The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1916-06-02

flesh upon which hung the vibrant iiv-
ing tragedy Of Mary herself
The formal routine of the openin'~ Of
court was hurr;eIly gone through 'i'hc
distric; attorney and LangGon hc j a
subdued and secret colioquy wish he
Judge and thcn the first witnrS~ OF
the day WAS called
Mary Page.
At the sound cf her name Mary r"Se
unStcddi!y to hcr feet. her eyes tl:"ed
appeaiin"ly 10 IanGdon one trcmi' inG
hand crashing back tie little r?y lat
rose involuntarilr TO her lips Rnt !. II
agitation w;>S 10 more than an e"h' OF
the excitement THAT swept through he
crowded room Somewhere Il woman
caught hHr'lceath III q. .Stifed SOL. AID
1T the back the spectators claml"Hcd
upon their chairs. crowding forW"rd
in spite of angry whispers Of "::'it
down" and tn" sharp rap OF ;Ae
judges gavcl augmented by the official.
Order in the court
To Larcdon alone the calling of Mary
came as 10 surprise. and he was at her
side in moment whispering reaSS;:r-
ance and urging her to answer as s::n-
ply and c,earlg as possible the Qu"S-
tons she was aS,iCl. H.S calm cave
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
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
4 time, And now the faces that stared
up at her were avid with curiosity,
some hostile some sympathetic, but
ali pallid with the voracity of the SEN
sation seeker.
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
tions Of the District Attorney were
spoken with quiet dignity.
Miss Page, isn't it true that James
Pollock wished to marry you?"
Yes" The answer was lower now.
and hot flush crept for moment into
Mary's pale cheeks.
"And you found his attentions un-
welcomeT'
Something in the tone brought her
head up sharply.
Il had told Mr. Pollock that l could
not marry him." she said firmly, and
with hauteur that wrung a little
whisper of admiration from the spec
tatorS
Abruptly the prosecutor changed his
train Of questioning.
Now, Miss Page" he said harshly,
please tell the court exactly what
happened just previous to the time
when the revolver-shot was heard and
Mr.. Langdon found you unconscious
beside the murdered man. Begin with
the moment you left the banquet"
With shiver EOf aversion Mary clos,
ed her eyes for a second; then, grip
ping the edge Of the witness-stand. she
began speaking slowly and with an OBJ
vious effort.
when the boy brought me the mes
sage-I-was glad to go. They were
drinking and were very noisy at the
banquet-and 1 was tired. The boy
showed me the door Of the suite, and !
went in
She paused and covered her eyes as
if to shut out something terrible that
she saw
"Mr. Pollock was in the ROOM" 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-"
Dld you Try TO get out! Was there
a struggle between you and Mr.. Pol,
lock?"
She shook her head. Not then," she
said, with little sob. Butt was
very angry told him he had tricked
me-and l wouldn't listen to him. We
we quarreled over his being drunk.
and-he tried to make me take drink
Of the whiskey myself
A shudder OF repugnance swept over
her, and her eyes grew wide and star
ing, and she swayed for moment like
a flower in a storm; then, with tre-
mendous effort, as one called back
from the borderland to consciousness.
she added hoarsely:
Il remember striking at him-and
knocking the glass out of his hand. l
heard it break--and then-I must have
tainted"
Miss Page" came still another ques-
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?'