El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-02-16
CELL 1 3
(By VIII Gage CareyJ

T0HE NIGHT warder sauntered lei
surely along the narrow corridor
pausing at infreQuent intervals
to gaze in a somewhat perfunctofy
manner through some grated door az
the inmate behind. 1t was exactly 1z:19
when he looked in upon Portland
George. In cell TO- He noted that the
deft fingered individual, was sprawled'
full length, upon his bunk, his FACE
TO the wall, apparently in peaceful, but
by no means silent slumber- warder
yawned. looked at his watch, and
passed on.
That, 1 say, was at 1915 a. m
At 1917 g. m, a most remarkable
transformation had taken place IN cell
10 Portland George had sprung, quick
and noiseless as cat, from his bunk,
and stood crouched at the door of his
cell listening to the footballs of the
warder, growing fainter as he receded
toward the far end Of the corridor. Sat
isfied at length on this point, the pris-
oner, began quickly on the business at
hand.
That day before leaving the stone
yard in which he worked he had man
aged to scoop a small handful Of loose
rock sift from the drillings into the
pocket of his blouse This he now drew
forth, placing the flInty sand upon
small paper beside him. Next picking
up one of his heavy socks. he com
menced unravelling it, winding the
yarn into a small ball. Again he step
ped to the door and listened. There was
no sound at all of footsteps. He was
ready to begin the attack upon the
iron bars.
Taking a few strands of the yarn
and a small quantity of the grit be-
tween his IAlms he rubbed them brisk
ly; then treating other strands in
similar manner, he finally twisted them
together into one strong flinty cord.
This he placed around the end OF
vertical bar in the cell door; and re-
tanning an end of the cord in either
hand. began drawing it slowly, and
cautiously at first, back and forth
against the iron. 1t was slow and tedi-
Gus work; he had not expected IL 9TH
erWise It lacked considerably the ef-
ficiency of steel saw or file, but these
he had not been able to obtain, and
he must make the most of what OPP
portunity afforded. Then, too he knew
1t was only a question of time and pa
tience-and not being discovered; his
simple continuance would do the work,
and with infinitely less noise. He
knew this for a certainty; this was no
haphazard experiment; he had seen II
accomplished.
Silently, quickly, he passed the cord
to and fro, pausing only to add more
grit now and then. Half an hour pass
ed-then an hour The warder would
soon be repassing He stopped forward
slightly as he worked, listening In
tently for the first sound of footsteps
Morning came; then the frugal
breakfast and the long day Of toll in
the stoneyard began All day his gaze
kept turning off across the yard to
where his former pal-Bud McGill-.
bent and rose amid a group of other
toilers A strange, steely CLINT crept
into his eyes as he looked upon the OBJ
ject of his hatred; for Bud. after their
last lob" together which had resulted
in capture and their present imprison-
ment, had "squealed;" turned states
evidence against his old pal. so that
he-Bud-had escaped with paltry
five years, and Portland George went
up for 20.
In a few days Buds time would be
out He would be free to go out into
the glorious world again, whittier he
willed and his old pal would go on
and on, crushing stones for Is years,
or die, meanwhile; 1t was all the same
with Bud McGill.
He knew that this was the way Bud
felt about It: his every glance was a
| Sneer-a mockery!
To see him YEARLY toiling in his
midst was endurable-but the thought
that within few days Bud would be
through with all was maddening; he
| had broode6 over it until he felt that
he would lose his reason. But today 1t
was different He had ever IN mind
| that partially severed bar. Perhaps,
after all, it might be he who would
| first be free-and them
That night the silent saving began
"a
| first faint flush of morn crept through
the narrow window of the corridor.
The next night it was the same-and
| the next; still, there remained one par
TALLY several bar to strive with. He
had only one night now in which to
finish his task and complete his plans,
for Bud would be released the follow
| ing morning. He must-must-wear
! through that stubborn bar before the
| dawn of another day.
It was midnight when. trying the
bar with his strong, muscular hands,
/ he found that he would be able to
| wrench it loose, as he could the one
/ on either side Of it, leaving those on
/ the top still intact, but with space SUI
ficient below through which to worm
! and twist his 1.-The slender body.
He heard, faint and far away, clock
striking -; in Is minutes the waTder
would pass. He busted himself making
/ a few last hurried preparations, then
! threw himself upon the bunk to wait.
| Now that the moment was almost at
hand-the moment for which he had
hoped and yearned and striven through
all the still hours-he felt himself
grow suddenly weak, and he trembled
| as though in an ague. As he lay there,
! huddled up, inert, and impotent, save
only in the wildyworkings of his throb-
| bing brain, he caught the first sound
| of the warder's soft tread coming down
| the corridor. He struggled to regain
the mastery OF himself, but he trem-
bIed more violently than before, and
| his heart thumped painfully within
| him. He sought to feign slumber; but
! in spite of all he could do, the muscles
| of his body continued to twitch convul-
| sively.
He heard the footsteps draw nearer
| then step before the door of his cell
| Strive as he might he could not con-
troll himself, now that the moment had