The Washington times., 1911-07-25
BEUL All BINFORD
TELLS HER STORY
Reveals Heart Secrets and Her Lifes Tragedy Peggy
Van Bran in Grim Confines of
;iA. Cell
Continued from First Page. }

to a high note of insistence, dropping
back to Its usual sweetness, "and
mother never thought any evil / guess.
and that's about what happened to me,
for she never questioned, and let me do
as pleased. And that she added
shaking her head sadly, was the rea-
son of 1t all. A girl oughtn't to be
sent out of doors to get her out of the
way, it's taking her chances for good.
sweet womanhood away from her. And
then things went-well, you know how.
! went to school for while, but soon
left and came back to Richmond.
| Henry didn't want to have anything
to do with me then. He said his father
wanted him to give me up, and that
broke my heart-and people talked of
me, and sneered at me, and at last |
thought-that some place else l might
nave nave chance. But l didn't, every
place somebody would tell me and
&TiWe Wasb,19foG me on, - from DanyLIle' Va to
to Norfolk and 1t was there-at base
ball game that met Henry again
saw him casually in a crowd, two
months months. ago-just glimpse. but It
forget'-and. with an expressive little
gesture, here l am, condemned by
everybody. What chance nave l now
where can l go II l leave Jail? No
and It drives me wild when | think OF
It. Yet, If l can help Henry l will.
Not because l love him." she cried as
II trying to convince herself. but be-
! cause l think him innocent. That's
why am here for that matter, for
his brother offered to get me bail and
wouldn't take it. I'd rather stay
here. I'm better on
Of the Tragedy Itself.
OF the tragedy itself she spoke with
an effort that showed the strain that
even the memory OF the past week is to
her. The words came wrung from lips
whitened by memories and her slim,
white hands twisted and untwisted the
newspaper she was using for a fan.
Il saw Henry on Monday night" she
said, and even then he spoke of his
wife tenderly. for he loved her, II
think. He said he would see me on
Thursday night, sure. He was helping
me fix a fiat, / admit that, but | was
living with my family. Tuesday heard |
nothing, but Wednesday morning 1 went
downstairs at my sisters house, where
1 had been staying, and got the paper
which the boy slipped under the door |
l opened it. as l went upstairs and !
there-there saw 1t.
The horror of 1t fairly turned me to |
stone, but even then | never thought |
of my being in it. My only thought was !
pity for Henry and-for the baby. Oh, |
when you've had a baby of your own! |
had it in your arms even for a little |
while, you care about other babies, no /
matter what the circumstances, ard !
that was all that came into my mind !
then. Henry didn't do it, l was sure,
and am still. and as to my being the |
motive, it's cruel to say 1t. He didn't |
expect to marry me ever, besides |
don't think l wanted him to. Even at
Raleigh, before my baby was born, we |
didn't speak of marriage.
Since then things have gone so !
swiftly they're just like a dream-a hor- !
rible nightmare" she added, with
shiver, her soft Southern voice shaken
by the tears that welled up in the gray
eyes. shaded with dark lashes. IT'S
terrible-the very thought of the in
quest-of the gruesome part of II all.
This drives me frantic. And the slurs
cast on me. Well, even when you've
hurt. Why won't people give a girl
chance. Just because she loves a man
too much at thirteen, must she go al
ways branded?
Her Future Planned
But there-l&ss not talk about that
side Of it-there's nothing to tell really.
When this is all over l shall go away
probably and try to get work-if they
will let me. From Henry / expect
nothing and 1 hope nothing from MIN
i dare not look ahead for him. l
know now that the other men friends
whose interest and friendship I want
and need must be driven from me-and
my family-I was here staying with my
street. but you can guess how they feel
She and my mother-in-law-and to
add to that, mother has lest her posi-
tion because of all the notoriety, and
here l am the cause of IL ali and In
only seventeen-think of the years I've
got to liVe-live-live.
often in the past four years." she
went on. I've tried to be happy, but l
people and 1 would be invited around.
and then something would come up and
1t would be all over. There's nothing
but shadows whichever way l look and
even remembers that it's my birthday
or that ever was anything but as one
T'erson called me, 4 notorious character,
and it's very hard
Nervous and oVerwrought, she plainly
shows the strain that she is under
going, and there is a touch of defiance
in her attempts to prove that justice
ana not mere love prompted her de-
his wife, that betrays the depths Of
feeling that lies hid, for all her de-
malls in the girlish heart, beneath the
white frock. His pictures clipped from
the cell that wherever she turns her
eyes may rest on them, and when she
tried to tell of his charm a flame leaped !
into her eyes, that no amount of youth |
DTdNduC anu lHQl1IeTenCe COulQ De- | ,
lie, the flames of woman who loves
with her heart and at mention of the !
fate that may await him, fear and horror |
blanched the young face, and the mouth ,
tremDled with emotion, and for time |
she couldn't speak. could only stare at
the pictures of the man she had tried |
to forget, and who had tried to forget | ,
hcr, until that day when she saw him ,
a crowd-and saw the light Of
leap into his eyes, and
heard his voice again. bringing the
past with its ioys and sorrows, so ,
,tvidiy back to her.
Drifted Into It.
or her renewal of her relations with |
Beattie on her return to Richmond two
months ago she would not talk, saying
simply that they had 'drifted into It,"
but that neither meant any harm to the {
young wife, whom Beattie. she says,
told her frankly that he loved not only {
for her own sake but for the sake of Z
the little baby which was the strongest
tie by which a man can be bound"
She was indignant that any one could
think she even knew of harm that
might come to the gentle young wife. /, :
who had striven so hard to keep her
young husbands feet in the paths Of /,
peace, and also denied that Beattie had Z
visited her on the day of the funeral. :
"All that 1 knew at first" she said.
the words with mods OF r
her blonde head, was what was In the I
paper, and, although my heart went out r
to him in his awful trouble, did not y
think Of myself in connection with It. q
There had been, so much suffering for 4