The St. Johns herald., 1921-12-22
CHAPTER xI-continued.
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 course, and could be forced open, if at all, only by creating considerable alarm. l stood, staring helplessly about, feeling the impOssibility of escape. 1 could only wait for my jail CTS to appear, impotent to aid myself fin any way-or her. After all, that last thought was the most impelling. That they suspected Marie Gessler of being implicated in both murder and robbery was clearly evident; indeed, they not only suspected, but were con- vinced that she had done the deed. was secretly obliged to admit that they had some reason to so believe; {; that they even possessed proof which would probably convict her in court of the crime. This gave them ter rible advantage over the girl, once they had her bodily in their posses sion. Guilty or not guilty, she could not establish her innocence; under torture and threat, such as they would doubtless use in their money lust, there was no knowing what might happen. Alone, helpless in the grasp of these interruptions crooks, her fate might be death, disgrace. Certainly 1t would be foul insult, and, if she failed 10 yield, the desire for revenge might even drive those towards to a secret Announcement of her to the police. This, however, would be their last re- sort; they would exhaust all other efforts first. And no one else knew of her danger; no one else was in position to aid her; she must face this gang absolutely alone unless l could effect an escape. It was not merely my own life at stake; hers was also in the balance
 And the time in which to act was short. If I escaped at all, it must be accomplished before my jailers re- turned, before they dreamed that I had aroused from inconsistencies, or had strength enough to make the attempt Yet what possible way suggested itself? felt in my pockets they were utterly empty, except for a single overlooked bill. There was no means of egress other than the win dow and that seemed hopeless. Yet in desperation I crossed over once more, and again looked out. Could I-dare I-attempt to cling to that slight ledge in my stocking feet, even for the one or two steps necessary to reach the next window? The very conception of such a feat made my head reel giddily and my stomach rise fin protest. Besides, even if I made 1t by some miracle, what if that other window should be closed and locked? How could I ever move backward to regain safety:
 Yet wait: there was a way, danger ~ous enough to be sure, yet possible if I possessed the necessary nerve. There were opened blinds at each window; they would help some as grasping spots for the hands. The enc within reach appeared solid enough, firmly anchored to the easement, and secured to the brick wall by means of an iron hook Between the two the space to be traversed was not wide; a single stride on the ground beneath would bridge the distance. If I had some thing to cling to abOve-anything that would keep me upright-I might hold my footing on the narrow stone and make the passage slowly. It was a daring deadly venture, but possible
 But what could hope to utilize as c support? The bare room offered but c single suggestiOn-the dirty coverlet which had been thrown over me- Torn apart from corner to corner, and twisted into the form of a rope it ought to safely sustain my entire weight in case a foot Slpped. started to tear with my teeth, and thus succeeded in ripping the thing from end to end. It was scarcely long enough for the purpose, which con- pelled me to make the moose core Spondingly small. However, with this tmprovised lasso gripped in my right hand, l took 'oSitiOn aStride the sill of the window, in an endeaver to pro- ject the lOoSened end over some pro- tuberance of the blind beyond. By holding tight to the frame with my Left ihand, the right was left free, Gnd I was enabled to lean out far enough to obtain a clear toss. There was little the moose could catch On, and continued failure left me listless and discouraged. I lost hope, yet Kept at it, and finally, to my surprise, the ring of the cloth settled over an iron projection of the hinge and clung there, extending straight across from window to window. 1 hardly dared Sreathe as I drew the thing taut and tested the firmness with which it was held at the other end. The moose