Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1919-02-14

came to him. He bought cup upon cur
Of the scalding mixture which was
sold during the night TO convicts un
. der the name of coffee. and gulped II
down Then. in . desperate effort for
. companionship. he began to hang ia
the bars of his cell door. waiting to
have . few words with the guards as
they passed In their rubberheeled
shoes on their rounds.
But the day brought him no respite
from his fortunes. For some reason
he was transferred from the bolt shop
to the chair factory. He was put tp
work there at Al.bench, beside Jeffer
j SOP. and the. little man. having acquir-
ed the convict's way Of talking with.
out moving his lips. muttered continu-
ally Of. his innocence. his wife and
little, children. and the burden on the
district attorneys, back.
Hartridge began to grow desperate.
In spite of himself he liked Jefferson.
He felt nearer to him than to any
other person on earth, but the shame
Of what he had done to the little man,
kept him from declaring the. truth
about himself. and he hated his soul
for his cowardice.
He tried to plan some other way to
make amends, and as his old aggres
siveness came back full force upon
him. It turned his mind toward escape.
Working together. he thought. he and
Jefferson might get away form the
prison and start anew. His busy mind
began to TEEN with schemes.
Darnell Prison rests. like castle on
. slight hill on the outskirts of large
city In the middle West. The main
line of a railroad runs past in on one
side, and on the other, a sluggish riv.
er winds lazily. Over fifteen hundred
conyicts are confined within the great
walls, some Of them the most desper-
ate men Of that section of the coun-
try
At dinner one day Hartridge felt a
strange suspense in the air. The men
around him seemed keyed with but
partially suppressed excitement He
noticed that the big negro who sat
next to him refused to eat. but sat
CHANGING continually from side to side.
The guards who stood on their little
raised platforms around the hall, with
their rifles resting in the hollow. of
their arms. seemed to sense some
thing out of the ordinary in the sur
charged atmosphere. Their eyes roved
anxiopsly over the silent men be-
meath them.
With the others. Hartridge rose at
the signal and lined up to return to
his work in the chair factory. Slowly
the long lines moved out of the room.
until the last man stepped thru the
doors. leading to the courtyard. AS he
passed thru, he turned suddenly and
slammed them behind him.
The noise seemed to act as a signal.
A line of prisoners broke suddenly
and charged upon the guards. A salvo
Of shouts from husky throats shatter-
ed the silence, as the men sprang
upon the guards and wrested their
guns from them. There was scatter
ing shot or two and pandemonium
broke loose.
Some Of the convicts, frightened.
rushed to the walls and stood there
with their faces turned from the
struggling men scattering over the
yards. Others, their tense nerves
swapping like cords, fell upon benches,
and burying their faces in their
hands, began to rock to and fro and
cry softly. Over the commotion rose
the shrill scream of the prisons siren,
warning the guards within the walls
and the people outside of the uprising
Of the prisoners.
The guards in the. little blockhouses
on the walls began a peppering fire
into the boiling mob. Men in stripes,
their faces twisted In sudden pain, be-
gan to crumble into wry heaps as the
bullets from the guards guns stung
into their bodies. Inside the bull-pen,
thru the barred doors, the warden and
his deputies could be seen marshaling
other guards.
Hartridge found himself trembling
with excitement beside Jefferson,
watching the scene, his eyes bright
with excitement and the anticipation
of immediate freedom. Two huge men,
a Beserker rage in their faces, rushed
past them bearing q heavy pole. with
which they began to batter at the bull
pen doors.
what is 1T" Jefferson gasped.
Hartridge turned on him fiercely.
tits going to be Jail delivery.
Man. it's your chance to get out. Come
on!"
With leap he was In the midst OF
the fight, his great fists falling on the
guards. He seemed to have lost all
control of himself. He was In blind,
destructive rage, from which nothing
could hold him until ii had spent it.
self. Thru red, he saw freedom beck
oning to him, and he was halfcrazed
to get away from the combining walls,
the sleepless nights with his accusing
conscience. and the sight of Jeffer-
sons pale, suffering face.
VA The little man was at his shoulder,
pleading, trying to hold him back, beg