stopped writing, as thu
last shaft of sunlight passed beyond thu
4 iron bars of the prison window. Outside
the hammering had ceased; the scaffold wa
finished
you'll find Emily, my wife, in the bacl
room of the basement at l26 River street,
said my client, handing me the letter
"She1l tell you where to find Bill"
took the letter, but did not know it
contents l started, but he called me back
''You have a flower in your buttonhole,
he said. 'Pd like to wrap it up and sene
it to Emily"
Next day, after the sentence of the Law
had been executed, l went to find Emily
1 descended the musty old stairway at III
River street, where all was filth and squalor
At the back room l stopped and raped. 4
towzy head was thrust out of the next door
THEY'VE gone" it said.