The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-30


trail hall. whence a covered passage led
to the portress's lodge. and the great outer
door upon the street.
II only she could gain the street she
would be free. But how to gain it? How
10 pass the Fortress? How to obtain the
key? And besides. she had no clothes;
she had been undressed while still un-
conscious and her clothes removed. They
were nowhere TO be seen. Even were she
to find them, they would be useless: those
conspicuous prison garments would only
cause her 10 be arrested by the first SER
geant-deville she met.
While she wearied her aching head with
| thinking over ways and means No. AZ came
into the infirmary carrying a large basket
containing the two nuns change of things.
| Lillian remembered il was Saturday. and
that Sunday all the community put on
clean linen and fine wells and gowns.
so you're out of the black hole?" whis-
pered No. AZ she passed Lilians bed.
You have luck. I'd sooner walk straight
to the gullotine than be sent there again.
Though she spoke in the lowest possible
voice. and hardly stopped an instant to do
so, the practiced eye of old Mother Teresa
who sat saying her rosary on a chair drawn
| out in front of her bedcurtains. detected at
/ once that she was speaking
'Forty-two. a bad mark" she answered
and produced her pocketbook 10 note down
the offense certain number of bad
| marks during the week entailed punish
ment at the weeks end.
The dark, wrinkled face of No ~ resumed
| its habitual expression of sullen apathy
and she went with her basket. She
deposited Sister Veronca's clothes on the
| chair behind the bed, walked up the room
| to the other end with Mother Teresa's and
| came back again with the basket empty
At that moment the old nuns attention
was claimed by a cnsumptive prisoner beg
| ging for water.
shall / see you again tonight" Lillian
| ventured to say as No AZ passed her.
Il come back again the last thing to
| fetch away the weekday clothes"
Suppose you should forget TO take Sis
ter Veronica's?" whispered Lillian, with
dry lips.
a glance OF comprehension passed
| through the woman's dull eyes
| II will push them under the bed" she
whispered back
Tell me your name to remember you
| by" Lillian asked.
The poor creature looked at her with an
| expression of indescribabe woe.
IL have forgotten it; 1 have been here
so long-so long-more than fifty years."
and with trembling mouth which muttered
and worked she hurried away.
There was just one brief half-hour in
! the whole twenty-four hours Of the day and
night when the infirmary was left with
1
her gate. This was the half-hour of mass
When, therefore, tomorrow morning Moth
| er Teresa and Sister Veronica should de-
part, leaving their patients presumably
asleep, Lillian would get up, and, concealed
| from the rest of the room behind Sister
Veronica's bed curtains, dress herself in
Sister veronica's weekday clothes, hidden
beneath the bed by No. 42's friendly
| fingers. Fortunately, Lillian and Sister
Veronica were about the same height, and
| even their features were not very dissimi-
| lar. Dressed in the same garments, and
| seen from little distance, one might well
| pass for the other. But during the half
hour of mass, Lillian knew there was really
| very little chance of meeting any one in
| the corridors or staircases
| All night Lillian lay awake with closed
| eyes. The two nuns had come TO bed; No.
| AZ had made her second round; the patients
had taken their last doses or drinks, and
now, in their dreams. were again innocent
| and happy, and free. The hours chimed
| from the prison clock and the clocks of the
| city. The black night outside the tall, un-
curtained windows grew less dense, paled
| to a wan grey, woke to the faint CLEANS of
| an early morning sky.
Three-four-five o'clock rang out; and 5
o'clock was Immediately followed by the
bell, far away in the center of the prison,
summoning the prisoners to rise.
Behind the screened beds mouse-like
sounds were to be heard as the nuns
washed and dressed themselves.
Two black-and-white figures, treading
| silently felt slippers, passed down the
room, and the door closed softly behind
them. The critical moment was come.
Instantly Lillian slipped from her bed,
and, unperceived by any one, reached the
shelter Of Sister Veronica's curtains. She
stood there holding her breath with fear,
but one stirred. and then this fear was
driven out by new one.
Suppose No. AZ had repented and carried
away the clothes after all? Even while
the horrid thought shook her SOUL her
cropping hand had come into contact with
the serge gown, the startched linen beneath
the valence and i'm another instant her
swift fingers were tying knots, fixing VIM
pie and Golf. and pinning the black veil
on to the stiff white headband.
wonderfully close imitation of Sister
Veronica stepped lightly from behind the
bedcurtains TO the door. With noseless
fingers Lillian turned the handle-and the
door did not yield, Her heart seemed to
stop beating she remembered that every
time the door shut it locked itself auto
matically, and must be reopened with
key. She was lost!
She gave desperate glance at the win
dows, realized that escape thereby was
out of the question. and rummaged with
out any hope i'm the capacious pocket OF the
nuns gown. Sister Veronica had forgotten
to empty it, and it contained a pocket
handkerchief large and coarse buster,
brass thimble, huswife. "a breviary,
covered m black cashmere with an elastic