Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1902-11-13
CHAPTER xxi.
THE OLD SUGAR HOUSE.

Half conscious as L soon became,
knew only that | was being carried
away, then put into a cart that jolted
horribly, and after an interminable
Time carried into building and
dumped upon the floor of room
whether al night or in the daytime |
could not have told, as there was lit
tie or no ligi. then or during the
whole time l was there. So / lay on
the floor, which seemed wet, for a
time; and then finding my conscious
ness thoroughly / began to take cog
nizance of what Jay near me.
A shiver of horror that same dread
rushed over me instantly as 1 felt,
in stretching out my hand, the body
of a man With a kind of spasmodic
stroke of reason / felt at his heart.
The dread growing as / could not find
1T beating, and in another moment /
turned over and found him dead and
cold. With the sort of movement
which an insane man makes as he
crouches away from something, 1
pushed myself across the floor cycling
the body, then whirled about in spite
of the wound, for j touched something
on The other side. Twas another body.
No. for it spoke.
'Havc you a daughter, friend?" it
asked
Mo- l whispered.
Then take her and cut her throat,
if you would keep her a virgin.'
! What mean youy asked, in
strange awe. and, my eyes becoming
accustomed to the darkness, | saw a
hagsard figure naught but bones with
the dried skin drawn tight over them
sitting Turk fashion and looking at
me with wild eyes.
Aye, cut her throat that she may
iive!"
Where am IT, l asked to the air.
for | became aware of foul odor and
sickening heavy atmosphere that, as
/ 1T grew, made me try to stop breath
ing till it should pass; but that it did
never
Don't min i'm" said a grun voice
behind my head les got 'em! t,'s
lifted, ere! Els got a w'eel stuck in
is upper deck
l sat up quickly. holding my clothes
now dried to the wound to keep from
tearing them away from my side, and
saw dimly long narrow room with
walls of stone and little Sits for win
dows, with every inch of floor COW
cred by standing or sitting men. so
close together that in many instances
they lay across one another. | had
for the moment more room than the
others.
Where am II"
In hell! In hell" cried the lunatic
And she is not here. Will you cut her
throat, friend?" l crawled away from
him, fascinated by his unwinking eyes,
till l touched the dead man.
Give that un a wide berth, mate"
said the sailor. "'E just coughed up
is last breath, and 'e's got the typhus."
| Where am II" I cried again, shrink
| ing from the body.
The lunatic's about right" said the
sailor, in his monotonous voice. "Yere
/ in ell. Dyer mean to say yer don't
know the old Sugar 'Ouse?"
! God knows l did. And l hid my face
in my hands to cover my grief. Did
| know the Sugar House prison, where
my comrades of n had lain so long
some only leaving to go as l had seen
! them in the dead cars but few hours
before? Did | know that foul prison {?
Aye, we'll! And was like to know it
| better.
What day iE it?" asked quiet voice
at my feet. 1 turned little and, heard
a long cough come from young man
pale with the signs of death on his
white brow, lying there on his side, his
| looking at me with bravery in them
ure!
Thursday" said some voice out Of
the foul darkness.
/ ly turned towards the wasted figure.
What month. If you please?" he
asked, without taking his eyes from
my face.
| THE 18th of october. friend" said /