Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1921-02-13

'"'siN 'haiH. MARGARET. I knew that she
mac no. left il in that condition. Some.
'"iAE strange ana sinister had visited tho
room. | turned slowly. as though nearly
frozen. AT my elbow. near the staircase
ana evidently having come from the sitting
loom beyond my bedroom. stood three men.
park men, all OF them, with hard. impas.
sive faces. One raised n commaniinc hand
as though he thought to stop n scream
we are detectives" he said. Your house
has been robhed."
| reelel backward toward tho stair avid
deliberately. in my short evening dress
spranc down ;hc fight of stairs. struck
the landing with such force that both the
"ee!s OF my dancing pumps came off.
breathing hard and swearinE. ~fercely. The
men dashed down the stairs after me
Even while | saw them coming ! snatchaI
CT my pearl necklace and some rings and
thrust Them deeply into my corsage.
IN" n~re'ensc Of being detectives was
ever in n moment. One man seized me bv
80 shoulders. One Of them laid his heavy
'.'ha' big and hairy like q goril'a's. over
nay mouth. y third man seized my poor
crushed feet by tho ankles. Give MS those
things you. tucked away in your blouse"
said one. I drew them out and gave ,hom
TO him. They carried me upstairs. past nv
room and to a bathroom that was like a
closed well in the middle Of the house.
1t was lighted only by n skvlight. which
was protected. as were all my back win.
dnwS, by an iron railing. One Of the men
drew some window cord from his pocket
and then tied my hands and fec:.
Gag herr" commanded the ~Quietest man
OF The three. Evidently The master mind
Of the trio. A heavy handkerchief was
bound about my mouth. Now hlindfold
her said the run!an. A coarse piece Of
cloth shut ou' the light. Thus I lay upon
the bathroom floor five and a half terrible
hours. while one of the men stood guard
over me.
could hear the Others ransack the house.
N"w ard Their my guard spoke 10 me.
Want ] drink OF water?" he asked. I
rodtcd. and he handed me a. glass OF
"ti"r, iipping up my head and holding the
Elass himSelf. When ! moaned from the
ilam OF the broken bones in my feet he
asked: Shall ] massage them?" | shoot:
MY head.
One moment he became dangerously
$50 ~ ''Ih' l Nu SDIntInlHS lC YOU
i"ht was never done before" He bent over
me ana felt The pressure Of his mustachcd
lips unon the tip of my nose. Then he
'~fngAcd ana went back to his post AT the
door.
The thieves worked all night. When my
butler. Sasson. broke his bonds next morn.
NIX II was 5 o'clGck. For a half hour the
mouse had been quiet. Sasson inbound
Margaret. my maid. He said they had
been hnrnd and gagged earlier that night.
had lost. roughly speaking. $780, COO
worth OF jewels and furs and gowns. My
i"ci were broken by my fall. 1t was n
poor writing. moaning thing that they
lifted from the bathroom noor and placed
upon my disordered he'd. have not since
walked Il step. The doctors are asking
me TO be patient. They promise that !
shall walk again. They say that | will he
rs | was before.
lnt ihe: do not know. ! shall never bo
"a ! was before. I am an utterly changed
woman. The horrors OF that night have
made of me a woman as unlike myself as
snignonetie 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 Il green
chartrcuse slass--how empty, less than
fire. the purring OF tho house cat or the
rug. The quiet words OF an mnhurried
friend. these seem to me now the stable
things in life. the things worth while.
As ! lie here ! have arranged 10 sell the
Things iha' once dominated my life. have
gold four automobiles. My once beloved
Rolls Royce Is gone. not To ietarn. have
ri interest in two prosperous branches of
business. Il garage and soda factory. Both
are for sale. | have d villa AT Long Beach.
l am selling it. My house on Nineticth
ICi 1921. International Feature service. Inc.