Oxford Democrat., 1914-10-06

mother with the faded eyes and the
heart that had turned to lead In the
criminal courts building In New York.
His eyes peered hungrily through the
coach window. he had written to her
from the Tombs. 1t was brave letter
Of determination to some day prove to
the world that he was innocent Of the
crime Of which he had been convicted.
he advised her to cast about for q
boarder so that she could keep the
taxes paid on the home. His father
had been a Mason In good standing.
and the Masons had helped her before.
They would help their dead brothers
widow again, he told her.
The boy pressed his forehead against
the window pane and feasted his eyes
for the last time on the heavily wood.
ed farther shore.
One Of the strongest swimmers among
the sturdy country boys about Nyack,
he had swum the river, good three
and a half miles, more than once, and
this scene in all Its simple loveliness
was old. and sweetly old, to his young
eyes.
The train paused at Scarborough and
was of again in less than q minute.
Suddenly the eyes Of the boy at the
window encountered total darkness
and to his ears came the din Of rail-
road tunnel. The short tunnel was d..
rectly under the entrance to Sing Sing
prison. In few seconds the train
cleared the tunnel and stopped at o.
sining station.
A covered tumbril was ready to take
them up the steep road from the sta
ton to the highway running south and
to the prison. The team Of horses
struggled upward. straining and pant
ing, and, reaching the highway. stop
ped to blow. The convicted men had
few more precious moments In
which they could feast their eyes with
glimpses of sky, river and hills
through the open front and rear Of the
vehicle.
At the end OF the road loomed bar
rack-like building Of gray stone, fast
blackening with the years. 1t was the
first of the prison structures, and
about 1t ran high and wide wall. At
regular intervals upon this wall were
little octagonal sentry houses and in
each Of these stood man with q rife
The building. rising high above the
wall, had narrow Sits in its sheer
stone sides, and these Sits were criss-
crossed with steel bars.
Within this structure cell awaited
Montgomery. 1t would be his resting
place at night after the days work In
the shops of the walled city of silence,
sorrow. sweat and celibacy. OF the out
side world he would see only patch
Of sky squared by the steel bars. He
would be as the police thought ycgg-
man should be-buried alive.
James Montgomery was stripped of
his clothes and finally stripped Of his
name. Both were thrown away. He
became No. O0.10S.
He stood naked under the examina-
ton Of the prison physician and was
then placed under shower bath and
washed clean. Garments made by con-
victs were given him. iii fitting under
wear, heavy shoes and dull gray suit
of baggy trousers and almost shape
less jacket. He was reported to the
foreman of the machine shop as avail
able material for his force.
Montgomery was struck by the quiet
Of the prison. There was no sound Of
voices. Convicts came and went or
busted themselves in groups over pris-
on tasks. but they did not converse.
He was Informed that the rule Of 81
lence was strictly enforced and that
he might talk only at the close Of work
and when he was in his cell. He was
of a taciturn nature. but when hc
thought that the rule Of silence would
obtain through his whole lifetime the
thing became appalling. He had the
privilege Of a cell by himself or with
q cellmate. For the sake Of the hui
man voice he would hear In the morn
ing before work, and ut night aftel
work he asked to be allowed to share
a cell.
The fifteen year man made the same
request, and the old burglar and the
country boy became cell companions.
They separated for the time being
No. GO1OS was sent to the machine
shops and turned over to the convict
foreman, who questioned him and test
ed him as to the value and use OF
many tools and who found him worthy
and we'll qualified for a place on bis
staft. The burglar needed no examlna'
tion of that sort. He had been through
II all before. He was given the work,
ing tools of his craft and began cut
ting garments with other prisoners,
who gave him looks Of recognition and
signaled greetings with their fingers In
the deaf and dumb code or clicked out
telegraphic messages in the Morse with
their scissors.
The midday meal in the mess hall
was choked down by Montgomery Will
a mighty effort. His interest IN ma
chinery kept him from breaking down
during the afternoon. After the even
ing meal he was marched to his prison
tier with battalion Of convicts, and
guard showed him his cell. He found
the fifteen year man already there.
Every cell on the tier was a busy
monograph by this time. for the rule
of silence was now suspended, and the
men could talk all they pleased In the
cells or from cell to cell. When the
chatter became a babel Of sound, O