Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1902-04-11
IN
A TRAGEDY BY TELEPHONE
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yourself. You should not have let
Blaise go. Even II he drives back, he
can not return before ten or eleven
O'Clock. My sole confidence was know
Ing that he was near you, and now he
is gone. And then that boy who ran
away before you had time to think of
making sure his news was true. At
any rate, Blaise has left you the two
dogs and the gun. has he not?"
The two dogs are asleep ON the
porch. As for the gun. Blaise must
have left 1t in the hall. shall go and
make sure. Can you hear Marcel? He
is sitting in my lap, and is saying good
night to you. Listen!'
Good night, papa, goodnight"
Goodnight, my darllngs. must
get bite of dinner now, and then l
will call you again."
Once outside | felt oppressed with
what my wife had just told me. | had
dissimuated my own anxiety in order
not to add to her fears. But that un-
easiness, which had hardly been quiet
ed by the first conversation, now waXed
stronger at the thought of this strange.
incredible letter which had taken away
my wife's one defender. the only man
In the house My thoughts took so
dark Il turn that by the time | reached
the hotel could not swallow mouth
ful. l left the table to return to the
telephone office, but my agent found
me and laid before me II lot of details
which were essential to the success of
my venture. | could not dismiss him
Immediately, and 1t was late when |
e-enteredthe telephone office. My heart
throbbed with impatience and my hand
trembled so that | could scarcely hold
the received to my ear. 1t was some
seconds before could hear anything.
Hello, Louise, hello!'' cried. Are
you there? Answer me-"
At last heard her voice. but 1t was
low oppressed, filled with terror.
"Oh, It's you at last! For the last
hour | have been nearly crazed. l
could not find the gun-that boy must
have stolen 1t when he went away
Blase has not come back, they must
have got him out Of theway on purpose
oh, am losing my head, | can scarce
~ breathe for terror-1 think | hear
In the garden-far away Wait while
| listenv
Clutching at the box for support, L
could only cry: Louise, l beg of you,
do not leave me in this silence-what
do you hear?"
THE dogs are growling-now they
are barking furiously. They
have run to the bottom of the garden
now, suddenly they are still-there is
deathly silence! But-yes, 1t sounds
like muffied footsteps on the pebbled
walk-as If some one were coming to-
ward the house"
"Go on, speak, Louise, | am strang-
ling. | shall go mad! What do you
hear what do you hear nowy"
Nothing, now-almost nothing-yes,
there is gentle, steady grating sound,
as If chisel were being slipped under
shutter to force 1.-THE sash gives
way-a window is broken-oh, | am
terrified"
| shook the telephone-boX in my
agony. Telephone to Marseilles,"
cried, ito warn the policev
How canI?-the city is three leagues
away-they would come too late and
cannot-oh, am going mad"
Call for help. or hide yourselves
that's 1t. Take the little one and hde!'
II cannot, | have no strength left
they are coming, the stairs creak-they
are in the hall-they are feeling along
the wall, they try the door-Marcel.
My God-help, bel"
There were two muffled cries of ter
ror Then a vague, confused noise.
Then a jumble of indefinable sounds,
then silence. Something seemed to
crack in my brain, and | fell uncon-
scious.
Gasping as If he had lived through
this terrible scene again, NJ. Maroux
concluded: From the Gazette Judi
ciarie you can learn the details of the
crime 1t is known as The Morande
Atrocity' BY it | lost my wife, my
child, and my two servants. But no
report can describe, no mere words can
ever express. the hideous nightmare
that modern science brought me, the
frightful torture OF man who at
distance of Il hundred leagues, hears
the despairing cries of his wife and son,
who are being strangled while he Is
powerleSs to do more than batter i'm
potently on wooden telephone box" -
Translated for the Argenaut from the
French of Charles Foley.
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