The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-05-17
POLLOCK'S THREAT

offers her whisky
POLLOCK'S THREAT |
The green shaded lamp flung a
wide pool of mellow light over the
scattered papers on the table and
brought out boyish glints in Langdon's
dark head as it lay ON his folded arms,
sunk in ineffable weariuess.
All through the long hours of the
night he had kept his lonely vigil
now porting over the legal documents
on the table, now pacing the floor in a
| frenzy of anxiety, or making his way
| down the echoing corridors to look in
with mute suffering at the room where
| DR.. Foster and Nurse Walton watched
| so silently beside moaning twitching
| figure on a narrow prison bed But
when the scanty furniture OF the Office
was gradually emerging from the en-.
yeloping cloak OF night into visible ug-
Illness he had at last sunk into q doze
of complete exhaustion. Miss Walton
coming to the door, an eager message
on her lips, turned silently and plying
~ away, Some betraying sound reach
| ed him. however, and he lifted his head
with start, blinking to find the lamp.
light paling before the gray of morn
ng.
| Yawning. he got to his feet and
crossed to the window. He flung it
wide and drew in great breaths OF the
chill ali
For the first time since Mary's at
tack OF madness in the courtroom he
realized fully how tremendous an as
set the tragedy was to the defense. and
in spite Of his grief, as lover, over
her suffering, the lawyer in him ex-
| ulted in the episode which cemented
into place the cornerstone OF his case.
The thought of this lent hint OF
buoyancy to his tired body as he made
another trip to the cell where, at DR.
Fosters orders. they had carried Mary
still screaming with frenzy.
Mary herself was sleeping soundly
when he glanced into the CELL and Dr.
Foster was on his feet, frankly stretch
j ing, while Miss Walton was bathing
her tired eyes at the basin in the cor
D me-.
Both greeted him with a smile, and
s | answering the question in his eyes
rather than the one he huskily wits
, pered with his lips, Dr. Foster said.
"She will be all right now. Sht
| woke, conscious. Just after your last
visit and is now sleeping soundly
There's nothing to worry about-a
least, not just at present"
THANK Cod" Langdon's voice
+ broke on the words, and DR.. Foster pur
out his hand and patted the shoulder
of the younger man reassuringly, say
e ing:
I'VE all say that, but you'd better &c
get some rest now; you look done
\ LUZ
"Oh, I'm all right. said Langdon
"But, Doctor, is she-is it going TO be
possible to so on with this trial? Car
: Mary bear it?"
81 think So" The answer came slow
ly. "Of course yesterdays scene was
bad very bad, But you must realize
that the attack while it was plainly
due to the whiskey thrust upon her
was only to some extent brought about
by the fact that the liquor was hand
ed her at a time when she was hys
terical and had been re.enactine
events that kept her earlier expert
ences constantly in her mind. Giver
healthy surroundings and happiness
/ wouldn't worry about attacks in the
, future"
Langdon nodded absently, for hi:
| heart was echoing the earlier words OF
, | the great alienist: Given healthy sur
! roundings and happiness wouldn't
: worry about attacks in the future,
! and he was yowing to himself that
! cost what II might, he would yet VIII
: freedom and happiness for her.
lie had not dared hope that she
would be well enough for the trial tC
continue for some days at least, bu
i when she woke few hours later she
vowed she was perfectly able to &c
n into court even then. An So no more
o than an hour late, the proceedings
: were continued
That hour had seemed a very shor
y l AAfAiN w fhNlN tAAAh w i+AAitnhthf HhN II
d was very long one to the excited
g spectators who crowded the rooms Il
+. the doors, whispering excited reminis
i cences of the day before.
Q Whatever doubts had fingered In the
e minds of the public as to the yeraoit!
d and the strength OF the defense bull
4 up by Langdon had been shattered a
n one blow. For Mary. as everyone said
y might indeed have been actress
= enough to feign madness at the sigh
of the drunken policeman, but sh,
+, could not have feigned that grea
: bruiso on her shoulder. The shadow
of the gripping hand with those livit
> scars beneath It told mutely of how
. the cruel fingers had torn into the ten
' der flesh.
The newspaper bearing DR.. Fosters