Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-05-24

You know, without my telling you,
what that meant. Things went to
pieces. He got me into the habit. We
used to go to a place OF the Foochow
road. l guess it's still there It was
known as the House with the Red
%lacquered Balcony, and 1t was run by a
Portuguese we called Charlie.
AS said, things got worse. My hus-
bands money gave out. He didn't
have much, after all. Then / walked UP
one morning in Charles place to find
that l had been deserted. 1 never saw
the man again until today when I went
to see Miss Edith Mallon. went to
see her because I was down and out.
I've been down and out a good many
times. When Gardner left me in Shang-
nal, ! had to work as a servant. I got
back to the states by coming over as a
lady's maid. l came to Washington to
try for a position as an army nurse.
Those are the facts.
Avery stopped reading and
looked at Smith.
"That's her story, SIR" the cor
respondent said.
The agitator addressed himself
to Avery:
1T recalls nothing, absolutely
nothing, to my mind, he said.
Those who heard him recognized
the regret, the sadness, in his
voice. There could be no doubt Of
the fact that he was sorry he
could get nothing from the story.
It was evident that his great de-
sire was to get light on the mat
ter from somewhere.
"Does she explain" Waller
asked Avery, "why she is known
as Mary Leslie if she is really Mrs.
John Gardner?"
"Oh, of course, she explains it, "
Avery said carelessly. cts the
obvious explanation: She pre-
ferred to resume. her maiden
name.'
Smith put one brief question:
And the proof Of this mar
riage?"
"She has no documentary evi-
denee," Avery replied, "but she
claims it was in Shanghai. Several
news associations have cabled to
Shanghai to get all that end of the
story"
Waller explained to Smith:
Under favorable conditions,
we ought to get something from
Shanghai In six or seven hours.
It's 6 o'clock here now. It's 8
o'clock in the morning there. We
ought to hear something tonight"
"That is" Avery modified, sif
the men there find anything"
Look here, Avery" Waller
asked; "how did she strike youY
Don't you know she was lying?"
Avery hesitated.
You know" he said. uit's
hard to tell when a woman like
that is lying-or how much. And
1t struck me--I'm talking frankly
now, Mr.. Smith-that she must
have some facts to go on. And the
way she sticks to her story is i'm
mense. Five of us put her through
a regular third degree, and she
told always the same thing. She's
frm-and, if she is lying, there s
another Bernhardt thrown away"
Smith bowed, making no com
ment.
Is there anything else, gentle
men?4 he inquired.
There was much else thew
wanted to know, but, realizing his
he~lpiessness, they filed out Of the
room. Each one of them was in a
hurry. All Of them knew that thew
We're about to write the strangest,
most fascinating story that had
ever come to light in Washington.
they were intent on the story as a
story, and did not think much then
OF the probable effect Of what thew.
would write. It was their business
to tell the news to the country. and
they wanted to tell it in the best
way possible.
Thanks to Waller and to
Smith $ own personality, the "best
way possible" in their eyes, was
to describe the agitator's suffering
and to depict the days events il
q way that would create for him
sympathy and support.
Waller fingered with him for a
few minutes.
wish you'd tell me exactly
how you feel about this thing
the newspaper man asked him.
How do you meani''
don't like to rush off and.
leave you here with all this work
and the great burden Of what the
day has brought forth. I'd like Is
know just how. you feel.n
don't think I feel at all vet
Smith answered him, putting :
hand on his shoulder. I've been
making . greatseffort to dissociate
myself, personally from il, to keen
at the work. I can trust myselfl