The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1902-01-09
G7e SILENT
CONVICT
A fIER the gaping three-inch cash

/
! n N the head of Prison Guard
Morgan had been dressed by the
prnitentiary physician and nip of
rye given the wounded man, he was
escorted into the presence of the new
warden to tell how it all happened.
you see, it was this ere way, war
den" he began, after he had saluted
his chief and dropped into a comfort
able position on the sofa in the pri-
vate room of the penitentary Office.
'SiN of us were out there by the broom
shop cleanin' up the yard bit. Kid
| sly and Shorty were comm the rake
act. | tod Green to take a spade and
throw some loose dirt up agin the tool
house. He was standin' in one of them
cat fits of his'n and paid no attention
to me. He just rolled his eyes and
worked his arms"
Morgan paused and pressed huge
gnarled hand against his bandaged
Uranium.
Take easy" said the warden, SYM
pathetical,y.
Then" continued the guard, 81
caught him by the shoulder and gave
him push toward the tool house. al
the same time tellin' him to get mill
tary move on himself. He reached
Gown, grabbed the spade and whacked
ne across the noggan with it. When
ihe stars scattered out a little, ! saw
that Kid Sly and two of the other boys
we're holdin' him. l whistled for help
3. bad him yanked back to his cell"
Warden Hill reached for the huge
ca f-5ound volume in which the daily
de.i"lUtncies of the prisoners were re-
corded. The page allotted to Convict
G.ll@ Imprisoned for life. was blank.
save for the entry made in neat, Z
round hlnd. stating that all attempts
to maIr the prisoner talk since his in
carceration had been unavaiing. Muir
der Was the crime and the date of the
commitment papers showed that eight
years Of the life sentence had been
served. The warden looked perplexed
Recently appointed, he had not yet had
time to look at the majority of the
prisoners in his charge. Besides, more
important matters awaited his atten-
tion. He closed the volume and turned
- the deputy warden.
Give Convict Green five days In the
Gark cell on bread and water" he said.
Ten minutes later, Convict Green,
closely guarded, was escorted to the
ha..owed niche beneath the tier of cells
c'mmony y known among the prisoners
rs "the hole" the door was unlocked
and Green thrust inside. The bolts
were shot and the guards retired.
With inky blackness on all sides of
him. Convict Green pressed his sweaty
palms against his throbbng forehead
and tried to think. Dull, agonizing
pains seemed to hover between his
temples and dart toward each eve. He
arose from the oaken plank upon which
he had been crouching and extended
both arms. His hands touched a stone
wall on either side.
With a groan he sank back on the
damp stone floor of the dungeon and
tried to think. For a time he was con-
scious of only pain and anguish. but
a. last the darkness which hungiike a
pal over his clouded intellect began
to clear away. The red spots had
come again. What they were, Green
had often tried to find out. but he
never could. The huge patches of lurid
red came and danced before his eyes. !
After a time they left. but terrible
pains remained behind torturing him !
almost beyond endurance. If he tried |
TO find out what the red spots were
they always came back so much the
quicker.
The convict crept nearer the wa. of /
the dungeon and laid first one burning
cheek and then the other against the |
damp stones. The mental anguish of
the man became less wracking; peri
DDS of intellectual calm followed in
which detached sections of conscious
ness became clarified. Now and then
he caught blurred glimpses of the past. |
\ few faint, half-obscured recollec. J
tlohs OF MS chlldhood days actually !
made the miserable inmate of the cell !
smile with delight. Names he no long.
er remembered, but familiar faces
wearing pleasant smiles so different
from the scowling yisages which he
now saw every day seemed to bright.
en- up the cell. But finally one face.
smiling, coquettish, with dimpled
chin, and gracefully curving lips, re-
mained. Her he had worshiped
throughout his childhood and courted
in his youth. Like a flash came N,
memory of the joyous Wedding trip, +
the farm on the outskirts of Ne.
braska village, his valiant struggle for
fortune.
Then the scene shifted to vast field
where withered corn rustled harshly
hA snnrnA;~- k~...~