Evening star., 1926-11-21

Still we see the restless eyes, the rest
less hands.
Still we hear that most moving and
painful voice, laboring, struggling,
failing. but held to it's purpose. Weak
as 1t was. 1t was stronger than these
little black words No printed record
ever attempts to give the irony that
charged the brief bitter laugh with
which she echoed Senator Cases
question, How many husbands?
Why, one, that I can remember"
Jane evidently did not go in much
for husbands. Out of the impressive
array of masculine names presented
for her inspection. she selected only
one, William Easton. and tagically,
for the only time in her examination,
she slipped, and slipped badly. on
the subject of her marriage. She said
frs that she was married in 1919
But after they had taken her pulse.
and shifted her pillow and put cold
cream on the stiff, dry lips. the court
informed Senator Case that she wish
ed to change her testimony.
Did / say 1919? Oh. that's fool
ish. l made a mistake. my boy is %,
it was 1900.
Did you who read that fragrant
contradiction hear the desperate eager
ness of her voice, striving to right that
mistake and perhaps another more an
cient one? Perjury is an ugly thing. If
they can prove that you lie they can
send you to Jail for it,
Sticks to Her Guns.
Jane Easton, fiat on her back. star
ring undaunted at the suave Senator
yr,hn bn1 l,;~
really difficult task of crOss-examining
this dying woman by adopting a bed,
side manner that many a fashionable
practitioner might covet, and then
asking questions in it that might well
give healthy athlete high fever,
stuck to her guns.
She was married No she didn't re.
member where. Somewhere in New
Jersey. No, she hadn't ever been mar
ried to any one else. not even to. Fred
erick Kesselring i'm Paterson, N. j.,
nor had he obtained q divorce from
her for adultery.
The jury emerged from the stupOr
that 1t had succumbed to at first sight
OF the cot long enough to register
shock. Adultery was word safely con-
fined between the covers Of the Bible
like the little black one that Jane
Easton had used to swear that she
would tell the whole truth, and Jane
Easton, rolling her head to and fro
on the pillows. met the attacks square
ly with a denial. No, Mr.. Kesselring
was married man with baby. They
were mixing her up with some one
else. Nor did she remember Harry
Ray. No. Nor "Stumpy" Gillon. In
spite of her sturdy denials, it seemed
to some that for a moment the little
empty space before the jury was filled
with group Of shadowy figures.
Harry Ray, In a bowler hat. twirling
silky black moustache; Freddy kes.
selring, tapping vanished boots with
silver-headed cane; Stumpy Gillian,
fixing the horseshoe pin more firmly
in his scarlet tie with shrug of heavy
shoulders under black and white
checked coat. They lowered for a
moment. bending reproachful eyes on
the wasted figure on the narrow cot
and were gone. Looking at the un
flnching eyes of the woman to whom
this cry was directed, we reined up
sharply in our enthusiasm.
Thoughts Turn to Widow.
Frances Stevens Hall has, in spite
of rumor and report, sensitive face
Many who watch it daily will deny
this. 1t seems to us it is undenia BILE
The quiet face under the black hat
seems to be forever concealing some
profound and secret revolt.
Intuition is apparently a broken
reed to lean on. Intuition, watching
Frances Hall. murmurs, this story
that Jane Easton is telling is impos
sible.' And turning to the broken fig
ure on the cot it adds despairingly
but it is impossible that she is tell
ing story
The principal points in it's favor
seem to he an extraordinary plausi
bility as to detail and total lack O.
motivation for swearing away lives OF
four innocent people. There remain
the alternatives that she may be mis-
taken or unbalanced. 1t does not
seem likely, however. that a shaker
mind would have supplied those ma gi,
touches-the thieves in the corn, the
creaking wagon. the headlights b,
which she saw the white woman ant
the cOlored man, the voice saying
"Oh, Henry, easy, very easy; the two
cedar saplings. the lost moccasin, the
sound that she thought was screecf
owl and the two things under the crab
apple tree that she thought were
shadows of trees.
If these are invented they are
touches of genius. Some of US are
beginning to believe that a hundred
years from now no one will know how
Eleanor Mills and Edward Hall died
We rather like to believe that, because
then we won't have to listen to 5000
people say. Il told you So" And thi.
we do know, that the incident tha
moved, us most on that frenzied day
was a very minor one.
Denies Picture Is Hers.
Senator Simpson sat at the foot OF
the bud. brooding and silent. a small
sardonic, slightly Mephistophelian n
guardian angel, and suddenly he lift.
ed his head alertly. Case was holdine
out to her letter with huge, fam
boyant letter head, all gilt and black
In the center Of an ornate oval wa:
the picture of a gay. handsome girl
with huge puff sleeves and bold eyes
Over it was inscribed. Anna King
sWeet-voiced singer"
Jane Easton took it in her fingers
For a moment it seemed that she hard
ly heard his voice. isn't that youl
picture?" who is that?" he asked
in a voice hardly above a whisper. %
Ezzzzzz2zzzZz2ZzzZ ZZzzZZzzZzZZZZzZ