The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1902-09-23
By JOHN F. PEARSON
Copyright, 1901, by A. S. Richardson


from the officers one of them was shot
dead. That meant the gallows for Dee.
l at once secured the best legal counsel
for him, but was plainly told that only
miracle could save his neck. When
his case came up, he was convicted
without the jury leaving the box. and
he was sentenced to be hung. We
made an appeal, and he went back to
prison knowing that he would be safe
for eight or ten months to come.
Dee was man of twenty-eight,
gentleman by birth, one of the hand
soonest men you ever saw. Had it been
jury of women they would have ac-
quilted him as promptly as he was
convicted. A dozen females broke
down and wept when he was sen
fenced. Though watching things close
ly had not put myself forward at the
trial. Among the interested ones had
noticed handsome girl about twenty,
and the trial was not half concluded
| when l knew that she regarded Dee
as an innocent man and hero. When
the verdict of guilty was pronounced,
she tainted away, and the incident
created some local gossip.
AS nothing more could be done for
| Dee for some time was about to leave
the city, when received a note asking
me to call at certain house. called
and met Miss Fay, Dees courtroom adj
mirer and an heiress She told me that
she had fallen in love with Dee and
fhaf ovorv dollar chic had vuac % bis,
disposal to save his neck. When / re-
piled that it wasn't question of mon
ey and that he was almost certain to
hang after we had exhausted all legal
lodges, she asked me to remain In
town until heard from her again.
Dee was a far better man in all
things than three-fourths of those
shouting their morality, but I felt it
my duty to tell Miss Fay just where he
stood. 1 admitted to her that he was
criminal instead of a hero and that
even if his life was saved through her
efforts she could hardly hope he would
marry her and settle down. Nothing ]
could say would dispel her illusions,
and she actually became angry at me
for giving her brotherly advice. She
did not tell me what steps she meant
to take, but l knew by the light in her
eyes that she would hesitate at moth
ing. 1t was seven days before l met
her again, and l was astonished at the
work she had done. Dee was confined
In the county jail, which was as strong
and safe as state prison. He had
cell at the end of wing, and was so
hedged in by bolts, bars. guards and
steel and stone walls that there was
not the remotest chance for an escape
In week the girl had located the
cell, rented cottage outside the walls
and stocked 1t with tools and provi-
sions and laid the plan to defeat JUS
tice. The plan was boldness ITSELF
was to find two trusty men and en-
sconce myself in the cottage and dig
tunnel to the cell of the condemned.
The distance was 100 feet, and we
must go under the street, under the
yard wall and then under the wall of
the Jail. The cottage was one Of three
and had a space of only twenty feet on
each side of it. The other cottages
were owned by the families occupying
them, and the people were bound to
watch any strangers moving In. To
dig that tunnel was the work of
months, and to run its other mouth
into cell was feat the oldest engi-
neer and the nerviest sort of a crook
might well hesitate over. l ridiculed
the whole plan at once. but Miss Fay
int nv nninf nd co NryoD
did she argue that after three or four
hours / agreed that there was one
chance in a thousand that success
might be achieved.
The first move was to find family
to occupy the cottage. 1t was not very
difficult for me to get hold of an oldish
woman who would assist us to carry
the scheme through. She opened a
boarding house, but took in only three
men of us. We were supposed to be
railroad men and to come and go be-
fore daylight and after dark. Now and
then we did come and go. but it was
only to deceive the neighbOrs. AS soon
as we settled in the house we began
work on the tunnel. and we never put
in less than fourteen hours out of the
twenty-four. The two men with me
knew what they were being paid for
and could be depended upon. The eel
lar of the cottage gave US room for the
dirt excavated, and 1t seemed as If
luck was with us from the start. 1t
was winter with but few people pass
ing on the side street. and the ground
being hard frozen there was less dan
ger of the roof of the tunnel falling in.
One can run a ditch on the surface
as straight as a rule, but when you
come to run a tunnel it is a different
thing. We had sewers and gas and
water pipes and beds of rock to look
for, and the far end must reach a GER
tain cell inside the Jail. To say that
| sweat blood over that job would be
drawing it mild. We went over or I'M
der the pipes in the street, made a
couple of elbows to avoid big rocks.
and finally reached the prison wall.
From the wall we were to go under a
coal shed until reaching the prison
wall, and there would be no chance
to take sights above ground. For
tunately for us we. struck an old aban-
doned sewer, and this saved US at
least months digging. We followed
it up to the prison wall and then we
were twenty-five feet from the spot
we wanted to reach.
The Jail had cellar, but under only
two-thirds of the space. The new wing
rested on a bed of rock and cement
In the difficult work we had to get
around the pipes we progressed only
by inches. Toward the last of our
work Miss Fay called at the cottage
of night and even crept into the tun-
mel She made the arrangements for
the future, and alone was taken into
her confidence.
At last there came a night when we
began work on the fiagstones forming
the floor Of Dee's cell. had got a
note to him, and he knew what we
were doing. 1t was two nights later
dropped down among us. AS we
emerged into the cellar of the cottage
/ halted to tell him the story of the
girl, and when l had finished it l said:
you must make a choice. You
must either marry the girl and settle
down to an honest life, or / win give
you up to the prison authorities be-
fore you can leave the house
He did not hesitate. He was touched