The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1905-01-16
SUSIE.
In death she touched the dead and
impaired life.

1Hore are Out Two VINO KNOW, OuSIe
in heaven and 1 on earth-I, who keep
the grave green and train the lowers
growing over it; L, the dead she touch
ed and to whom she impaired life.
When asked of the others Of our
family that l might place a headstone
over Susie's grave they assented. know
ing the influence she had had over me.
When they saw the Inscription l had
placed on it they wondered. No one
asked me what it meant. leaving it for
me to tell. But l never ole.
As q boy l was wild and untamable
from the day when Susie. two years
my senior. took me by the hand and
led me to school. had brothers and
other sisters. but none of them would
mother trust me with save Snsie-Su-
sic. all gentleness and amiability. When
I was in a tit of passion and the others
only goaded me by their disappearing
words Susie would put her arms about
me; | YOU burst into tears and prom
lse her never to be bad again. Had |
been left solely to her influence / might
have passed the dangerous age in safe
~. DoI liz SOdtu In bC- VI 1alhCl
was Il stern man and believed that to
humor me would ruin me. He little
knew that to punish me would ruin
me. His influence upon me was di-
rectly contrary to that of Susie. When
1 was fourteen he thrashed me unmer-
cifully. and l ran away.
This was the last | saw of my fam
fly for wears They CHANGED their resi-
dence several times from one town to
another, while all towns were my resi-
dence. There was in me a certain rest
lessness that prevented my working
at any one thing for long. l was made
for adventure. If when l ran away
from home l had been old enough l
would have enlisted for a soldier, and
in that field l might have found some
thing congenial. But by the time l
had come to the enlistment age l was
not fitted for anything honest, and
when l WAS twenty l was a burglar.
For a yeal l piled my vocation with.
out being caught. l shall never be
caught now for 1 shall never commit
another burglary
The end of my hazardous and dishon-
90 tdh1C III LAIS JIG .
l entered d house standing by itself, so
that l was in no danger from neigh
bors. l noticed on the doorknob some
white lowers. What they meant l did
not know. l had never seen anything
but Grape used to mark the presence of
the dead. 1t was summer, when flow
ers are abundant. and l supposed these
had been thrown over the doorknob as
fba ~ nyaniaDf rIo1n 70 hnnr
them. Having gained an entrance, |
went through the hall to the kitchen,
then into the dining room. where |
looked into the sideboard, hoping to
find the silver. Not finding any, l went
into the parlOr.
There was a light, turned low, in the
hall on the ground floor, and | worked
by this alone. carrying my dark Ian
tern under my shirt. Turning out the
hall light, l crept upstairs. to find an
other light in the hall above. This, aft
er determining the position of the doors.
1 turned out also. then entered a rear
bedroom. Finding nothing of value
there, l passed through an open door
to an adjoining room, in which there
was not a ray of light. Walking very
slowly, with my hands before me for
protection, | came in the center of the
room against what l thought to be 3
table. Feeling my We around it, /
discovered that it was too narrow for
a table. being only about two feet wid
though it was more than five feet long.
Besides. it was much deeper than the
body of any ordinary table even with a
drawer in it. and underneath there
were but two supports, one at each
end. Puzzled to know what 1t was. /
drew my dark lantern.
started back in horror. The light
fell On an oval space filed with glass.
underneath which was the ashen face
of a corpse. But my horror was turn
ed to that which was ten thousand times
more than horror at recognizing the
features of my sister Susie.
How l got out OF the house without
waking the family l do not know. |
only remember thai / found myself in
the street, or. rather. the road, on the
verge of insanity. Nor do | remember
how l passed the time between my
exit and the next afternoon, when 1
suddenly awoke as from a trance and
found myself in front OF the house |
had intended to rob. A hearse was
standing before the door.
Entering the house. I met one of my
brothers in the hall, and with him
went TO my mother. My coming was a
ray of light in the darkness of death.
Father. mother, brothers. sisters. gath
cred round me as II / had come back
from the dead. Fro the day of nv
departure TIL my return not one word
had they heard from or Of me. l was
to them simply the wayward boy who
had now doubtless outgrown his way
wardness and would heneeforth be q
good son and brother.
This last expectation has been real
ized. But. oh. the dreadful secret ]
carryi Could but share 1t with my