The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1927-01-31
Continued from Page u

NSpP1CA al JOu cAo q SCINalAl VI
the State; OF having, for private
gain--a bride paid to you--be
trayed vital matters which con
cerned the honor Of your country.
No words Of mine are needed
to express the contempt in which
your conduct must be held by
every decent man; conduct which
was aasqualid record of robbery.
treachery. and self-seeking.
Harsh Sentence
1.-THE decree of the court is
that you be sentenced to hard
labor for twelve years
Masterton was now ashy pale,
but ne bowed slightly and passed
down the dock stairs for the last
time.
A buzz Of comment broke out.
The Court began to empty Itself.
The curtain had been rung down
upon one of the most sensational
dramas that New York had ever
known.
Elijah P. Witt remained motion
less in his seat till almost all
the spectators had left the place.
HIS eyes were cold and hard. 1t
ha been one Of his rare failures,
he . a man not accustomed to
failL Outwardly he showed no
disappointment, perhaps he felt
none.
A Charming Girl
When the court was almost
clear he rose and passed out
slowly, supporting himself with a
stick, He knew the building wen.
and, avoiding the crowd at the
main doors, he made his exit by
a side corridor wAatcn at that mo
ment was empty save for a
solitary figure.
quietly yet very extensively
dressed-one OF those women with
a heaven-sent gift for carrying
her clothes well. Her figure was
charming, her face beautiful. but
at the moment little could be
seen Of it for it was obscured by
2 thick veil. There was some
thing forlori1 and pathetic about
her as she stood there.
No one, certainly not Witt him.
SELF. had quite so tense an inter-
est in the Masterron trial as this
girl. But she had not been able
to bring herself to attend the
court. She had arrived only a
few minutes before, and had lust
heard the result.
she recognized Witt, caught her
breath, and moved timidly to in
tercept him: her hand was raised
with a rather piteous gesture. as
Il pleading to speak with him.
her eyes glistened through the
veil.
The old man saw her, his Inns
frightened; he did not quicken his
pace but walked quietly by her,
his eyes hard as flint.
When he had gone by, the girl
put a hand against the wall as if
to support herself, and with a
stricken face watched him go.
Elijah Witt found himself in
the street.
Cynthia Knowles" he said.
Cynthia Knowles!''
There was a scarifyinS quality
In Wits voice at times. 1t was
Just as we'll the girl did not hear
what he added. He stumped
along the pavement, tapping with
his stick like a blind man.
His Firm Belief
In his heart. Witt pronounced
sentence upon Cynthia sen.
tence as memorable as the jury's
which had condemned Masterton
to Atlanta.
She might have saved him, had
she chosen to come forward and
tell all that she knew. That was
Elijah Wits judgment and con-
vietion. He did not make mis-
takes. The police made errors
sometimes, but not Elijah Witt.
Cowardice alone had held her
back. To save her reputation and
her name, she had kept silence.
y
All New York was ringing with
the news of the Masterton SEN
tence; twilight had fallen, and
the streets still echoed to the
cries IF newsboys: "Masterdon
guilty.
EXer9s Extra!
Many Of the papers had already
published their comments; one in
particular gave a pithy resume of
the case. which found much
favor and was being read in
clubs, trains and at street COR
ners, by those who had not found
tie to study the long-drawn-out
trial in detail:
THE MASTERToN SCANDAL
1T is strange that in every
decade there almost infaliibly
comes to the fore one, man who,
with gifts and powers so much
above the average that it would
seem the highest positions in the
land are within his reach provid-
ed he could run straight. yet ends
ignobly in penal servitude be.
cause of some queer kink in his
nature that sets him upon the
crooked path.
Robert Masterton started life
with every advantage save that
of wealth--the lack of it may
have been an added spur. He had
influential connections, though
these he did not need. His rec.
ord at college was remarkable, he
was called to the bar and made
early progress and a name for
himself, but abandoned the law
for a post with the State Depart.
ment. Here, during 10 years, he !
did such brilliant work that he