Indiana daily times., 1922-01-25

and plenty or money. l promised to
keep my old friends but Essie Rynders,
one of the girls, was sick, and hard up.
The others wrote me. Well, l was rich
and could help, SO l went down-well-
we spent the money-Essie had a good
time at here death, anyhow. When we
same oft some of the girls got to fight
ing. We all had drunk too much. We
were all sent to the island. When I came
down Mantell dropped me. so just gave
up and said I'd always look out for my
self after that. / had to take up with
the old crowd, and / drank very hard.
Then l met Ben''
TELL how you met him, Mrs. Campion,
all the details"
''He was on one Of those"-pause-
"ominbuses that come down to China
town at night, and"-she hesitated here
a momeht-"he was very drunk. l was
stnading at the entrance Of an alley.
was not very sober myself, but he was
very bad. He told me afterwards he had
been drinking for week and did not
know where he was"
Myra suppressed groan as she
thought, "My father"
HE came up and began to talk I
liked his looks. A man named Lyons,
he had been a bouncer at Halligan's,
tried to take me away. wouldn't go,
and he hit me. Ben struck him and there
was a fight all arounL You never can
tell how fight is going to spread
down there. Then some one struck ME
again and / was unconscious for a min
ute or two. Then 1 saw 1 was in the
alley. Ben was lying near senseless,
with his face all smashed. I felt sorry
for him. I had got him into the row
and I thought 1 ought TO get him
Strengthened out, so i took him 20 my
room. l gave him a couple of drinks
| when he came TO and took a couple my
self. I guess we both took more than
we should, or else fell unconscious, for
didn't know anything till the next
morning, when / saw him lying on the
floor. Then I washed the blood of his
face and he laughed and washed tho
blood of mine. That was the first time
a man had ever done anything ike that
for me. Neither Of rs had any money.
so I went out and borrowed some, and
got some more whisky and a loaf OF
bread and some hot"-pause-"frank-.
furters. We lived like that for two or
three days"
Here she paused and seemed to forget
whore she was. looking back across a
long distance She came to herself sud
denly, startled. went on in monotone.
"He got fever, delirium, more likely.
Well. kept him there. thought 1 was
foolish at the time, but it was the best
thing I ever did In my life. He was
all right in about a week or ten days;
the liquor was out OF him. Then
went under. He said he would get some
money. didn't think I'd ever see him
again, but he same back with money
I IA Of ma
! l was a wreck"
Here she stopped again and seemed to
see once more that day eight years be-
fore. IN the squalid Doyers street hovel
with the two outcasts helping each other
| to live. The courtroom was silent. Peo-
pie were straining their ears. Myra's
eyes were shining. wide open; she had
never heard a story like this-and about
her own father
''He wanted me TO go with him some
whore in the country, but I was afraid.
He asked me to trust him. must have
wished to go with him, anyhow. l went
with him to a little place near Shrub
Oak in Westchester The house belonged
to friend OF his, Franz Msidhon, a Ger
man, who was q wood carver"
Here the court was disturbed. Mrs
Farnham had calculated,
The witness looked at her wonderingly
and went on.
"He had his work sent 70 him from
New York. but he would do only enough
TO live on anu spent most OF his time
raising roses and reading uermaH poetry.
He and Ben were great friends Ben
worked on his invention in a shed where
he had a kiln and Maidhoff did his carv-
Ing in another, regular workshop The
old man was a"-pause-"philosoph
They would quit work any time to talk
about poetry and art. I couldn't under
stand them. When / got little stronger
l made up my mind to run away. I was
very fond Of Ben. l didn't want to get
too fond Of him. I knew how It would
hurt when he dropped me- I knew he
would drop me some time Maidhoff
caught me getting away and called Ben.
told him why ! was leaving. He
laughed and said, You're never going to
leave This is your home Maidhoff
Joined In, as long as you like you stay.
Then we two artists, Ben and me, we
don't have to cook, to clean, to mind the
house. All the time we talk about beau
tiful things and you work for US. How
you like that7'"
She smiled as she recalled that eve
ming. =
"Then one evening ten or twelve men
came TO the house and told Ben and
Maidhofr I would have to Ieave-that ii
was a public disgrace the way we were
living. l was frightened. l knew all
about tough men, thieves and bouncers.
I had never been afraid Of them, know
ing all l would get was a blow. but
those countrymen looked at me in the
doorway as though they would like to
destroy me at once. I was frightened
was going to say 1 would go away when
Ben steps forward and puts his arm
around me and says, Gentlemen I don't
like the way you're taking about my
wife. The sooner you get out of mere
the better They drew back a little, but
one Of them says, Show us your certi-
hcateP Ben says. Did you ever know
good woman to carry a certificate
around with herr How many Of your
wives have their certificate in their bags?'
They went on. l thought that was the
end. Ben says, we better get over to
| Peekskill, Millie, and get married. 1
told him not to be fooli1h, I'd make
funny kind of a wife but he saws 'I,ook