Evening star., 1926-10-31

- nc D-! " ~
On Wedns aday. November 81. Ire
triai Of what is possibly destined 20
be the mret famous OF American
murders will OPEN in the white court
house in he little town of Sonler,
vile. y. }.
Four years ago. on IA quite fall
evening in September. the chink was
found in the armour Of the ciyii!sed
rommuni;v oe New Brunswick.
Society in th1t f'ourisl.ng Industrial
town was most assure'ny based on
the Assumption that :rUT:ier would
not b" committed. The revolutions OF
the past :ntir years MAKO th;t+
ahundanrly clear. Thc i<ni:e that
struck so savag gely and III hlens!y thar
night reached more VIC i.n' tH2n the
terrified l,ttie cGo.i%incTr. !, cut
1,lrouc.? the garments o. :; h'!ndr2d
prctences. y hurd"nr conventions,
hundred h:-poclisie. ana e them eX'
posed, naked and ASHAMED. to
Mortified and cnthralled pno.:c.
Who in New Brunswick, hours
before that knife feH. dreamed OF
murder? Going pea1a3iy about their
business ia Wtu. o. laWleSS. tneH
dreams were surely OF life. not or
death. that was so terribly ana
strangely to change life for them.
Knife Skaters Dreams.
Henry carpenter. dreaming of
margins ana markets: Jane Gibson.
dreaming OF stolen corn and circus
DAYS; Pearl Bahmer. dreaming OF
forgotten Sunday School lesson. ana
RAYMOND Schneider's dark-circled,
insistent eyes; Willie Stevens, dream
ing of the radio he'd given the boys
at the fire-house: Ralph Grosilne.
dreaming of billiards. at the ~, ana a
dark lane: Frances Stevens Hail.
dreaming Of sunlight on Lake Hopa-
teong and the new picture puzzle
for the little niece who was coming
for supper: Eleanor Mills, stirring ana
turning to dream again of victrola
playing. THE Radiance of Your Eyes
-"crystal eyes," he called ther--and
a boat drifting with the wind-which
Of them. or of the hundred others
who lives were at its mercy. dream
ed of the knife that was about TO
fall? Surely not one Of them-sureiy
not one. Society is conducted on the
assumption a that murder will not De
committed Murder may touch
others-never US.
More than four years have passed
since that Fall evening when Eleanore
Mills. in her blue polka-dotted frock.
boarded the Easton avenue car that
was to take her to Buccleugh Fafk-
that was to take her farther still. She
was hurrying: there was no neea ot
haste. Her eager and impatlert tes'
nouId not bear her swiftly enough 10
accaDe the measured tread following
tod az hnr HVinU neeIS,
Four years have passed and many
things have changed in THAI civilized
community. The crab apple tree. DE
Russay lane, the Hall home-eVen
those who know intimately the groufu
on which they stand stare about De-
lvildered. saving: These are the sap
lings where the Pig Woman stood"
no. these-here, wait moment! Ven
ANYWAY. this is the lane down Wnlcn
Gorsline and Catherine Rastall parked
their car-or let's see-there uSeu I"
be a track just behind those nouse a.
narhans Well. there's the h1tS
in The ground that used to bo the
crab apple tree; no mistake '~s''
that"
Tree Still Casts Shadow.
No mistake about that-though
o,lv few feet off from the small
black cavity stands a freshly cut
stun,n and a scattered pile or DARK
twisted branches looking forlorn ana
s;nister enough to be the doomed Tree
itself and probably used as a supStl'
t,1ta for It by a baffled horde of soure.
nir hunters. loath to return unburdeneo
from their impious pilgrimage. Pleces
of the alleged crab apple tree "ete
actually hawked up and down brotu
wav. What endless resources ina.
opens up for someone WIN "h
and an untramelled conscience
bas gone now to join the ghost OF that
nthar fatal apple tree that spread us
IVA onches over a garden called Eden
hut n still casts it's shadow over tne
iittle clearing near De Russey iane'
changed almost beyond recognition
GRO the fields about 1t. where not SO
long ago romance wandered ana nor
ror moved. now tenanted by hoards
~ neat white boxes of houses. mud
diad under the far-f1ung protection OF
. gigantic sign stating that TINS is
nov "Pine Grove Manor A search
for nine. grove or manor Woulo De
fruitiess, but not much further tna1l
the proverbial stones throw from tne
back porch steps. where the 1reckie'
faced baby Is playing with rusty
black kitten, runs the red clay strip
named after the lovers that haunt
ed II.
Lovers Lane is not greatly changed
since the night that Jane Gibson rode
along it on her mule Jenny-a "spe-
Ciallv smart" animal that could Jump
higher than it's mistress's head and
whinnied at the approach OF any DAN
eerous obstacle. 1t still cuts, as on
the night that Gorsline backed his
car out Of ii, straight across the fields
that lie between De RuSsey lane and
the rear Of the Phillips farm. It
still runs close enough to the vanished
crab apple tree for one standing in it
to hear or see what took place under
it's shadow-unless one had hidden
sickened eyes or closed terrified ears.
Sign Warns Visitor.
Beyond the crab apple tree-per.
haps 7o feet beyond-stand the old
Philips farm itself. sinister. grim
and forbidding enough to form the
BACKGROUND for any horror. Outside
Of it now a gaunt and menacing dog
barks endlessly. and a sign nailed on
a tree warns a visitor as ominously
pc he TO come no farther. Accord.
ing to reporters tale In the New
York Herald of October 81. 1922. this,
too. is changed, and hardly Tor the
better.
when the bodies were discovered.
the Phillips farm was a model of
neatness inside. furniture and rugs
in place. floors and furniture spotless
and free from dust. as though the
family had just gone out for an hour
or two. Now. doors are battered
down. porch pillars tottering. win
dows broken. everything dirty. broken
and awry. Everything portable has
been carted off-brass candlesticks
and lamps. rugs. footstools. small
chairs and tables-and all over the
whole place torn bits Of paper and
magazines. They have even Clipped
away the ivory of the piano keys"
Mystery still clings thick about it
strange rumors persist of what il
sheltered. Orgies. gambling club. a
secret society-Levine, its owner
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