Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1914-01-01

| criminal By training. offered allure
| ment> of Legitimate employment in
the outer world when the should be
| free. Mary endured the con ,anion-
ship with this prisoner because sixth
sense proclaimed the fact thA here
| was one immoral rather than ind oral.
| and the difference is mighty
For that reason Aggie Lynch vas
| not actively offensive. as were moA Of
the Others She was a dainty Il 1e
blond, with Il baby face. in which ", e
set two light blue eyes Of sort ,
| widen often in demure wonder ovS
most things in surprising and naugh-
ty world. She had been convicted of
blackmai!. and she made no pretense
even of innocence. Instead. she was
inclined to boast over her ability to
bamboozle men at her will She was
a natural actress Of the ingenue role,
and in that pose she could unfailingly
beguile the heart Of the wisest Of
| worldly men.
She had been reared in criminal
family. which must excuse much.
Long ago she had lost track of her
father. Her mother she had never
known. Her one relation was broth
err of high standing as a pickpocket
One principal reason of her success in
leading on men to n We fools of them
| selves over her. to th. everlasting re-
greet afterward, lay in the fact that in
spite of all the gross irregularities Of,
her life she remained chaste
| The girl saw in Mary Turner the
possibilities of a ladylike personality
| that might mean much financial profit
in the devious ways of which she was
mistress WITH the frankness char
acteristic of her, she proceeded to paint
glowing pictures Of future shared to
the undoing of ardent and fatuous
swafns. Mary Turner listened with,
curiosity, but she was in no wise
| moved to follow such life even
though it did not necessitate anything
worse than fraudulent playing at
love So. she steadfasty continued her
refusals. She would live straight
"You will find that you are "
against an awful FROST" Aggie wouM
declare brutally.
Mary found the prophecy true. Back
in New York she experienced pow
| erty more ravaging than any she had
known in those five lean years Of her
| working in the store She had beea
! absolutely penniess for two days. and
| without food through the gnawing
hours when she found employment in
milliner'S shop Followed blessed
| interval in which she worked content
| eddy. happy over the meager stipend.
| since it served to give her shelter and
| food honestly earned.
The police informed Nary's employer
| concerning her record as convict,
| and she was at once discharged. Th8
unfortunate victim of the law came
periously close to despair then Yet.
her spirit triumphed and again she
persevered in that resolve to live
straight She found a cheap position
in cheap shop. only to be again per-
| secuted by the police. so that she
| speedily lost the place.
| A third time she obtained work and
| there, after little. she told her en-
| ployer. a candy manufacturer in
small way the truth as to her having
| been in prison. The man had kindly
| heart and he ran little risk, so he al
| lowed her to remain. When the police
| called his attention to the girls or. Us
| inal record he paid no heed to their i'd
| vice against retaining her services
| The police brought pressure to bear IN
the man. They even called in the as
| sistance of Edward Glider himself,
who obligingly wrote a very severe let
| ter to the girls employer. In the end.
| though unwillingly enough. he dismiss
! ed Mary from his service.
1t was then that despair did come
upon the girl. She had tried with all
| the strength of her to live straight.
| Yet despite her Innocence. the world
would not let her live according to her
| own conscience 1t demanded that she
be the criminal ii had branded her-if
| she We're to live at all She still walk
| ed the streets fateringly. seeking some
! place. but her heart was gone from
the quest. Came ali hour when she
/ thought OF the river and was glad.
SO She Went through the long stretch
| Of III lighted streets crossed some raft
| road tracks TO q pier. over which she
hurried to the far end where it pro
(! jected out to the tercer currents OF the
| Hudson. There. without giving hei
self moments pause for reflection or
hesitation. she leaped out as far as
: her strength permitted into the coil Of
I waters But in that final second nat
ural terror in the face of death over
! came the lethargy OF despair-a shrek
J burst from her lips.
On the side of the pier man had
Just tied mp Il motorboat. He stood up
in alarm mt the cry and WAS just in
: time to gain glimpse OF white face
under the dim moonlight as it swept
down with the tide. two rods beyond
him. He threw OFF his coat and sprang
far out after the drifting body. He
came to it in few furious strokes and
caught IL