The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-04-19
A PRISONERS
MESSAGE
BY Fl. SANBORNE BROWNE
Copyright by American Press Assoc
ciation 1911

WAS NOIAn uuuNlSu' hOL Auluhiht
that the seller, being willing to par
with the horse for such low price
must have stolen it. John was arrest
ed, charged with the theft, convicted
and sentenced to serve five years III
jail.
One day the jailer said to John:
II shall see your wife tomorrow
Have you any message for herr"
YES" replied John; tell her to gel
me out Of this"
The jailer looked at bis prisoner, sur
prlsed.
do You mean" he asked, that you
wish her to intercede with the COVER
nor to pardon your
mo; / wish her to tell me how to
escape"
The TALLER looked at John again, this
/ time with a melancholy expression.
/ He considered that a man who would
/ send such a message by one whose
| business it would be to thwart any
plan that might be adopted must be
losing his mind.
"All right" he said, humoring the
poor man; "I'Il give her your message"
| The jailer went the next day to the
town where the woman lived and. hav.
ing transacted the business he had to
do. went to see her.
"IIow Is my poor husband" she
asked at once.
"Have you the courage to hear some
bad news?" inquired the jaller in lieu
of reply.
Eyes; tell me at once" she asked
eagerly.
well. / fear the confinement and
the attendant mlsfortunes have af-
fected his brain"
The woman was very much over
come by this and begged the jailer to
tell her what had brought him to such
conclusion. whereupon the latter
gave her her husbands message. AS
soon as she heard 1t she set up such
wall that many of the neighbors
rushed in to know what was the mat
ter. Mrs. Bounce told them that the
Imprisonment her husband was suf-
ferlng for an offense of which he was
innocent had affected his mind; be
had gone daft They advised her to
secure the services of a lawyer to
have John brought before a commits
sion TO determine the facts. If one Of
unsound mind had been convicted an
injustice had been done which should
be righted. The prisoner had always
been much liked in the town, and
great deal Of sympathy was mani
tested for him When the jailer left
them be promised the wife that he
would observe her husband closely
and when he came again would bring
her another messag e-that is. If John
had any to send.
The next message the iailer brought
Mrs. Bounce was: "My failer thinks
me insane. He never was more mis-
taken in his life. Wings are now
growing on my shoulders BY the
first day of the month they will be
fully grown, and then | shall fly up
tue NhllhHes anu ActRlH " 1Ou anu
our children"
When Mrs. Bounce received this
message she walled louder than ever.
that the cruel treatment her
husband was receiving. he being in
in a CELL was making his
condition worse every day. The iailer /
assured her that her husband was not
in cell. but In room by himself, in I
which there was an old fashioned I
large chimney giving fine ventilation.
But she refused to be comforted
As soon as the TALLER had departed +
Mrs. Bounce went out and bought sew /
aral ladders. besides fifty feet of stout
rope. and put them in her cellar. On
the night of the last day of the month
she hitched the family horse TO the
wagon. put the ladders and the rope
In i and set out for the jail She
lined her starting to reach her desti-
nation at midnight. and. stopping
short distance from the building that
stood by itself. she carried the ladders
o the wall that surrounded it, Placing
me ladder against the wall. she mount
ID 1t, and, selecting another that would
each from the wall to the roof of the
all. with the coil of rope on her arm,
The climbed on to the roof and, going
o large chimney. let one end of the
'ope fall with a thud on the hearth
lelow. John. who was on the watch.
leard 1t and. Selling it. tied it around
lis body under his arms. Then, jerk
ng it for a signal, Mrs. Bounce began
o pull.
The chimney was not large enough i
0 enable John to help himself, but
lis wife was strong as well as a
hrewd woman. and by dint of hard
ulling she got him up. and. scram- f
ling to the wall and TO the ground r
utside, they took the ladders and the
ope with them and drove away.
The next morning Mrs. Bounce told
be neighbors that Der poor deluded
usband had appeared at home during i
be night. declaring that he had wings /.
n his shoulders and had flown up the Il
Kinney. They were all very much
uzzled, but swore that the half witted L
elbow should not go back 10 Jail b
Vhen the jailer learned what had hap /
ened he knew he had been outwitted. :
ut he dare not tell the story to the =
nthorities. So he made feint at re- 4
lpturing John. but was driven Off by Q
lie neighbors and finally reported that c
would he fn1Dossible 70 take the lima "
c back to Jail without large sheriff's /