The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-08-03
dead FLAT BROKE"
BY BARBARA RHODES.

eAO uSdlH Ol nSr husband, MTS. burt
had come into our little Bohemian
community, timid but beautiful, unas-
Stunning but having the staying talent
OF careful artist She CHANGED to
rent the studio and living room of
apartments on the floor directly below
that where had been located for two
years. She set at work bravely, great
ly encouraged by the praise of old
Tom Taylor, the dean of our little iso-
lated community
With the last days of autumn nearly
every member of our group left the
big chilly city for California. 1t was
pleasant hegira, planned for ever
since the preceding winter. To those
who had been oble to save up two
hundred dollars, six months of useful
| sketch work amid an utter disdain for
| the usual grinding care of artist life,
was guaranteed. Neither Mrs. Burt
nor myself were among the lucky. We
! probably had less than a hundred dol
! lars between US when hard, biting
winter came on.
Then Helen-Mrs. Burt-became ILL., |
She would not acknowledge it; she
was not altogether incapacitated from |
work, but day by day she seemed to |
| fade. l was shocked when l learned |
from the lady who sublet the apart. |
ments that she was in dire distress.
Its food she needs, and rest, and
care" the good woman advised, and
she gave me some details of the depri-
vations of mother and child that sad
dened and then aroused me.
From the first the little one had
taken to me. From the first Mrs.
| Burt had shown a coniding friendli-
ness that made me proud. I loved
her, but l never allowed her to suspect
J it. l laughed, too, at the thought of
myself, practically a pauper, offering
to take on new responsibility.
, 1 did go to Mrs. Burt and set before
her the grim condition of our mutual
unfortunate environment in plain,
naked fact. I treated it, however, as
transient common to the artistic lot,
an experience to be considered lightly.
Better days would come"
! My assumed cheerfulness raised her
spirits, but only for time. She con-
fessed that she was at her last re-
| source. She asked me to take one
VI nSI nuISuGu pictures anu DOTTOW on
it. If I could not sell it. 1 stored it
away in my own room and brought
I her some money from a fictitious
> money loaner. Thus with the other
three pictures, and l found myself fiat
? broke.
: | shall never forget the evening
: when l wandered forth from my room
in search of food for Helen and the
little one. l was desperate. We could
no longer expect the landlady to bear
the burden of our delinquent room
rent. She was wretchedly poor, with
few applications for the rooms oul
= journeying associates had abandoned
. You who have never been at the
point where utter isolation from
: friends, gnawing hunger, penniless
Z ness, cold, helplessness, have masseC
up like grim giants, crushing you
8 Overpowering you, can never realiz,
the black despair of my situation a
that crisis hour of my life. l stag
gered along the street like one dis
IL tracted as | thought of Helen and he
e, child. l was seized with the impuls'
Of to smash in a window filled will
n costly gems and run for my life.
Re surely approaching me. He was smok
re ing cigar, at peace with all tn
s. world, warm, well fed, rich. l hell
- out my hand for a pittance. With
c. growl he swept me out of his path
rs turned down an obscure alley
at ashamed of my mendicant act M
k foot slipped on the icy pave as i
n. kicked and then stepped on some OF
e, structing object. l lifted it up
vs. pocketbook.
k 1 opened it with trembling hand
III and starting eyes. l thrilled
as shouted, 1 babbled riotously as 1 drey
i forth ten-dollar bill. Inside of i
10 was folded strip of paper, but tina
ne l thrust recklessly into my pocket.
q 1t was as l reached my own roor
&C again that l CHANGED to take out tn
81 slip of paper that had been inclosed
started as l read: Finder: For tn
sake of humanity take this note I
the police at once Room with tn
ne red curtain, fourth story. In deadl
IT. peril"
h. l did not go to the police. Onl
in half comprehending the situation,
or fastened back to the spot where ha
er found the pocketbook. I scanned tn
nd building backing upon the allie,
. Fourth story-red curtain"-I mad
M out the spot against the light in
room beyond. 1 climbed up a fiji
ur escape running beside the windo'
~ with the red curtain.
We The window was slightly raised, til
nd curtain tapped asides l saw a ma
I'M lying chained to a bed. Within fiv
lily minutes l learned that he was til
to captive of set of desperadoes holt
ad ing him for a ransom. Within fiv
KS. more l had him free of his bonds an
down to the street
de Then tho police. He was a wealth