The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1916-01-25

stolen. He was nettled at the way a
shrewd lawyer named Marcus, work
ing for the gang, had outwitted him.
He told Burr about it, and the latter
set at work. He conceived the reck-
less idea Of entering the Office of a
certain Lawyer Marcus at night to ran
sack his desk, In the hope of finding
some clue to the missing papers. The
janitor Of the building discovered him,
called the police and he was taken
into court, charged with burglary.
Burr asked only one favor when
they took away his ordinary clothes
and substituted the dead gray uni
form of the reformatory. OF course.
he managed to get word to Merrill
about his mishap. asking him not to
interfere, as he longed for the new
experience offered. Burr also made
the same explanation to Miss Rose
Newman, who would miss him. The
favor he asked of the prison authori-
ties was that they would allow him to
retain his pad of reporting paper and
pencils.
This was granted, and Burr tried
really to believe that he was serving
time on a regular news-gathering as
signment. For the first three days,
when he was not working In the shoe
shop. he was jotting down memoranda
concerning the rare lot of humanity
about him.
Inside facts" he consoled himself
jubilantly; what rare ripping book
my observations on the spot will
make!"
The fourth night Burr had a cell
mate. He was a gruff, low-browed
giant Of fellow. Burr was lonely,
and tried to draw him into CONVERSE
ton. The man, however, was unsocia-
BILE and communicative He sat
brooding over some deep trouble on
his mind, muttering under his breath
and looking fierce and ugly.
Burr was driven to his usual liter
airy work of collecting his notes. He
was getting really interested in his
partners in crime" His cell mate,
lying supine in his bunk, watched him
moodily. At length he spoke up.
See here" he observed, lis there
any chance of getting note out Of
here?"
Il should think So" replied Burr.
IF you have it written and ready, and
can trust stranger. you might get
some fellow Just served his sentence
to do it for you"
will you lend me your paper and
pencil?"
Surely" assented Burr. Here you
are"
The man pressed close to the grated
door so that he could get the benefit
of the gas light in the corridor out
side. He rested the soft paper tablet
on his knee and made regular tool
of the stubby-ended pencil, slowly and
laboriously forming letter after letter
in a crude, clumsy way, pressing into
the paper heavily. He tore off the
written sheet finally, folded it, wrote
an address on the outside, placed it
in his pocket and grunted out scant
thanks to Burr. Then he threw him
self on his bunk and was soon fast
asleep.
Burr settled himself for some writ
ing, the pad on his knee. Then he
strained his gaze as he noted that the
cumbrous epistolary efforts of his cell
mate had made plain deep impress
upon the blank sheet before him. He
held it up against the light.
Thunder" calculated Burr, and
began to think hard, for this he made
out Of the transferred scrawl:
"Mollie: Do just what | say, or I'll
lose out, bad. First thing, get those
papers out of the mattress and hide
them in the cellar. Then go to Law
yer Marcus. Tell him If I'm not out
of here inside of week, I'll blow the
whole game and give up the papers
to the investigation committee. joe"
1t took little meditation on the part
OF Burr to figure out that a strange
freak of fate had placed him in the
company of one of the tools, or fellow
conspirators of the gang controlled by
Lawyer Marcus. He did not sleep all
night. He planned to appeal to the
warden first thing in the morning, and
ask especial permission to call up
Merrill on the telephone. To his sur
prise, however. before he left the cell
guard came for him and escorted
him to the office of the functionary
he so wished to see.
Neutrality-suspicious. by the may
Or" announced the warden. and Burr