Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-20

now, NAeh ne tnOugnt OF the manner OF
his parting from the miserable convict
who had cast his fugitive tag of Omar
Khayyam at him in a moment Of chagrin
What on earth had made him lose his
temper; he whose watchword was
Blessed are the mercifuI?"
A Dash for Freedom.
The fortnight he had been forced to
spend 10 the prison inirmary had been
a godsend TO Rimington, the relaxation
Of discipline the improved food and en-
forced rest. made almost a new man of
him. More than once the thought oc-
CURED TO him that he owed his deten-
ton more to a kindly impulse on the part
OF the doctor than to the actual state Of
his health, the man, after his kind, was
rough tonRued and more than inclined to
cynicism but Rimngton had feeling
that his disposition toward him was not
unfavorab BILE
Whether or not that feeling was true
mattered little enough TO Remington lie
felt warm gratitude toward the doctor,
and when, on the morning Of his dis
charge from the inhrmary. he certified
him as tit for work with the outdoor
gang, his eyes lighted up with fash that
drew a shrewd glance from the medical
officer
THAT suits your book, eh?"
AZ the doctor put the question, Rim
ington felt culver run over him Could
1t he possible that this man suspected
that thought which had never been spoken
did his secret cry aloud from his eyes?
He felt mask drop over his features.
every muscle stiffened
Yes sir More healthy than the in
door work, sir, he said. and could have
imagined that the doctor winked
Better than the taiIor's shop and The
Bilmouth Bulletin? WHAT and Rim
ington drew a breath OF relief The doc
tor attributed his anxiety to get back to
the harder outdoor labor to his dislike
to the close association OF the workshops
and the ugly talk that circulated there.
Yes. sir" he said again, in stolld
and noncommittal manner and with an
other sharp lool, at him the doctor went
out. He was not quite sure In his own
mind regarding A "A. There were times
when he believed him 10 he entirely In
nocent Of the charge brought against him
and others wher his belief wavered. To-
day was one Of them-for the first time.
1t seemed to him, there was a shiny look
in the mans eyes Then since he was
an emnently Just man, this prison doc
tor, he gave the prisoner the benefit OF
the doubt and dismissed him tom his
mind Life at Bilmouth and lJ .-C in
stitutions did not tend to foster r.t.ght-
forwardness. and he had only too Keen a
conception OF how near TO the animal a
man can descend during a long term of
imprisonment
Making Plans.
The snow had disappeared and the
earth was sopping with the moisture of
a thaw, following a weeks frost, on this
first day with the gang. all the natural
conditions were favorable to an attempt
to escape, Rimington thought, as he
worked. He would be the better able to
sustain the exposure and hunger that
would be Inevitable. Every day as he
went out he examined the ground and
his surroundings eagerly. surveying them
with the care OF a general testing their
strategic possibilities, and every night as
he lay in his bed in the darkness and felt
the chill of the prison wrap about him
like a shroud, Rimington calculated the
chances Of escape, narrowed them down
and weighed them, and every night and
every morning with something of the di- !
rect simplicity Of child, he prayed for
the browning mercy Of fog
There was something of madness In his |
brooding, nee surely sane reflection
must have shown him the hopeless folly !
of the thing he meditat ted With friends !
and socompltces at hand to provide money
and change Of raiment. even then the
chances of permanent escape were almost
Enthusiastically problematical, but playing a
lone hand, as he did-without money. /
without goal what earthly chance did /
he stand
To Be Continued in Next Issue