The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1912-10-18
people Ankle 'ad to move welr it,carat Be ,eped.

zen they come Ter yer pickcher. + went there arst
week il they done It, but e adnt the strength to.
go in E said it'd mike EN- feel quite sick sec yer
sandin up in like corpse, especially as some
body stole yer eoes, an we thnks~the wax-works as
got IL"
You fool why don't you get reprieve7" cried
Polman, angrily
"Anke as arsked the 'Ome Secretary an the town s,
sent in petition an e asn't answered took no
notice An Charles tyken yer gold watch to wear
in memory yer. l tole i'm yer wouldn't mind.
Yer know yer always was fond of Charlie. Now.
William ave yer confessed? Don't yer do it, Thefs
wat Ankle sent me ere fer TO sy. We wants to old
our eads up in the world accordin to styton.
Don't yer sy nothnk, Ankle says an people'l think
maybe some mistyke was myde, an seein the trouble
an disgryee yer've brought on us all
u didn't do it, tell you"
Yer did an yerve dsgryced us all, an i cost
81 tell you j didn't"
Yer did William yer know yer did,
81 didn't"
'Ner did"
'Ail right did, then" cried Polmau in exaspera-
ton He felt infurated his sister standing there
IN freedom He had never realized how much he hated
this fat woman before His hate was something that
seemed to go down into the foundations of his being,
and that the bonds of convention were broken X
leaped to its expression His sister tvpi6ed that
plague of human relationships to escape which, with
their conventional integrity, abhorrent to his Celtic
mind. he had plunged into his intrigue with the out
cast woman whom he had destroyed Now he need
keep up appearances no longer The and respeca-
bly of the black bombazine vanished and in this fat
female creature he only the fat pug that shifted
and howled at the side of the corpse.
Yes, ! did It Margaret" he reiterated craning
forward with malignant smile "And they're going
lead me to the galows, and they'll put a greasy rope
round my neck and spring the trap and my. necRll
black and my tonguc'l hang OUT"
He heard the jaer utter cry He the hitherto
unrealized terror of dcath-hs fear-growng in the
fat be TEeanrss s eyes savage joy pos possessed him
and stiifened out they'll cut me down and put in
bag and sprinkle lime"
His fear gone. He had transferred it to her
His sisters eyes glazed like the pugs She tumbled
forward with shrek upon the flags. The jalers
sprang forward and hustled the prsonr back into the
cell From within he could hear his sister screaming
When they had got her outside Evans turned to
Donaldson and said.
"If ever a human soul was booked for hell. he's
going there"
But Polman in his CELL heard nothing Of this He
was singing hymn
On the next morning the prisoner awakened at five
o'clock, conscious OF new and yet wel-known
ton that he could not at first define Wncn he got
Of bed his knees shook under him and deathy faint
ness came over him. He steaded himself against a
wall Of his cell trying analyze this overpowerng
need All at once he realized that he hungry.
lie tottered to the hole and bawled tremulously to
the jailer Ten minutes later he was wolhng an en-
tire loaf OF bread and great hunk of cheese, which
expectation Of just such demand So began the
last phase Of Polman's imprisonment.
Polman devoured six meals that day kindly
government, which denies no SOace reason to
demned prisoners, permitted him stupefy the
ings Of the tortured with the anestlletc Of
food. When he was not eating Poman sang almost
continuously. He did appear to sleep all the
following night
Until the last days the latent hope Of reprieve had
buoyed him up and also in measure, main
tanned his relationship with the external world. But
now that hope was gone cut off from humanity
even before the final scene, secluded in silence, he
fell back upon his inward assurances Of salvation.
He the ladder Of his hopes into the skies. His
mind became his world and all else being unreal and
remote, he dived into it and brought up treasures.
He sought for fear and could not find it Had par
don come, he would with difficulty have readiusted
his mind TO mundane affairs. In this imaginary
world, his jailers became his servants. Unable to
iniict discipline, they submitted to his usurpations
perforce
YOU'RE swiudng me, you swnel" he shouted as
Evans thrust his plate, heaped high with food into
his cell. A large, round steak lay high and dry upon
a mound Of mashed potatoes lie snatched il up and
dashed it into the jaiers face.
81 wants larger Bit" he shouted, "And I wants
At rare"
Upon the afternoon Of the Saturday preceding the
execution, crowd, attracted by Pomans singing,
had gathered outside the prison wall Polman's voice
had changed into husky roar and shouting like
madman he paced his cell in the delirium Of ecstasy
SO long he sang. it seemed to him, salvation could
never be denied him; the words of the hymn had be-
come as il we're the talisman of his safe conduct
across the borderand Suddenly the lock clicked and
the governor entered, holding paper in his hand.
He halted the entrance and regarded the prisoner
who brushed past him twice bawling his song. DON
aldson. at the governors side. caught Polman by
the arm and spun him round. The Welshman shook
him of with ease and resumed his pacing. The gov
ernor and the ailcr advanced together into the cell
and both waited for the conclusion of the hymn
Then Polman withdrew into corner and crouched
glarng at them with insane bloodshot eyes The
governor read from the document which he was
holding
BY order Of the Home Secretary" he pronounced.
~ have to inform you that His Majesty has been
graciously pleased to commute your sentence of
death to one Of imprisonment during the period OF
natural life You will be removed tomorrow to
pcntonvie where you will be placed under the iuris-
dction of the prison governors who viii make such
disposition Of YOU shall seem fit
Polman remained crouched in his corner, his mouth
open. staring. The governor repeated his announce
ment in paraphrase And some few words
pierced through the msts of ecstasy and entered the
prisoners brain He tried to sing and ceased the
words hubbline upon his lips in mbece fashion
The ladder of his dreams tottcriug the fantasy
of his hopes crumbling. In place OF the martyrs
crown he the cold walls Of a convict prison His
ecstasy gone. and all the passions and terrors
and dreams Of the past week had gone; all his Ia
b0rioUs conquest over fear vaueless his hatred
anger and repentance worthless. He might as well
never have gone through that Gethsemane Of an
... e. s-s T. f.I.f T.