New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1916-03-15

he was only a lay figure-a bit Of dead
flesh upon which hung the. vibrant. liv.
ing tragedy of Mary herself.
The formal routine Of the opening of
court was hurriedly gone through. The
district attorney and Langdon held a
subdued and secret colloquy with the
judge, and then the first witness of
the day was called. ..-.. -,
MARY Pager :. /. 81.
At the sound Of her name Mary rose
unsteadilys to her feet, her eyes turned
appealingly to Langdon. one trembling
hand crushing back the little cry that
rose involuntarily to her lips. But HER
agitation was no more than an echo Of
the excitement that swept through the
crowded room: Somewhere a woman,
caught her breath In a stified sob, and
at the back the spectators clambered
upon their chairs, ..crowding forward
in spite Of angry whispers of 'Sit
DOWN. and the sharp rap of the
judges gavel augmented by the official.
Order in the COURT"
To Langdcn alone the calling of Mary
came as no surprise, and he was at her
side in moment, whispering reassur-
ance and urging her to answerzas sim,
ply and clearly rs. possible the ques7
tons she was asked. His calm gave
her back some measure Of her own sc,
renity, and her voice was low but clear
as she took the oath and, stepping up
into the witness stand, looked down
upon that sea of faces. For a moment
they swan before her eyes, and with a
catch in her throat she remembered
the last time she had looked down upon
crowded faces; looked down: across the
footlights upon thousands OF. smiling
lips and friendly eyes above a snow
storm of applauding white gloves. How
long ago it seemed, and yet how short
a time! And now the faces that stared
up at her were avid With curiosity,
some hostile, some sympathetic, but
all pallid with the voracity of the sen.
sation seeker :':::: 'j1%-"::: i 49,. ::s:>.:::
Then her eyes, travelling beyond
them, met the tear dimmed ones of her:
mother leaning forward yearningly
from the witness bench. and because
Of the suffering on. that; face Mary
smiled. Her first answers to the, ques.
tons of the District Attorney were
spoken with quiet dignity. - y
Miss Page, isn't it true that james;
Pollock wished to marry your" ~: ::
Eyes" The answer was lower now,
and a hot flush crept for a moment into
Mary'S pale cheeks.
"And. you found his attentions un-
welcomeT' S. ~ > .'-". ~~~-'.~
Something in the tone brought her
head up sharply. - r.: > -.I:. ): :! =
II had told Mr.. Pollock that / could
not marry him." she said firmly and
with a hauteur that wrung "a little
whisper of admiration from: the; spec
tators. .ss s::.:::t> -
Abruptly the prosecutor changed IBIS
train Of questioning. :: s. - ~
"Now, Miss Page" he said .harsh1y,
"please tell the court exactly what
happened just previous: TO the time
when the. revolyer-shot: was.;heard and
Mr. Langdon found you UNCONSCIOUS
beside the murdered man: Begin. with
the moment. you left the banquet
With a shiver. OF aversion Mary clos
ed her eyes for q second; them grip
ping the edge of the witness-stand, she
began speaking slowly and with an OBJ
vious effort. F.. :; -: : \
"When the boy brought me. the nes-
sage-I--was glad to CO.: They were:
drinking and were very noisy ut the,
banquet-and Il was tired: The boy
showed me the door of the suite, and +
went in.'' = =: 4: : :: .:. :; +" - -
She paused and covered her eyes as.
if to shut. out something terrible; that
she saw. !: ! 81. j: /: j,
"Mr. Pollock was in the room,SS:she
said at last "He-he had been drink
ing-he wasn't himself-he could hard:
ly stand. He-he said he wanted to
talk to me alone for five minutes-and
he wouldn't let me out, though was
afraid and begged him to-"
Did you try to get out? Was there
struggle: between you and Mr. Pol
lock?" r.
She shook her head. mot then," she
said, with a little sob: Butt was
very angry-1 told him he had tricked
n1e-and wouldn't listen to him. :, We
we quarreled over his being drunk,
,And-he tried to make me take a drink
of the whiskey myself" go.
A shudder Of repugnance swept over
her, and her eyes grew wide and star:
ing, and she swayed for a moment like
a flower in: q storm; then, with a ire
mendous effort, as one called back
from the bdrderland to consciousness.
she added hoarsely:
;'tI' remember striking at him-and
knocking the glass out Of his hand. I
heard it break-and them must have
faintedw IA -.
"1iiss Page" came still anotherqlues-
ton, If you. had refused James Pol.
lock-if you feared him-why did you
grant him an interview late at night
in private room at the hotel?" ~
Grant him an interview" her voice
/ rosci ~ ufo a-snrnfnaf ssr dii1Ii5fsf