El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-12-28
Playing Dead Aj5a S5 59 S7 Sf% st sss
Story Reported Lived What
and Heard and experienced
By RICHARD HARDING DAVIS

I excuse whatsoever until tomorrow at
! noon. Better still don't come until !
| ring"
| When the steward had left him. jim
1 ME pinned the two letters upon the
| pillow, changed the steamer cap for an
! Alpine hat, and beneath raincoat con-
cealed his evening clothes He had
] purpOsely selected the deck cabin farth-
est aft ccOrdingly, when after max
I ing the cabin dark he slipped from il.
the break in the deck that separated
the first from the second class pasasen-
gers was but a step distant The go
ing ashore bugles had sounded, and
more tumult than would have followed
Z had the ship struck a rock now spread
. to every deck. With sharp commands
officers were speeding the parting
guests; the parting guests were shout
ing passionate goodbys and sending
messages to Aunt Maria; Quartermas-
tiers howled hoarse warnings, donkey
engines painted under the weight Of be
lated luggage, fall and tackle groaned
and strained. And the ships siren, en-
ragged at the delay, protested in one
long drawn out, inarticulate shrek.
Jimmie slipped down the accOmmoda-
ton ladder that led to the well deck,
sidestepped a yaWning hatch, lodged A
swinging cargJ net stuffed with trunks
and entered the secOnd-class smoking
room. From there he elbOWed his way
to the second class promenade deck
stream of fearful and hilarious Wis
itOrs who. like sheep in a chute, were
being herded down the gangway, en-
quilted him Unresisting, Jimmie let
himself. by weight of numbers, be car
ried forward
A moment later he was shot back to
the dock and to the country from which
at that moment. in deck cabin Al, he
was supposed TO be drawing steadily
Dodqina~ tho electric lights. on foot
he made his way to his lodging house.
The night was warm and moist and,
seated on the stOop, stripped TO shlrt
and trousers. was his landlord he
greeted Jimmie affably-
Evening. Mr.. Hull" he said. Hope
this heat won't keep you awake"
Jimmie thanked him and passed hur-
riedly.
Mr. Hullr'
The landlord had said IL.
Somewhere out at sea, between Fire
Island and Scotland Lightship, the
waves were worrying with what once
had been Jimmie Blagwin, and in
hall bedroom on Twenty-third street
Henry Hull. with frightened eyes, sat
staring across the wharves, across the
river, thinking Of a farmhouse on Long
Island.
His last week on earth had been more
of a strain on Jimmie than he appre-
ciated; and the night the Ceramic sailed
he slept the drugged sleep Of complete
nervous exhaustion Late the next
while he still slept a passen-
ger on the Ceramic stumbled upon the
fact of his disappearance. The man
knew Jimmie; had greeted him the
night before when he came on board,
and was seeking him that he might
subscribe 10 a pool on the run When
10 his attack on Jimmie's door there
was no reply, he peered through the
air port, saw on the pillow, where jim
gh0 hFam
tiers, and reported TO the purSer- Al
ready the ship was 500 miles from
where Jimmie had announced ne would
drown himself; a search showed he
was not on board, and the evidence Of
smoking room steward, who testified
that at one o'clock he had left Mr..
BlagWin alone on deck. gazing
'mournful like" at Fire Island seemed
to prove Jimmie had carried out his
threat When later the same passen-
ger the steward had mistaken for
Jimmie appeared in the smoking
room and ordered a drink from him,
the steward was ratified But as the
person who had last seen Jimmie
BlagWin alive he had gained melan-
choly interest, and, as his oft told tale
was bringing him many shllllngs, ne
did not correct It. Accordingly from
Cape Sable the news Of Jimmieis sui
eide was reported That afternoon II
appeared in all the late editions Of
the evening papers
z y
his landlord that for him to venture
out by day was most dangerous, and
sent the landlord after the newspapers
The feelings with which he read them
were mixed. He was proud of the
complete success of his plot. but the
of it terrified him The
success was too complete He haQ
left himself no loophole- he had
locked the door on himself and thrown I
the key out Of the window. Now, that
she was lost to him forever, he found, (
If that were possible, he loved ms I
wife more deYotedly than before lie /
felt that to live in the same world with /
Jeanne and never speak to her, never I
even look at her, could not be borne. /
He was of a mind to rush to the wharf 4
and take another leap into the dark ]
line From this he was restrained !
only by the thought that II he used /
eauuOn, at infrequent intervals. at q /
great distance he still might look upon !
his wife This he assured himself 4
would be possible only after many /
years had aged him and turned his 4
hair gray. Then on second thoughts ]
he believed to wait so long was not /
sbsoIutelv necessary. It would be /
iafe enough, he argued, If he grew /
beard He always had been clean
ihaven, and he was confident a beard
would disguise him. He wondered how
ong a time must pass before one
would grow. once on hunting trip 4
ne had gone for two weeks without
shaving, and the result had not only
disguised him but disguised him his
ace had changed to one like those
,arved on cOcOanuts. a recollection
II this gave him great pleasure His
ipirits rose happily. He saw himself
n the rags of a tramp, his face hidden
n an unkempt beard, skulk1ng behind
he hedges that surrounded his house.
from this view point. before sailing
way from her forever, he would
gain steal a look at Jeanne He de-
ermined to pOstDOne his departure l
Until he had grown a beard Mean /
While he would plead illness, and keep |
o his room, or venture out only at !
light Comforted by the thought that
n two weeks he might again see his
wife. as she sat on the terrace or |
walked in her garden, he sank peace
bly, to sleep
Continued Tomorrow