The San Francisco call., 1907-03-22
FORCED JESTS ARE Thin
MASK FOR REMORSE At
THE HEART OF RUFF
Guards Watch When He
Retires and Guards Are
There at Waking
ONLY ILL NEWS COMES
Attorneys Have No Cheer
and at the Midnight
Hour-Burns
only ILL NEWS COMES

Under the thin disguise OF forced
jests that Ruef assumes when he talks
for publication it is easy to see the
remorse that is eating at his heart.
Solitary confinement is a hard pun
ishment; but Ruef would choose soli-
tude to the slow torment of his days
under the watch OF the four guards
who are never out Of his sight.
Morning brings cheer to the fallen,
boss.
When he wakes he finds a guard at
his bedside. When he sits down TO the
breakfast that is brought to his room.
opposite him sits another guard. All
through the day one guard or another
is watching his every move. He knows
that these men are selected by Burns,
and to Burns each one reports daily
what they have observed 1t is not
pleasant.
The forenoon brings none of the old
time friends to visit him. This man
whose keen pleasure 1t was to manipu-
late his puppets-to fool the sanctimo-
NOUS Schmitz, and plan the work OF
his henchmen in all the many parts
they acted-has only the little drama
of a prisoners day to plot.
ACH HARBINGER OF ILL
visit from Henry Ach breaks the
morning hours Ach comes to tell him
of new indictments, more confessions.
ference with Ach was a keen mental
exercise. Now it has passed through
desperation to despair. Ach is not a
cheerful companion. Fearful that he
has himself lost what standing he had
by his association with Ruef's degre-
dation, Ach has grown mOrOse. His
pale face brings little cheer to the room
where Ruef must stay when he leaves.
With the French love of gayety and
cheerfulness that is characteristic of
Ruef. there is little in the sounds OF
the hotel corridor to break the dull
monotony of the hours. The ice that
clinks in the pitcher. the passing bell
boys in the corridOr-even the laughter
of the guests in other rooms that is
muffied by closed doors-it is a mo-
notony of gray uneventlessness. only TO
be broken by the visits of fearful rela-
tives, to whom he knows he can say no
word of comfort that is true. And
what he does say the guard hears,
notes, and later will report.
Luncheon divides the day-luncheOn
with another guard.
MUST FORCE HIS WIT
And in the afternoon visit from
Samuel NJ ShOrtridge who, too, is fear
full of his loss of reputation from his
part in the case. ShOrtridge quotes
Shakespeare and looks sadly over the
upper rims of his glasses He is the
messenger of more misfortune-and
looks the part. Legal plots are at an
end. Tricks and technicalities are ex-
hausted.
But there is the chance to confess
Gently the sad Shortridge hints at
the advisability in an undertone.
Then come the reporters, one after
another.
Ruef must stand and flash wit. He
will not let them see that he is down.
But there is a limit even to the funny
things one can say on being indicted
sixty-five times. And the reporters
come every day.
AND BURNS AT MIDNIGHT
After everything else is done there
is the visit from Burns. 1t is midnight
Others have been told that Ruef re-
tires at 10 o'clock, and they must not
come after that hour. But it is not so.
The last hour of the day is for Burns
Even the guards retire and leave the
two alone. @
No one knows what torment that
hour has for Ruef. Burns comes to get
his confession, if he is ready to tell
all. If not, he stays to get from him
by all the arts known to the shreWd
detective some word, some admission,
that may be used against him.
One speaks jestingly of the third
degree" How many. are there who
know what 1t means?
When it is over, Ruef's day is done, and
he goes TO his bed knowing that the
next will be the same-ever the same.