The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-06-15

The %jailer's daughter enter'd with
my second meal. Her eyes were red
with weeping.
Said ], Does your father beat your"
"IIe has, before now" she replied;
but not to-day"
Then why do you weep"
mot for that"
For what then?"
"For you-oh, dear. dear! .How shall
l tell it? They are going TOTO"
She sat down on the chair. and sobb'd
in her apron.
What is't they are going to do"
"To-to-h-hang you"
"The devil! When?"
"Tut-tut-to-morrow mo-horning!"
l went suddenly very cold all over.
There was silence for a moment, and
then l heard the noise Of some one
dropping q plank in the courtyard be-
low.
what's that?"
THE gug-gug-
"Gallows?"
she nOdueu.
You are but q weak girl" said l
m%editating.
AYE; but there's a dozen troopers
on the landing below"
Then, my dear. you must lock me
up" 1 decided gloomily, and fell to
whistling:
"Vivre en tout cas-,
C'est lie grand soulas-'
A workman's hammer in the court
below chim'd in, beating out the tune,
and driving the moral home. / heard
a low sob behind me. The ~jailer's
daughter was going.
Lend me your bodkin, my dear, for
a memento."
She pulrd it out and gave it to me.
THANK you, and now goodbye!
Stop; here's a kiss to take to my
dear mistress. They shan't hang me,
my dear"
The girl went out, sobbing, and
lock'd the door after her.
l sat down for a while, feeling dole
full. For l found myself extremely
young to be hanged. But soon the
whang-whang! of the hammer below
| rous'd me. Come" I thought, III
see what that rascal is doing. at any
rate" and pulling the file from my
pocket, began to attack the window
bar with a will. I had no need for
| silence. at this great height above the
ground; and. besides, the hammering
continued Justify.
Daylight was closing as / finished
my task, and, pulling the two pieces
Of the bar aside, thrust my head out
at the window.
Directly under me, and about twenty
feet from the ground, I saw q beam
projecting, about six feet long. over
a sort of doorway in the wall. Under
this beam was q ladder, and a great
coil of rope rested by the ladders
foot.
Now up to this moment I had but
one idea of avoiding my fate, and
that was to kill myself. Twas to this
end I had borrowed the bodkin of the
maid. Afterward l had a notion Of
fincing myself from the window
as they came for me. But now, as
looked down on that coil of rope lying
directly below, q prettier scheme struck
me. 1 sat down on the floor Of my
cell and pulled off my boots and stok-
ings.
Twas such a pretty plan that I got
into 4 fever of Impotence. Drawing
off a stocking and picking out the end
of the yarn. l began to unrayel the
knitting for dear life. until the whole
lay. a heap Of thread, on the floor.
| then served the other in the same
way; and at the end had two lines,
each pretty near four hundred yards
in length, which now l divided into
eight lines Of about a hundred yards
each.
With these I set to work, and by
the end of twenty minutes had plated
a rope-if rope. indeed, 1t could be
called-weak to be sure, but long
enough to reach the ground with plenty
to spare. Then. having bent my bod
kin to the form of a hook, tied it to
the end of the cord, weighted 1t with
q crown from my pocket, and clam
bcrcd up TO the window. I was going
to angle for the hangman's rope.
Twas near dark by this, but I
| could just distinguish it on the paving
| stones below. and, looking about the
| court, saw that no one was astir. l
wriggled first my head, then my
shoulder. through the opening, and
let the line run gently through my
hand. There were still many yards
left that could be paid out, when l
heard my coin tinkle softly on the
pavement.
Then began my difficulty. A dozen
times l pulled my hook across the
coil before it hitchcd, and then n full
thrcc-score Of times the rope slipped
away before l had raised it a dozen
yards. My elbow was raw, almost
with leaning on the sill, and | began
to lose heart and head, when, to my
delight, the bodkin caught and held.
1t had fastened on a kink in the rope
not far from the end. l began 10
pull up hand over hand, trembling all
the while like 4 leaf.
At last | caught it. and, slipping back
into the room. pulled it after me yard
after yard. Ny heart went loud and
fast. There was nothing to fasten it
to hut an iron staple in the door; that
meant losing the width of my cell,
some six feet.
This. however. must be lisked, and