The Washington times., 1921-02-13

careful maid. Margaret, knew that she
had not left 1T in that condition. Some.
thing strange and sinister had visited the
frozen. At my elbow. near the staircase.
and evidently having come from the sitting
loom beyond my bedroom. stood three men.
Dark men. all Of them, with hard, impas-
sive faces. One raised commanding hand
as though he thought to stop a scream.
I'VE are detectives" he said. "Your house
has been robbed"
I reeled backward toward the stair and
deliberately, in my short evening dress,
sprang down the flight OF stairs. struck
the landing with such force that both the
heels of my dancing pumps came Off
Breathing hard and swearing fercely. the
men dashed down the stairs after me.
Even while I saw them coming ! snatched
off my pearl necklace and some rings and
thrust them deeply into my corsage.
The pretense of being detectives was
over in a moment. One man seized me by
hand, big and hairy like a gorilla's, over
my mouth. A third man seized my poor.
crushed feet by the ankles. Give us those
things you tucked away in your blouse"
said one. I drew them out and gave them
to him. They carried me upstairs. past my
room and to a bathroom that was like
closed well in the middle of the house.
1t was lighted only by a skylight, which
was protected, as were all my back win
dows, by an iron railing. One Of the men
drew some window cord from his pocket
and then tied my hands and feet.
Gag herr" commanded the quietest man
of the three. Evidently the master mind
Of the trio. A heavy handkerchief was
bound about my mouth. Nov blindfold
her." said the ruffian. A coarse piece Of
cloth shut out the light. Thus lay upon
the bathroom floor five and half terrible
hours. while one Of the men stood guard
over me.
could hear the others ransack the house.
Now and then my guard spoke to me-
Want drink of water?" he asked.
nodded, and he handed me a glass of
water tipping up my head and holding the
glass himself When I moaned from the
plain of the broken bones in my feet he
asked: Shall massage them?" I shook
my head.
One moment he became dangerously
bold. He said, 81 will do something to you
that was never done before" He bent over
me and felt the pressure of his mustached
lips upon the tip of my nose. Then he
laughed and went back to his post at the
door
The thieves worked all night. When my
butler, Sasson. broke his bonds next morn
ing 1t was 8 o'clock. For half hour the
house had been quiet. Sasson unbound
Margaret. my maid. He said they had
been bound and gagged earlier that night.
| had lost. roughly speaking, $76O,OOO
worth Of jewels and furs and gowns. My
feet were broken by my fall. II was
poor writhing, moaning thing that they
lifted from the bathroom floor and placed
upon my disordered bed. have not since
walked a step. The doctors are asking
me TO be patient They promise that
shall walk again. They say that Will be
as I was before
But they do not know. shall never be
as l was before. | am an utterly changed
woman. The horrors OF that night have
made OF me a woman as unlike myself as
mignonette is unlike an orchid.
shrink now from what ! had thought
were the essentials of life Yellow lunch
cons, pink teas, rose dinners, violet suppers,
life seen through the bottom OF green
chartreuse glass-how empty, less than
empty they seem now. book beside the
fire, the purring of the house cat on the
rug, the quiet words of an unhurried
friend, these seem to me now the stable
things in life, the things worth while.
AS lie here have arranged to sell the
things that once dominated my life. ! have
cold four automobiles. My once beloved
Rolls-Royce is gone, not to return ! have
an Interest in two prosperous branches OF
business, garage and soda factory. Both
are for sale. / have a villa at Long Beach.
am selling IT. My house on Ninetieth