Elbert County tribune., 1921-10-28
CHAPTER xI-continusd.

to the door. It was securely locked, of
course. and could be forced open. II
at all. only by creating considerable
alarm. I stood, staring helpiessly
about, feeling the impossibility Of
escape. could only wait for my jail
ers to appear. impotent to aid myself
in 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 70 believe;
that they even possessed proof which
would probably convict her In court
Of the crime. This gave them a ter
rble 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 INSCRIPTIONS crooks, her fate
might be death, disgrace. Certainly 1t
would be foul insult, and, II she failed
TO yield. the desire for revenge might
syeD drive those towards to 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
could effect an escape. 1t was not
merely my own life at stake; hers
was also in the balance
And the time In which to act was
short. II / escaped at all, 1t must
be accomplished before my jailers re-
turned. before they dreamed that /
had aroused from unconsciousness. or
had strength enough to make the
attempt. Yet what possible way
suggested itselff 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 1 crossed over once
more, and again looked out. Could
Idare I-attempt to cling to that
slight ledge In my stocking feet, even
for the one or two steps necessary
to reach the next window7 The very
conception Of such a feat made my
head reel giddily and my stomach rise
in protest. Besides, even If 1 made
II by some miracle, what II that other
window should be closed and locked7
How could ever move backward to
regain safetyf
Yet wait: there was a way, danger
Gus enough to be sure. yet possible II
possessed the necessary nerve. There
were opened blinds at each window
they would help some as grasping
spots for the hands. The one 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; single
stride on the ground beneath would
bridge the distance. If / had some
thing to cling to above-anything that
would keep me upright might hold
my footing on the narrow stone and
make the passage slowly. 1t was a
daring, deadly venture, but possible.
But what could 1 hope to utilize as
a support? The bare room offered but
a single suggestion-the dirty coverlet
which had been thrown over me- Torn
apart from corner to corner, and
twisted into the form of rope, 1t
ought to safely sustain my entire
weight in case foot slipped.
started to tear with my teeth, and thus
succeeded in ripping the thing from
end to end. 1t was scarcely long
enough for the purpose, which COM
PEELED me to make the moose CORE
spondingly small. However, with this
improvised lasso gripped in my right
hand, l took position astride the Sill
Of the window, in an endeaver to pro-
5ect the loosened end over some pro-
tuberance of the blind beyond. BY
holding tight to the frame with my
left hand. the right was left free.
and i was enabled to lean out far
enough to obtain clear toss. There
was little the moose could catch on,
and continued failure left me listless
and discouraged. lost hope, yet
kept at 1t, 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. I hardly dared
breathe as I drew the thing taut and
tested the firmness with which 1t was
held at the other end. The moose
closed down tightly about the iron
staple. and resisted every effort at re-
lease. To all seeming 1t was as safely
anchored as though / had placed 1t
there by hand. Somehow the very
knowledge that this had been accom-
plished, that the way was open,
brought with 1t renewal of the feel
ing of horror with which l had first