The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-01-25

of them at the end of an installnr
! hanging over a precipice a thouSoi.
feet deep to be rescued in the ucN
! tumbled overheard in mdoccan. lc.t
| to drown, rescued again, etc. and Y, ::
needn't bring it all out happily in tlr
end Kill the hero if you like. There,
| Tess of the 'Urbervilles, who W.
strung up at the end of the story, al
! the whole world read it and wept over
It, Big sales, large profits"
! you want it true to life. don't YOU Z:
/ Truth is stranger than fiction. T.
you'll strike a plot that every one sHJs,
couldn't possibly have happened YOU!
get Il selling story. The critics wiz
call 1t rot but the people will wan
to read it. Try to do somethi ..
startling. My object is to put t',c
paper on its feet. Many newSurrr.
has been made by an ingenious serial"
| had no confidence in the papers
being established by any serial | could
write, however improbable l shoull
make it, and told Heaton so. but he
told me to get out and do as he had
instructed. He had no more time to
talk about the matter 'You know
what We want" he said: "go and d.
it"
| puzzled for considerable timn
over a plot, but could invent nothil.r
original. Then it occurred to me thai
there is nothing original except in rerl
incidents that occur from time to time,
and
After all, the novel Heaton had quoted
had nothing startling in the plot. 1t
was the writing of it and the tragedy
at the end. | determined to be con.
tent with commonplace plan and
rely on hanging somebody to do the
rest. | would drag in all the horrid
details of an execution, and | hoped
in this way to serve the managing edi-
tors purpose to q limited extent. In
order TO make the story more harrow
ing ! determined that the man who
dangled at the end of rope should
be the innocent victim of circum-
stances.
Haycroft was my hero, Gwendolin
Montclaveries my heroine. They
loved Haycroft was a distant con-
nectiOn to a millionaire who was n
bachelor. and, since Haycroft was the
only child of several generations of
Older children descending from tine
millionaire's only brother Tor sister.
for that natter, in case the million.
aire died without will Haycroft would
inherit all his property. Pitblado. the
william Of the story, also loves Gwen
dolin, and | must invent some plan for
him to get Haycroft out of the way.
1t was very easy for me to kill th2
rich man under suspicious circum-
stances-at least had Pitblado manu-
facture the circumstances-which went
to show that Haycroft had poisoned
the old gentleman to get his money
The ingenuity required was to weave
lot Of circumstances that would con
vict Haycroft and yet he must be in
nOcent
Nothing very original about that, You
say. Well, if there is any originality
in the matter at all l didn't supply it,
Fate lays all the plots for stories, ana
all we scribblers do is to write them
mp. Nevertheless, though l didn't
know it. ] was doing the biggest Job
of my life. And do you know while
thought l was writing a blood and
thunder love tragedy l was turning
bitterness and gall in a real household
into a great happiness.
The story was coming out, the i'll
stallments appearing once a week.
had convicted the hero, and he wa,
waiting the result of an appeal which
| intended to have denied by a nor.
ciless judge ! was writing the de
scription of the hanging and intended
MS soon as it was over to drive tn,
heroine insane and conclude with he,
Shrieks dying away gradually as door
We're closing behind her in a mad.
house. The issue of the paper had ap
peared containing an explanation o.
that chain of circumstances which haze
convicted the murderer. Though they
were not to save him, / felt bound TO
show my skill in finding a key to them
which if brought to light would save
the victim But, relying as ! did on "a
double tragedy at the end, / proposed
" ''ANAo cNA NiiN NY hiNh IL hfAo N'b
late to do any good. You see didn't
intend to spoil the tragic effect by he
ing chicken hearted, especially as the
people involved were merely creatures
of my own brain. Besides, remem-
bered the instructions of the manag-
ing editor, and | was to attract the
attention of the reading public, which
increases the circulation of the paper
and brings in the advertisements, the
ultimate object of the whole thing.
About n week after the appearance
of the issue containing the eXplana-
ton of the Incidents that had proved
Haycroft guilty, while l was engaged
writing the removal of Gwendolin to
madhouse, a servant knocked at my
door to say that a man was downstairs
who wished to see me.
Get out of here" / cried, "and tell
the man to get out too! I'm doing
work that must not be interrupted"
The maid went away and returned
to say that she thought the man was
having a fit. 1t required something Of