Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1922-02-24
Copyright, by Randall Parrish

/ staggered to my feet reeling a
finally found my way along the side
wall to the window. My strength in
creased as / advanced, and courage
was born with it was not dead;
might battle those villains yet. They
must have felt that / was safe enough
in this place; that, even If l regained
consciousness, no escape was possible,
for they had left no guard glance
without revealed the reason for such
confidence. l was four stories up,
sheer brick wall below, and, at the
bottom, concrete walk. There was
nothing between to cling to unless it
might be the narrow coping of stone
Just beneath the window sill. stared
at this, almost hopefully. for an in
stant; then turned my eyes away with
a shudder; it was scarcely as broad
as the sole of my shoe and to think
Of creeping along there was merely
the dream of madman. The bright
moonlight flooded everything about,
yet I saw nothing familiar; was evil
IDENTIFY at the back end of house,
with others closely set on either side,
and an alley, beyond small. enclosed
yard. This latter was Uttered with
dead weeds and rubbish Of every de-
scriptiOn, and small shed of some
kind extended across the rear. Three
stories below, but to the right, mar
row porch protected the back door.
There was no movement visible any
where, no CLEAN Of light from the
windows below me. listened in vain
for any sound; the night was as still
as death, not even the echo of a dis
tant street-car reaching my ear. was
somewhere within the limits of the
city; Of that felt assured, but be-
yOnd this could determine nothing.
stole as silently as possible across
to the door. 1t was securely locked, Of
course and could be forced open, If
at all, only by creating considerable
alarm. I stood, staring helplessly
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.
l was secretly obliged to admit that
fhQu ho6 Cnmo rooS01 t0 GO holiouo.
that they even possessed proof which
would probably convict her in court
Of the crime. This gave them a 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 INSCRIPTIONS crooks, her fate
might be death, disgrace. Certainly it
would be foul insult, and, If she failed
to 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 /
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 unconsciousness 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 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 feat made my
head reel giddily and my stomach rise
in protest. Besides, even If / made
it by some miracle, what If that other
window should be closed and locked?
How could I ever move backward to
regain safety2
Yet wait: there was way, danger
Gus enough to be sure, yet possible If
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. It was
daring, deadly venture, but possible.
But what could I hope to utilize as