The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1906-11-13
SUSIE.
In death she touched the dead and
impaired life.

acre" looks over the fence. see this
inscription and wonders what 1t means.
There are but two who know. Susie
in heaven aud l On earth-I, who keep
the grave green and train the lower
growing over it: 1. the dead she touch
ed and to whom she impaired life.
When l asked Of the others of our
Family that | might place a headsfone
over Susie's grave they assented, know
ing the influence she had had over me
When they saw the Inscription l had
placed on 1t they wondered. No one
asked me what it meant, leaving it for
me II tell. But I never told.
As a boy | was wild and untamable
from the day when Susie, two years
my senior. too me by the hand and
led ME to school,. | had brothers and
other sisters, but none of them would
mother trust me with save Susie-Su
sic. all gentleness and AVAILABILITY. When
only goaded me by their disappearing
words Susie would put her arms about
me; would burst into tears and prom
ise BIER never to be bad again. Had |
been left solely to her influence l might
have passed the dangerous age in safe
ty. But this could not be. My father
was a stern man and believed that to
humor me would ruiz me. He little
knew hat to punish me YOU ruin
me His influence Upon me was di
rectly contrary to that OF Susie. When
l was fourteen he thrashed me unnler-
cifully, and | ran away.
This was the last I saw of my fam
lily for years. They changed their resi-
dence several times from one town to
another, while all towns were my resi-
dence. There vas in me a certain rest
lessness that prevented my working
at any n thing for long. l was made
for adventure. If when 1 ran ava!
from home l had been old enough |
would have enlisted for a soldier. and
in that field / might have found some
thing ~congenial. But by the time !
had come to the enlistment age | was
not fitted for anything honest, and
when L was twenty | was a burglar.
Fol ii veal l piled my vocation with,
being caught l shall never be
caught now for l shall never commit
another burglary.
The enc of my hazardous and dishon
est work came in his wise: One night
1 entered u house standing by itself, so
that l was In no danger from neigh
bors. | noticed on the doorknob some
white flowers. What they meant die
nor lnnuy hoi nnunr Snon onuthin,
but Grape used to mark the presence of
the dead. 1t was summer, when flow
ers are abundant, and supposed these
had been thrown owe the doorknob as
the most convenient place to hang
them. Having gained an entrance, J
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, | went
he parlor.
There was a light, turned low, in the
hall on the ground floor, and 1 worked
by this alone, carrying my dark Ian
tern under my shirt. Turning out the
hall light, | crept upstairs, to find an
other light in the hall above. This, aft
er determining the position of doors,
| turned out also. then entered a real
bedroom. Finding nothing of value
there, | passed through al open door
to an adjoining room, in which there
was not a ray of light. Walking very
slowly, with my hands before me foI
protection, | came in the cente Of the
against what l thought to be 3
table. feeling my way around it, ]
discovered that it was too narrow fol-
q table, being only about two feet wide.
though it was more han five feet long.
Besides, it was much deeper than the
body Of any ordinary table even with a
in it, and underneath there
were but two supports, one at each
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
ID to that which was ten thousand times
more than horror at recognizing the
of my sister Susie.
How | got out of the house without
waking the family l do not know. |
only remember That l found myself in
the street. or. rather. the road. IN the
verge of insanity. Nor do l remember
how | passed the time between my
exit and the next afternoon. when ]
suddenly awoke as from q trance and
found myself In front of the house l
had Intended to rob-. A hearse was
standing before the door.
Entering the house. | met n OF my
brothers in the hall. and with him
to my mother. My coming was q
ray of light In the darkness of death
mother. brothers. sisters. gath
cred round me as IL l had come back
from the dead. From the day of nv
TIL my return not one word
had they heard from or of me. was