The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-07-31
TOR eight years I had occupied the
position of resident physician at

FOR eight years i mad occupied tne
position of resident physician at
the state penitentiary at s., and for
the first time my position meant much
to me. This was owing to romance
which had begun to blossom for me
within the austere prison walls. She
was the warden's niece, beautiful and
frail, who had but recently taken up
her abode among us, acting as secTe-
tary to her uncle. The interest was
mutual, for Pauline did not frown
upon my suit, and I was on my way to
the warden to ask his sanction Of our
union when I met him n the corridor
crumpling a telegram in his hand. Per
emptorily detaining me, he explained
that he was leaving the city immediate
ly on urgent business, and that as the
deputy was i'll would be compelled to
act in his place.
Accordingly started on my rounds
of inspection at once with no word OF
the subject nearest my heart. Invent
first to the brush shop, where a rev
man was overseeing the work. and was
detained there some time by the ap-
parent unrest and disorder.
Thoughts Of this place had, at the
warden's frst instructions, caused ne
misgivings which grew to positive ap-
prenensions when Brown, the new man,
called me aside and reported convict
by the name Of Brooks for rank in
subordination. This Brooks was life
man and a particularly bad one. He
had given US no end of trouble during
the ten months he had been in. He
was mulatto and seemed to have all
the bad blood Of both races in his veins.
All my Gualms were confirmed that
evening when, just as Pauline and I
were leaving the building for quiet
stroll about the campus, a "trusty" in
formed me Of Brooks escape. He had
removed one of the great flags in the
floor of the solitary and had slipped
underneath.
Pauline was pale and trembling when
left her to begin the search for this
black monster. Fearing he would fire
the building before we could discover
him, hastily summoned to my aid two
faithful TRUSTEES whom we had dubbed
Hanks" and "Blondie.''
I decided to go under the floor by
trap door in the farthest end Of the
west wing and to search every foot Of
the ground as far as the new dollhouse;
from there we would have to proceed
more carefully, as that part Of the
foundation was cut up by many stone
cross walls. There was so little room
between ground and rafters that we
could not crawl on hands and knees,
but for the most part had to wriggle
along on our chests and elbows.
Hanks carried lantern on my right
and Blonde carried one on my left,
while I covered the rough middle
ground between. It was not an easy
place to search. for the great steam
mains, which ran from engine-room to
kitchens and radiators. were every
where overhead. Then there were two
cross walls through which holes had
been drilled barely large enough to
pass a man.
At last we reached the thick wall
which separates the new from the old
building. This wall was nearly two
feet thick, but had the usual opening
into the new cellhouse.
Pushing Hanks lantern before ne,
attempted to set it upon solid ground
on the other side OF the wall, but found
to my surprise that the excavation was
at least IS inches lower than the
ground where we lay. AsIreached far
out I knew I had missed my calculation
and felt the lantern slip from my fin
gers. could not regraspit. Ofcourse
it did not stay right side up. Hastily
started to squeeze myself through the
hole, in order to set it upright, but the
opening was too small to pass my shoul-
ders, and soon the little blue and yell
low flames were shooting back into the
kerosene.
Just above this fame was the OIL
soaked floor of the new cellhouse. It
was about noon, and $50 men were
probably eating in their cells on the
second and third floors; there were
200 more in the old building. Would
the guards discover the fire in time
to get out the men? Who would let
them out? Would there not be a panic
and men running like sheep over the
felds7 Worst of all, what would be