Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1902-09-25
WHEN
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Low
BY JOHN F. PEARSON
1871. by a. S. Richardson

an uula ,Yful way. For Instance, IL a
burglar comes across bonds, shGees,
notes, deeds and the like while pui su-
Ing his calling he bundles them up and
brings them to me. For liberal com
open market or deal with the loser di-
rect. Now and then | handle Jewelry,
but the gems must be valuable and the
losers wealthy to interest ME in 4 case.
II may be of interest to know that l
was a fairly good civil engineer before
| became financial agent. Why l ex-
changed professions is a matter con-
cerning myself alone.
Ten years since friend Of mine
named Dee got into trouble in a west
ern state. In trying to break awAy
from the officers one of them was shot
dead That meant the gallows for Dee.
/ at once secured the best legal counsel
for him, but was plainly told that only
n 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
a 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 l had
noticed handsome girl about twenty,
and the trial was not half concluded
when / 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 l received a note asking
me to call at certain house. l called
and met Miss Fay, Dees courtroom ad
mirer and an heiress. She told me THAT
she had fallen in love with Dee and
that every dollar she had was at his
disposal to save his neck. When / re-
piled that 1t 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 far better man in all
things than three-fourths OF those
shouting their morality, but | felt it
my duty to tell Miss Fay just where he
stood. I admitted to her that he was
criminal instead of q 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 knew by the light I'm her
eyes that she would hesitate at moth
ing. 1t was seven days before met
her again, and was astonished at the
In the county jail, which was as strong
and safe as state prison. He had a
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 n cottage outside the walls
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 a
tunnel to the cell OF the condemned.
The distance was 1G0 feet, and we
must go under the street. under the
yard wall and then under the wall Of
and had n space of only twenty feet on
each side OF II. 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
and to run Its other mouth
into cell was a feat the oldest engi-
neer and the nervlest sort Of a crook
might well hesitate over. l ridiculed
the whole plan at once, but Miss Fay
took II up point by point, and SO well
did she argue that after three or four
hours | agreed that there was one
chance In thousand that success
might be achieved.
The first move was to find a family
10 occupy the cottage. 1t was not very
difficult for me to get hold OF an oldish
who would assist us to carry
the scheme through. She opened q
boarding house, but took In only three
men of us. We were supposed to be
men and to come and 20 be-
'ore daylight and after dark. Now and
then we did come and go. but 1t was
)nly TO deceive the neighbors. As soon
~ we settled In the house we began
work on the tunnel, and we never put
n less than fourteen hours out of the
The two men with me
fnew what they were being paid for
md could be depended upon. The cell
lirt excayated, and II seemed as II
uck was with us from the start. 1t
vas winter, with but few people pass
ng on the side street, and the ground
,eing hard frozen there was less dan !
,er OF the roof OF the tunnel falling In. |
One can run ditch on the surface |
IL straight as u rule, but when you |
omc to run tunnel Ii IL n different |
hing. We had sewers and gas and |
water pipes and beds of rock to look |
or, and the far ond must reach GER
ain cell inside the Jail To say that |
sweat blood over that Job would be |
lra wing II mild. We went over or un- |
Ter the pipes In the street. made a |
,ouple OF elbows TO avoid big rocks, |
md finally reached the prison wall. |
from the wall we were TO go under Il
'onl shed until reaching the prison |
vail, and there would be no chance
o take sights above ground. For
unately for us we struck nm old aban-
loned sewer, and this saved us at |
east u months digging. We followed
/ up TO the prison wall and then we
we're twenty-five feet from the spot
We wanted TO reach.
The Jail had a cellar, but under only
wo-thirda OF the space. The new wing |
ested on n bed OF rock and cement.
II the difficult work we had to get
round the pipes we progressed only |
" inches Toward the last OF our
york Miss Fay called at the cottage
+ night and even crept into the tun-
cl. She made the arrangements Coy
he future, and | alone was taken into |