Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-07-19

serfs and not many years liberated,
were very ignorant, and it seemed to
me-then a girl of twenty-that the
first thing to do to better their condi-
ton was to educate them, for they
were only fitted for a grade of labor
but little above what was performed
by beasts of burden. Indeed, they
were treated by the government Off
Gals as cattle. / have seen a man go
into a clamoring crowd with a stout
whip and scatter them as he would so
many steers.
My father forbade me to do anything
for the poor creatures that was not
permitted by the government. know
ing well that by doing so l would get
into trouble. But my sympathies were
so strong that l consented TO teach
clandestinely. l found it easier to
teach the children, and l used a back
room in peasants cottage for a school.
| had not been long at the work be-
fore the secret got out, and one day the
government officials broke into the
room while my school was in session,
and 1 was caught red handed.
/ l pass over our dreary march TO ST.
| IBERIA, for it has nothing to do with my
story. That story begins on the first
night of my arrival at the prison at
Kara. i was lying on my cot in my
cell, overcome with that dreadful feel.
/ ing of being locked in and wishing that
! death would relieve me from the suffer
ings in prospect for me. do not know
whether 1t had seemed bleaker to me
outside or now that was within the
prison walls. So uncomfortable were my
thoughts that tried TO turn them to
the home / had left, my father, my
mother and my sisters. But l knew
they were suffering on my account, and
to think of them gave me no relief
But dark as the prospect was. deer
as the gloom in which l was plunged
there came something that turned my
thoughts from my misfortunes. A
heating pipe entered my cell at the
floor and ran perpendicularly through
the ceiling. Suddenly a sound passed
over the pipe, as when steam is turned
on in a radiator. 1t was but one tiny
tick, such as would be made by the
pipe being struck by metal. 1t was i'm
mediately followed by another tap
then a short interval, then a third
Next three taps came together, follow
Ell by two.
This was enough to indicate that the
sounds were not made by the expan
sion or contraction of the pipes from
heat or cold, but that some one wa:
tapping on them. with what l did no
know. l listened for some time, dur
ing which l knew that a message wa:
being transmitted; but, since did no
know the code, l could not interpret it
When 1t ended another series of tap:
commenced, and there was a differ
ence in the key, indica ting that tn,
later series was produced by differ
ent instrument from the first.
Oh, blessed relief - something [,
think about, something to unravel
Messages were being Transmitted
through my room over the heatin,
pipe. | was at once interested in read
ing them. Had known of the Mors
Geographic ,code-which | did not
would have surmised that this one wa
similar. The Morse code is composed
of dots and dashes. This prison cod
was composed of taps and intervals
For instance one tap might mean tn
letter A, two taps r, two taps and on
after an interval c, one tap and tw
after an interval d, and so on.
! did not gain a knowledge of a sin
gle letter that night, though two pei
sons talked over the pipe for som
; time All communication ceased
quarter of an hour before the last visi
of the guard and recommended a quar-
ter of an hour after the round ha
, been made, the persons continuing I
, communicate for half an hour, whe
, they ceased, giving me the first Gu
to their code. The last two division
! or words-as l took them to be-wer
, tapped after a short silence, and tn
: same taps and intervals were repeate
, by the person who received them.
) l had by this time learned to ser
arate letter from letter and word fror
word. These last two words, tappe
and repeated, were composed the frs
of four, the second of FIVE letters.
listened for some time for more, bu
heard nothing. and 1t occurred to m
that the words spoken were intende
for a closing of the conversation, jus
as today persons talking over telt
/ phone say ''goodby" to each other {
indicate that they have nothing NOR
to say. Immediately 1t flashed upo
me that the words spoken were goot
by, but the second word OF goodby
j.. composed of two letters. whereas, q
have said, the second word of tn
last message was composed Of five.
II have it! The message was goo
night"
So ended the first evening of my pri
on life, for, small as the distractio
from my troubles was. 1t was enoug
worn out as l was, to bring on sleel
l passed into Inconsistencies, thin
I, ing that probably the messages won
: recommenee on the morrow and
should have something to do to res
the messages, for if my interpretatic
of the two words was correct hs
i. seven letters. Surely that would
ouira enough tn give me the ofhars