Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1912-10-23
And still he defed us.

Dub alter IOfLy-elght hours or this
terrible torture nature would be put
OF no longer. She demanded rest.
Young had sunk into a troubled, I'M
easy sleep about seven in the morn
ing. Davis and l, having spelled each
other as guards during the night, sat
talking about our prisoner. l hap
pened to remark that it was a pity
that capital punishment could not re-
move such criminals as Young from
the earth. The inspector, in spite of
the rigorous way he had kept up the
torture, seemed to have strong SYM
pathy for Young.
Il don't believe in capital punish
ment at ALL" he said explosively. Our
whole system is wrong. 1t took us a
good many centuries to discover that
S persons didn't need prisons,
but d%octoring. They just can't help
being criminals. Stand behind a line
OF prisoners as they march in to
breakfast in the penitentiary. Not
one of them will have a normal head.
Is that their fault? 1t is the fault of
society. It's our fault. This poor
devil here, his father a drug fiend and
his mother drinking herself into in
sanity, what chance did he have?
Yet who knows, some day this marvel
Gus new surgery may be able to take
the children of ven such parents as
his We're, reshape their skulls and
make them honest, useful citizens"
There was a stir on the couch and
Young opened his eyes. The fire of
the drug-madness and the look of
hate seemed to have vanished.
Il give up" he said. Il can't stand
the strain any longer. I'll tell you
anything you want to know"
He spoke quietly and calmly. Yet
there was something in his voice that
rang true. l felt that this time he
meant what he said. Apparently
Davis, too, realized that at last
Young's spirit was broken. Without
hesitation, he seized the hypodermic
syringe and plunged it into Young's
arm. The prisoner breathed a long
sigh Of relief. The color came back
into his face and strength to his
voice. His muscles stopped twitch-
ing.
Now" said Davis gently, where
are the yellow letters hid?"
I'm a tin-box under a fiat stone near
the spring." Young replied.
(Which stone?"
Its the third from the spring COM
ing this way"
Davis was up like a shot and out
the door, r~eappearing quickly with an
ordinary document box.
And the Parrish papers-where are
they?" he asked sharply.
They are in the box, too" said
Young YEARLY. MAY I have anoth-
er shot?"
Davis studied his face and felt his
pulse and then reached for the
syringe.
Where's the key?" he asked as he
finished administering the morphine.
I'm my left trousers pocket"
Young answered alphabetically.
Quickly Davis possessed himself of
the key and opened the box. In the
top tray were perhaps fifty letters,
typewriter on yellow paper, with a
blank left for the name to be filled in.
Without stopping to read the letters,
which seemed to be all after the same
form, Davis lifted the tray. In the
bottom of the box was a type-writ-
ten list of names and a bulky sealed
legal envelope, marked on the out
side Papers in the Parrish case"
Here, Kent" said Davis, handing
me the envelope, take charge of
these and give them to Miss Louise
or Miss Katharine. You're entitled
to that"
JoyfuIly 1 slowed the envelope in
my breast pocket, my heart bounding
at the thought of the relief the sight
of the package would bring to the
Parrish family. But as yet the whole
affair was a blind puzzle to me and
I waited eagerly for further develop
ments.
Nov. Young" said the inspector,
tell me all about your scheme
IF the damn thieves hadn't been
such towards as to go and kill them
selves" said Young with a glow of
enthusiasm, Il would have been a mil
lionaire within a year. Read one of
the letters and you can see for your
self Just how good the scheme was"
ms -