1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,639 Speaker 1: The abandoned house one. The blinding rain, which had been 2 00:00:04,679 --> 00:00:08,240 steadily falling for the last hour, cut and stung our faces, 3 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,519 and the wind, wheezing through the trees about us, rocked 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,080 our little car until it made progress almost impossible. An 5 00:00:15,119 --> 00:00:18,399 illuminating streak of lightning, followed by a deafening crash of 6 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,839 thunder caused me to cower down in the seat and 7 00:00:20,879 --> 00:00:24,359 cover my ears with my hands. Well, here's our finish, 8 00:00:24,679 --> 00:00:27,640 exclaimed my brother, who had valiantly striven to pilot the 9 00:00:27,679 --> 00:00:30,760 machine in the storm. There's a tree lying directly across 10 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:31,160 the road. 11 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:32,039 Speaker 2: He brought the. 12 00:00:32,039 --> 00:00:34,759 Speaker 1: Car to a standstill and turned a spotlight on the 13 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:37,880 dark object blocking our path. It was a huge tree, 14 00:00:38,039 --> 00:00:40,719 evidently stricken down by the lightning, and it covered the 15 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:41,439 entire road. 16 00:00:42,119 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 2: What on earth are we going to do? I sobbed hysterically. 17 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:48,759 Speaker 1: We can't stay atless storm like this, and we're miles 18 00:00:48,759 --> 00:00:52,640 and miles away from anyone. We had been steadily climbing 19 00:00:52,679 --> 00:00:55,479 an upward grade, and the cavern like ravines on either 20 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,359 side and the depths of blackness behind me struck a 21 00:00:58,439 --> 00:01:00,719 chill in my heart. I wish which we'd never come 22 00:01:00,759 --> 00:01:03,880 out on this crazy motor trip, I wailed, New York 23 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:04,799 is good enough for me. 24 00:01:05,079 --> 00:01:06,079 Speaker 2: Alan, what can we do? 25 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,439 Speaker 1: I'll see, he answered, Keep your hand on the brake. 26 00:01:09,519 --> 00:01:11,840 This is a pretty stiff hill and the road is slippery. 27 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:14,760 If the car starts skidding, it's good night. He spoke 28 00:01:14,879 --> 00:01:18,200 jocularly enough, but I knew he was worried. Climbing out 29 00:01:18,239 --> 00:01:20,719 of the machine, he went around to the big supine 30 00:01:20,719 --> 00:01:23,799 tree and examined it. It's no use now, he called 31 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,200 to me, pitching his voice above the roar of the wind. 32 00:01:26,439 --> 00:01:29,599 I can't budget. In the brief light caused by a 33 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,799 second flash of lightning, I saw the stark, bare outlines 34 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,760 of a two story house, possibly a hundred feet ahead 35 00:01:35,799 --> 00:01:38,599 of us. On my right, Alan, there's a house, a 36 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:40,000 house up there, further. 37 00:01:39,799 --> 00:01:41,519 Speaker 2: On the hill, I cried wildly. 38 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:44,719 Speaker 1: You're right there is. It's either an empty one or 39 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:45,400 its occupants. 40 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 2: Hit the hay early. 41 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: I'll pull the car out onto the side of the 42 00:01:48,439 --> 00:01:50,680 road and we'll make a run for it. He got 43 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,400 back into his car, and with a few careful maneuvers 44 00:01:53,439 --> 00:01:56,280 of the wheel, succeeded in bringing the machine around to 45 00:01:56,319 --> 00:01:59,079 a spot where it might stand in safety. Then he 46 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,680 searched in the dark until he found a rock, which 47 00:02:01,719 --> 00:02:04,400 he placed under the wheel in case something should start 48 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,719 it rolling down grade. Turn up your collar. The rain 49 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,080 feels like ice water when you're out in it. The 50 00:02:10,159 --> 00:02:13,960 house is probably farther off than it looks. Taking my hand, 51 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,639 he helped me out. My feet went into deep mud 52 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:19,560 and I almost lost my balance with a little shriek. 53 00:02:19,599 --> 00:02:22,759 I clutched him to save myself. Then we started to run. 54 00:02:23,319 --> 00:02:25,800 It was uphill all the way, a much steeper and 55 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,159 longer climb than I had anticipated, and as Alan had said, 56 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:31,759 the rain was like ice water, beating against the back 57 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,960 of my neck and shoulders. I was shaking and shivering 58 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:36,960 like a drowned cat. By the time we reached the 59 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,680 stoop on the front of the building. The house was 60 00:02:39,719 --> 00:02:42,439 barren a fence and surrounding trees, and stood on a 61 00:02:42,479 --> 00:02:44,919 sort of null at the side of the hills. No 62 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,800 light was visible anywhere. Alan used his pocket flash and 63 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,560 that guided us to the front door, which was swinging 64 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:54,759 dismally back and forth on one hinge, making a doleful 65 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,439 creaking noise distinguishable above the wind. 66 00:02:57,960 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 2: We did not stop to. 67 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: Knock, feeling pretty certain the house had no occupant. Or 68 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:04,039 the door would be locked on a night like this 69 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,520 for such shelter, let us give thanks Allan chuckled grimly, 70 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:11,719 pushing me in first. He closed the door after us 71 00:03:11,759 --> 00:03:14,680 to shut out the rain, but it immediately swung open again. 72 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,240 We found ourselves in a long, wide hall which evidently 73 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,479 divided the house through the center. At the extreme end 74 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,599 was an old fashioned staircase with banisters. The floors creaked 75 00:03:25,599 --> 00:03:27,879 and gave with the weight of our bodies as we walked, 76 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,080 and I fancied a rat scurried across my foot. There 77 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:33,680 was an odor of mustiness and damp about the place, 78 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,919 as though it had not been occupied for years. There 79 00:03:36,919 --> 00:03:40,199 were no furnishings of any kind, no blinds to the windows, 80 00:03:40,479 --> 00:03:43,000 and most of the panes of glass were missing. But 81 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,240 even in the dim light that Alan's spot afforded, we 82 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,319 could see that it had an old time elegance. Probably 83 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,400 at one time, monstrous log fires had burnt in the 84 00:03:52,439 --> 00:03:55,479 massive brick fireplaces at the end of the two rooms 85 00:03:55,599 --> 00:03:59,080 opening off the separating hallway. The woodwork appeared to be 86 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,120 of black walnut. The floors unquestionably had been highly polished, 87 00:04:03,319 --> 00:04:06,240 though now they were worn and earth stained. The ceilings 88 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:08,879 were falling, and the wall paper hung in great strips 89 00:04:08,879 --> 00:04:12,479 from the plastering. A more uninviting place could not be imagined. 90 00:04:12,919 --> 00:04:15,840 I clung to Alan's arm, half afraid to venture farther. 91 00:04:16,319 --> 00:04:19,920 I'm awfully cold, I whimpered, through chattering teeth. Do you 92 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,720 suppose there's a stove in the kitchen? Maybe we can 93 00:04:22,759 --> 00:04:24,920 find some paper and start a fire if there is. 94 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:27,600 Alan did not answer, but led the way to the 95 00:04:27,639 --> 00:04:31,040 back of the house before some swinging doors. He hesitated 96 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,319 a second, then flung them open and entered. 97 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 2: I followed. 98 00:04:34,439 --> 00:04:37,399 Speaker 1: It was an old fashioned, brick floored kitchen. In one 99 00:04:37,399 --> 00:04:41,079 corner stood a battered, rust covered coal range. The chimney 100 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,439 was disconnected, and part of it lay on the floor 101 00:04:43,519 --> 00:04:46,600 before the open oven. Piles of old rags and broken 102 00:04:46,639 --> 00:04:49,160 bits of twigs and newspaper filled a box near it. 103 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,959 Alan thrust the spotlight into my hand and pounced upon 104 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,519 the debray. In a little while he had a fire 105 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,279 burning in the old stove, and the kitchen was filled 106 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,639 with sooty smoke and blessed warm. I stripped off my 107 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,199 soggy motor coat and flung it across the box to 108 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:08,120 dry out. Alan removed his coat and did likewise. Now, 109 00:05:08,399 --> 00:05:10,759 if I just had a cup of coffee in a sandwich, 110 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:13,959 I wouldn't be at all unhappy, I said, forget it. 111 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,319 Speaker 2: He laughed, nothin doin. It's a lucky thing for us. 112 00:05:17,439 --> 00:05:18,839 This old barn is well built. 113 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,639 Speaker 1: If it wasn't, I could see visions of that wind 114 00:05:21,759 --> 00:05:24,399 lifting it off its pins and tossing it down into 115 00:05:24,399 --> 00:05:28,399 the cavern. I shuddered, Let's not think about it. The 116 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,120 car may not even be there in the morning. To 117 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:33,839 kill time and to get our minds off the storm outside, 118 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,439 I suggested that we rummage around a bit and see 119 00:05:36,439 --> 00:05:39,680 what the place was like upstairs. As we stepped into 120 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:42,519 the long open hallway, a gust of wind whipped through 121 00:05:42,519 --> 00:05:45,399 the swinging door and carried with it a perfect torrent 122 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,680 of rain that made little puddles at our feet. Fearfully, 123 00:05:48,759 --> 00:05:51,600 I followed Alan up the long, broad flight of stairs, 124 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,519 feeling that uncanny something that is so often present in 125 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,399 an old, unused house. I half expected some specter of 126 00:05:59,439 --> 00:06:03,000 the past reach out and lay clammy unearthly hands upon me, 127 00:06:03,319 --> 00:06:06,079 or a shadowy something to greet us on the landing, 128 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,279 where we paused and looked about there were six doors 129 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,639 leading off of the corridor, all exactly alike, with the 130 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,160 exception of one. They were slightly ajar. The sixth appeared 131 00:06:16,199 --> 00:06:20,240 to be locked. Curiosity prompted me to go toward it. First, 132 00:06:20,639 --> 00:06:23,560 the knob turned in my hand, but the door stayed close. 133 00:06:24,199 --> 00:06:27,560 Bluebeard's den laughed, Alan, take care that you are on 134 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:33,319 another ann It's locked, obviously, I wonder why, possibly for 135 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:35,759 the same reason that all the others aren't. The owner 136 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:37,959 when he left the place didn't take the trouble to 137 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,319 unlock it. I twisted and turned the knob, trying to 138 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,959 force an entrance, but the lock held in spite of 139 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,800 its age and rustiness. Alan laughed at my efforts. Then 140 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:49,879 he pushed open the door to his right, which was 141 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,959 slightly ajar. His exclamation of surprise called my attention from 142 00:06:53,959 --> 00:06:54,759 the bolted door. 143 00:06:55,319 --> 00:06:55,879 Speaker 2: What is it? 144 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: I gasped by George, Now look here two. I followed 145 00:07:01,319 --> 00:07:04,160 him into the room. My surprise equaled his own at 146 00:07:04,199 --> 00:07:07,519 what I saw. In direct contrast to the barrenness of 147 00:07:07,519 --> 00:07:11,079 the rooms below, this one was beautifully furnished, with rich 148 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,720 draperies covering the crumbling walls and rugs upon the floor. 149 00:07:15,079 --> 00:07:18,319 The furniture was evidently new, and, though a trifle gaudy, 150 00:07:18,519 --> 00:07:21,959 not without taste. A table in the center of the room, 151 00:07:22,079 --> 00:07:25,639 covered with a damask cloth, china and silver, was spread 152 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:27,959 as though for a meal. There was a half emptied 153 00:07:27,959 --> 00:07:31,480 bottle of wine and two glasses, one glass still contained 154 00:07:31,519 --> 00:07:34,199 the liquor. Even a loaf of bread and some cold 155 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,560 cuts and salad remained. An open lunch kit rested in 156 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,920 a chair near the table. I looked at Alan in amazement. 157 00:07:41,199 --> 00:07:44,680 He gave me a glance of equal astonishment. I don't 158 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,800 quite understand it, he murmured. Do you suppose it is 159 00:07:47,879 --> 00:07:51,319 possible that someone lives here? I shook my head, with 160 00:07:51,399 --> 00:07:53,839 the whole lower floor going to rack and ruin and 161 00:07:53,959 --> 00:07:58,240 overrun with rats. No, it isn't possible. Now this bread 162 00:07:58,279 --> 00:08:01,000 is soft. He lifted the loaf and thrust his finger 163 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,600 into the crust. Then he glanced half apprehensively over his 164 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:07,839 shoulder at some velvet draperies which covered the double doors. 165 00:08:08,519 --> 00:08:11,920 I don't know why, but I shivered, judging from their juxtaposition. 166 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,680 Those doors led into the room, which was bolted from 167 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,720 the hallway. Alan lowered his voice as he spoke, someone 168 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,079 is either in this house, or has been here but 169 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,519 a short time ago. He said, this food is fresh. 170 00:08:24,639 --> 00:08:27,319 For some reason, it's not been eaten. I gave a 171 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,519 little cry, half of protest, half of fear, as he 172 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,679 parted the draperies and drew back the heavy paneled doors 173 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,480 behind them. Then I cried out in horror. Lying across 174 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,320 the canopied bed was a man in evening clothes. It 175 00:08:40,399 --> 00:08:43,480 needed no second glance, even in the small light. Allan's 176 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,279 spot afforded to show us that he was dead, that 177 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,240 either suicide or murder had caused his death. For on 178 00:08:49,279 --> 00:08:52,360 the white bosom of his shirt was a hideous red spot, 179 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:55,080 and the blue satin and lace of the bedspread was 180 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,720 stained with blood. My god, Alan whispered hoarsely, as if 181 00:08:59,759 --> 00:09:03,200 dick accentuate the gruesomeness of the picture and its surroundings. 182 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:06,600 A streak of lightning flashed directly upon that supine figure 183 00:09:06,639 --> 00:09:09,360 on the bed. The burst of thunder which followed seemed 184 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,799 to rend the sky into the wind, careening madly around 185 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,759 the house rocked and banged the shutters of the one window. 186 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:18,159 Let's try to go on. 187 00:09:18,519 --> 00:09:21,279 Speaker 2: I sobbed. This is awful. I can't stand it. 188 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 1: Here like this it looks like murder, he muttered. Seemingly 189 00:09:25,919 --> 00:09:29,039 compelled against his will, he advanced towards the bed. I 190 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,600 watched him in fascination as he let his light play 191 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,519 upon the features of the man lying there. Then, more 192 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:37,320 fearful of the shadows behind me and the blackness of 193 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,879 the room we had left, than of dead, I crept 194 00:09:39,879 --> 00:09:44,480 close to him. Almost of one accord, we exclaimed Judge McPherson, 195 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,360 a tall, lean man with reddish gray hair, a trifle long, 196 00:09:48,759 --> 00:09:52,200 a sandy beard, and no mustache, keen, cruel eyes with 197 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,840 crisscross wrinkles about them. McPherson in life was a man 198 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,000 not easily forgotten, if once known, and not to be 199 00:09:59,039 --> 00:10:02,639 mistaken for anyone else, even in death. The man stretched 200 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:06,639 out before us was unquestionably Judge Macpherson. Then, too, I 201 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:10,240 recognized an unusual sapphire and diamond ring on his finger, 202 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:12,679 which I had admired at a dinner party not a 203 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,919 month before. It is murder, Alan said, he hasn't been 204 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,399 robbed either. I wonder if there's a telephone here, why 205 00:10:20,879 --> 00:10:23,759 to call up the police? Of course there isn't any 206 00:10:23,799 --> 00:10:26,840 I'm sure of it. I was right, though the two 207 00:10:26,919 --> 00:10:29,559 rooms we had just entered, were furnished and appeared to 208 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,440 have been recently occupied. All the others were in the 209 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,080 same state of decay as the lower floor. There was 210 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,320 no telephone in any of them. After a while, Alan 211 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,480 closed the double doors and drew the velvet hangings. Then, silently, 212 00:10:42,639 --> 00:10:46,240 dazed and horror stricken, we retraced our steps to the kitchen. 213 00:10:46,639 --> 00:10:48,879 The fire we had built at least had life and 214 00:10:48,919 --> 00:10:51,440 a certain cheerfulness, and the horror of the thing we 215 00:10:51,519 --> 00:10:54,200 had discovered made it impossible for us to stay in 216 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,399 the furnished rooms upstairs. We can't go on tonight, he said. 217 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,120 With daylight we may find a dear but we can't 218 00:11:01,159 --> 00:11:03,480 risk it. In the dark, we don't know how close 219 00:11:03,519 --> 00:11:06,039 the road is to the edge of the ravine. I 220 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,279 could not banish the picture of the dead man lying upstairs, 221 00:11:09,399 --> 00:11:12,679 weltering in his own blood, amidst all the garish luxury 222 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,679 of velvets and satin, with the uneaten meal spread so 223 00:11:15,799 --> 00:11:18,240 near to him. Such a short time ago he had 224 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,919 sat at the same table with us, a genial host, 225 00:11:21,159 --> 00:11:23,919 though a bit sardonic in his humor. Knowing him to 226 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,080 have been a hard, cruel administrator of justice, I never 227 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:30,200 doubted for an instant that he had been murdered. Alan, 228 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,399 I whispered, half fearful of being overheard by ears forever deafened. 229 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,559 Who do you suppose killed him? He shook his head. 230 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,159 Any one of a hundred people might desire his death. 231 00:11:40,399 --> 00:11:44,440 Revenge is unquestionably the motive behind it. As he spoke, 232 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:46,960 his eyes widened, and I noted a quick intake of 233 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,240 his breath. Then I saw what had caused this. My 234 00:11:50,399 --> 00:11:52,840 motor coat, which I had left to dry, was gone, 235 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,639 though his still remained where he had placed it. Someone's 236 00:11:56,679 --> 00:12:00,039 in this house, I cried hoarsely. Yes, the purse w 237 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:01,720 who killed mac Pherson is still here. 238 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 2: What are you going to do? 239 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 1: I wailed, as he turned abruptly and started to leave 240 00:12:06,399 --> 00:12:11,159 the kitchen search for him. He answered grimly, but you're unarmed. 241 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,039 A man desperate enough to commit murder wouldn't hesitate to 242 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,720 kill you. Then a peculiar sound came to us above 243 00:12:17,759 --> 00:12:19,840 the roaring of the wind and the drip of the rain. 244 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,600 Unquestionably it was the buzz of a motor We ran 245 00:12:23,639 --> 00:12:26,360 to the window, and, regardless of the drenching we received, 246 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:29,480 the instant it was opened, we peered out into the darkness. 247 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:33,720 At first we saw nothing. Then darker against the dark sky, 248 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,279 we distinguished the outline of another building, not so large 249 00:12:37,279 --> 00:12:39,360 as the house we were in, but beyond doubt a 250 00:12:39,399 --> 00:12:43,039 big barn. Our man is in there, said Allan. He 251 00:12:43,159 --> 00:12:45,080 was in the house when we arrived, and beat it 252 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:47,600 to the barn while we were upstairs. He is a 253 00:12:47,639 --> 00:12:51,440 car out there. That's the engine we heard. Don't go out, Alan, 254 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:54,639 don't go out there. But my protests were in vain. 255 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,879 A door opened from the kitchen to a summer porch 256 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,720 and a path which led to the barn. Almost before 257 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:02,840 the words were out of my mouth, he darted through 258 00:13:02,879 --> 00:13:05,879 this stoor and out into the storm. There was nothing 259 00:13:05,919 --> 00:13:08,360 for me to do but follow. I felt I would 260 00:13:08,399 --> 00:13:10,879 rather face a live murderer than stay alone in that 261 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,559 great house with his dead victim. Before we reached the barn, 262 00:13:14,639 --> 00:13:17,960 a car, which by its long, low outlines was just 263 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,840 distinguishable in the darkness, swung out into the road before us. 264 00:13:22,399 --> 00:13:25,200 Its lamps were unlighted, and we could not see its occupant. 265 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,200 Alan called out commandingly, with a bravery which was foolhardy 266 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:33,200 to an extreme stop, Stop where you are. The car 267 00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:36,879 came towards us. The engine sputtered. The machine swerved a little, 268 00:13:36,879 --> 00:13:39,840 as though driven by a drunken person or someone unused 269 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,159 to handling a wheel. Alan gave his command again, then 270 00:13:43,279 --> 00:13:46,440 deliberately stepped into the pathway. The car came to an 271 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,799 abrupt stop. You can't go on tonight, Alan said, the 272 00:13:49,919 --> 00:13:52,120 road is blocked, and whoever you are, you'd be a 273 00:13:52,159 --> 00:13:55,120 fool to attempt it in this storm. The person at 274 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:58,000 the wheel did not reply, but instead swung the car 275 00:13:58,039 --> 00:13:59,440 around and returned to the barn. 276 00:14:00,039 --> 00:14:00,399 Speaker 2: Followed. 277 00:14:01,159 --> 00:14:03,399 Speaker 1: As we reached a doorway, a sudden gleam of light 278 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:07,000 illuminated the passage. It came from a kerosene lantern held 279 00:14:07,039 --> 00:14:09,519 by a figure in a motor coat, which I recognized 280 00:14:09,519 --> 00:14:13,960 as my own, a small, unquestionably feminine figure. I'll go 281 00:14:14,039 --> 00:14:16,759 back to the house with you, she said, After all, 282 00:14:16,799 --> 00:14:19,799 what difference does it make? The woman who stood there, 283 00:14:19,799 --> 00:14:22,600 holding the lantern above her head was the most tragically 284 00:14:22,639 --> 00:14:25,679 beautiful creature I had ever seen. She did not appear 285 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,840 to be very young, possibly she was in her later thirties, 286 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,360 but her small, almost childish stature gave her the appearance 287 00:14:32,399 --> 00:14:36,159 of extreme youth. Great dark eyes, burnt in a small, ashen, 288 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:40,320 pale face, whose pallor was accentuated by her vivid scarlet mouth. 289 00:14:40,679 --> 00:14:43,960 Masses of blue black hair tumbled about her shoulders and 290 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,039 onto the leather collar of my coat. Evidently the coat 291 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,960 had been hastily donned, for it wasn't fastened and exposed 292 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,799 to view the shimmery satin of an evening gown she wore. 293 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,440 In a brief glance, I noted her sodden silver shoes 294 00:14:57,559 --> 00:15:00,080 and the mud stained ham of her gown. This the 295 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,759 overlace which bordered it was mud stained and spattered with blood. 296 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:06,919 A ponge cloak which she had evidently used to motor 297 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,399 en lay a drenched and soggy mass on the seat 298 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,600 of the roadster. For a strained moment, we stared at 299 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:17,120 each other, the fragile, infinitely pathetic woman facing Alan and myself. 300 00:15:17,559 --> 00:15:20,279 Then she swayed, as if about to fall. I started 301 00:15:20,279 --> 00:15:22,600 toward her, but she straightened up bravely and gave a 302 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,840 little laugh. It isn't very pleasant out here, she said, 303 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:31,120 in a musical voice. The house is a trifle better. Silently, 304 00:15:31,159 --> 00:15:34,360 we trudged back through the overgrown grass and weeds, our 305 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,879 feet sinking deep into the spongy ground. Alan relieved her 306 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,480 of the lantern and lighted us into the house. I 307 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,679 I'll return your coat to you, she said, in a 308 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,480 half apologetic tone, going towards the stove, which still glowed 309 00:15:47,519 --> 00:15:50,519 red and cheerful from the fire Alan had built. I 310 00:15:50,559 --> 00:15:53,039 shan't need it now. I really didn't mean. 311 00:15:52,919 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 2: To steal it. 312 00:15:53,919 --> 00:15:57,679 Speaker 1: I hoped to return it somehow, someway. I was desperate 313 00:15:58,279 --> 00:16:00,799 as we were silent. She choked, and then, with an 314 00:16:00,799 --> 00:16:04,440 air of bravado, continued, I'm sorry I cannot offer you 315 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,639 any better hospitality. But a wave of a very thin 316 00:16:07,679 --> 00:16:11,320 white hand expressed more than words could have done offer 317 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:16,879 us any better hospitality, Alan repeated dumbly after her. Yes, 318 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,960 this is my home, but it isn't the same as 319 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,960 it was when I lived here. I don't quite understand, 320 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:29,240 I stammered three. A thin white line settled about Alan's 321 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,000 rigid mouth. I knew he was wondering what connection the beautiful, 322 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,440 pallid woman had with the dead man lying upstairs, if 323 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,200 she had herself killed him, or if she even knew 324 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,480 of his existence. She seemed to sense what I did, 325 00:16:42,679 --> 00:16:45,519 for the half born smile on her lips faded. The 326 00:16:45,639 --> 00:16:49,679 dark eyes became darker, if possible, as they widened. Her 327 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,200 hands fluttered upward, then dropped helplessly to the side of 328 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,960 her orchid colored gown. Yes, she said, dully, as if 329 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,799 in reply to a question, I killed him. I was 330 00:16:59,799 --> 00:17:02,000 in the closet up stairs when you went into the 331 00:17:02,039 --> 00:17:04,599 other room. While you were in there, I stole out 332 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:06,880 through the door I had locked on the inside, and 333 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,680 down the stairs. I took your cloak and I ran 334 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:12,359 out to the stable. I was going to drive away 335 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,559 when you called me back. Perhaps it is just as 336 00:17:15,559 --> 00:17:18,880 well you did. It doesn't matter much one way or another. 337 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:23,400 You killed Judge mac Pherson. I gasped, Why you knew 338 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,680 him very well? An enigmatical smile played about her lips, 339 00:17:27,799 --> 00:17:31,599 full and softly rounded like a child's. That smile held 340 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,440 a world of wisdom and tragedy. In a moment's flicker. 341 00:17:34,839 --> 00:17:37,960 It made her face strangely old and careworn. In the 342 00:17:38,039 --> 00:17:40,799 light of the oil lamp, I suddenly seemed to be 343 00:17:40,839 --> 00:17:43,599 looking at the remnants of a once beautiful woman, at 344 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,839 a battered and bruised soul, not at the woman herself. 345 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:50,359 I wondered just how well you knew him? She said, 346 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,880 as though to herself, not as well as I did. 347 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,920 At any rate, he was your lover, Alan asked. We 348 00:17:57,039 --> 00:18:00,599 lowered our voices as if taking our key from her. Curiously, 349 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,160 I felt more of an interest in the woman herself 350 00:18:03,519 --> 00:18:06,240 than the fact that she had killed Judge McPherson. She 351 00:18:06,279 --> 00:18:08,880 shook her head in replied to Alan's question, and her 352 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,720 lips curled scornfully. After a little she said, would you 353 00:18:13,319 --> 00:18:15,960 like to have me tell you all about it? Somehow 354 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:17,920 I feel as if I should be relieved if I 355 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:22,920 did so. I'm really very unnerved and shaken. After all, 356 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,720 it's a terrible thing to take a human life, to 357 00:18:25,839 --> 00:18:28,599 watch a soul leave a man's body, even though you 358 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,400 know that man to be a reptile and deserving of 359 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,400 more than one death. I shan't speak when I'm arrested. 360 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:36,680 They can do as they like with me, but I'll 361 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,880 not have the newspapers and their ravenous readers gloating over 362 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,119 my miserable downfall. You do not know who I am, 363 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,559 nor do I know you. We shall never meet again, 364 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,960 and something tells me that when morning comes, you will 365 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,400 allow me to go my way and you will go another. 366 00:18:51,519 --> 00:18:54,440 So I should like you to know the truth. She 367 00:18:54,599 --> 00:18:57,880 was strangely calm, only the pallid whiteness of her face 368 00:18:58,039 --> 00:19:00,680 and a glitter to her dark eyes any of the 369 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:04,000 tumults seething within her. Alan and I both hung upon 370 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,839 her words. Somehow it seemed unnecessary for us to talk. 371 00:19:08,559 --> 00:19:11,720 She shivered without a word. Alan pulled the box on 372 00:19:11,759 --> 00:19:14,519 which he had flung his coat nearer the fire, and 373 00:19:14,559 --> 00:19:17,359 half assisted her to sit upon it. Shall I go 374 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,599 upstairs and fetch you a chair? He said, no, no, 375 00:19:20,839 --> 00:19:24,200 oh no. For one instant she lost control of herself. 376 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,920 The next moment she was as calm and restrained as 377 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:31,039 a society matron serving tea. Alan and I seated ourselves 378 00:19:31,039 --> 00:19:33,359 on the floor at her feet. The thunder and lightning 379 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,079 had ceased, and but for the steady, dripped drip of 380 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:39,400 the rain, the night was placid and quiet. For a 381 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,319 long time, it seemed to my overwrought nerves. The woman 382 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:45,279 sat there with her hands clasped loosely in her lap, 383 00:19:45,519 --> 00:19:48,279 her great eyes staring at a red glowing spot on 384 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:51,880 the old stove. Once or twice she glanced apprehensively over 385 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,480 her shoulder, as though she expected the man she had 386 00:19:54,519 --> 00:19:58,559 slain to appear in the doorway behind her. I was 387 00:19:58,759 --> 00:20:02,680 born here, reared here, and married in this house, she said, 388 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:05,440 At last, my little boy was born here. 389 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:07,759 Speaker 2: It was a beautiful old house. 390 00:20:07,519 --> 00:20:10,559 Speaker 1: Then, seeing it now, you can scarcely realize what it 391 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,160 was in those days when I was a girl. It 392 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,279 used to be full of young people, laughing, dancing and 393 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:20,480 enjoying life. We had husking bees in the barn, Halloween parties, 394 00:20:20,599 --> 00:20:24,720 dances in the winter, sleigh rides and Christmas trees. Many's 395 00:20:24,799 --> 00:20:27,160 the time I've coasted down that long hill and landed 396 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,039 in a heap at the bottom. Then I married a 397 00:20:30,079 --> 00:20:33,519 man I adored. He worshiped me, He placed me on 398 00:20:33,559 --> 00:20:37,000 a pedestal as something just a little more than mortal. 399 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,160 He was an intensely religious man, perhaps a trifle austere. 400 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:45,559 But because I loved society, young company, we continued to 401 00:20:45,599 --> 00:20:48,880 fill the home with guests. There was never a shadowy 402 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,440 corner in the house like there is now. The lights 403 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,960 were always bright, There were always laughing voices to be 404 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,920 heard in music. She spoke very slowly and in almost 405 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,119 pedantic fashion, as though choosing her words and a bit 406 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,160 uncertain of them. It was as though she were speaking 407 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:09,000 a tongue not quite familiar to her. When my little 408 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,319 boy was born, both my husband and myself were overjoyed. 409 00:21:12,759 --> 00:21:15,279 Even the fact that he was a fragile little fellow 410 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,480 did not drown our happiness. For a year, we battled 411 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:21,400 to keep him alive. Then he began to grow sturdy 412 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,759 and rosy, like the other children who came with their 413 00:21:23,799 --> 00:21:27,400 parents to visit us. About that time, my husband became 414 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:31,359 very absorbed in this profession. He was compiling a historical 415 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:35,200 volume of intense interest to himself. Because I was lonesome, 416 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:37,440 I used to go into the city quite often to 417 00:21:37,519 --> 00:21:41,319 the theater, generally to matinees, and come back at dinner time. 418 00:21:41,839 --> 00:21:44,680 Several times I went later in the day and remained overnight. 419 00:21:45,559 --> 00:21:46,079 Speaker 2: I did not. 420 00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:48,599 Speaker 1: Realize then that he was jealous of me, that he 421 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,319 was suspicious, if only he had said something to me, 422 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,920 but he never did until too late. I was very 423 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:59,759 innocent in those days, principally because I did not wish 424 00:21:59,759 --> 00:22:03,279 to disturb him or impose upon my friends. The few 425 00:22:03,319 --> 00:22:05,799 times I remained overnight in the city, I stayed in 426 00:22:05,839 --> 00:22:09,079 a small hotel, walking to and from the theater alone. 427 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,519 Imagine my horror when one night, as I turned to 428 00:22:12,559 --> 00:22:14,519 the corner to go to the hotel, which was in 429 00:22:14,559 --> 00:22:17,559 a side street. A man put his hand on my shoulder, 430 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,920 and before I could make any protest, informed me that 431 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,640 I was under arrest. Two dazed in bewildered to demand 432 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,400 the reason for this outrage, I did nothing but declare 433 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,880 my innocence. I was dragged downtown to the police court 434 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,200 and put upon the stand before a grinning, gaping crowd 435 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,279 of spectators. I was asked obscene questions by that man 436 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:42,400 lying upstairs, sneered at because of my protestations of virtue, 437 00:22:42,759 --> 00:22:46,119 then thrown in a cell with two drunken prostitutes and 438 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:49,680 a half insane old woman. I was so ashamed, so 439 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,480 horror stricken, yet so certain of my release in the morning, 440 00:22:53,559 --> 00:22:56,119 that I did not telephone my husband of what had happened. 441 00:22:56,559 --> 00:22:59,079 It never occurred to me that I would be branded 442 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,599 as a woman of this streets and sentenced to prison. 443 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:02,799 Speaker 2: But I was. 444 00:23:03,759 --> 00:23:07,200 Speaker 1: I was. Judge McPherson, a man of the world who 445 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,480 should be able to distinguish between women, laughed at me, 446 00:23:10,839 --> 00:23:14,519 and with one wave of his smug hand, with one word, 447 00:23:14,559 --> 00:23:18,279 sentenced me to six months confinement and a lifetime of hell. 448 00:23:18,759 --> 00:23:21,680 Never so long as I live, will I forget his face. 449 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:25,880 That same night, my baby was taken ill. My husband 450 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:28,799 tried to find me. His search discovered to him the 451 00:23:28,839 --> 00:23:32,160 fact that I was in jail for soliciting on the street. 452 00:23:32,559 --> 00:23:35,920 Then the jealousy, the suspicions he had felt for me, 453 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:39,319 burst into flame, making him ready to believe the worst 454 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:43,079 of me. I never saw him but once after that. 455 00:23:43,079 --> 00:23:46,039 That one time he denounced me as a woman unfit 456 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:49,640 to live, as a thing too vile to breathe the 457 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,480 same air as my child. Then he told me the 458 00:23:52,519 --> 00:23:56,079 boy was dead. Of course, he secured my release, but 459 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,839 it was too late. When I came out of prison, 460 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,920 I went to Judgemcphearson since home. I remember he was 461 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,079 sitting at dinner. He was very annoyed at having his 462 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,599 meal disturbed by a pale, but draggled, slovenly looking woman. 463 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,799 He was at no pains to hide his annoyance. I 464 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,599 told him what he had done to me, an innocent woman, 465 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,839 and I demanded that he right this wrong. There was 466 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:20,559 the same smiling sneer on his face as when he 467 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,920 sentenced me. Just how can I do this, my dear lady, 468 00:24:24,079 --> 00:24:27,519 he said, Go to my husband. I cried wildly. I 469 00:24:27,559 --> 00:24:30,519 had not learned to restrain myself. Then tell him that 470 00:24:30,599 --> 00:24:34,400 I am innocent, absolutely innocent. My baby is gone, but 471 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:35,920 there's still a chance for me. 472 00:24:36,039 --> 00:24:36,880 Speaker 2: If he will take me. 473 00:24:37,559 --> 00:24:40,880 Speaker 1: You must explain it to him. You must make him understand. 474 00:24:41,759 --> 00:24:46,880 He laughed, laughed at me. Oh stuff, my dear, he sneered, 475 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,680 old stuff. Why can't you women think of something original. 476 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:54,119 Of course you're all innocent. None of you will even 477 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,359 admit to a first offense. I'm sorry if your child 478 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:00,279 is dead, that is, if you had one. But I 479 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,519 certainly won't help to hoodwink a man who evidently is 480 00:25:03,599 --> 00:25:06,279 a person of principle. If you don't want to suffer, 481 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:09,720 behave yourself. That's all I have to say. Good evening. 482 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,720 Then he showed me the door. I think I went insane. 483 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:19,039 I remember standing outside and pounding on it, screaming maledictions 484 00:25:19,079 --> 00:25:21,880 on him, shrieking to him that he must clear me, 485 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,480 he must give me back my good name. Then someone 486 00:25:25,559 --> 00:25:27,640 seized me and I was dragged away to the station 487 00:25:27,759 --> 00:25:30,680 house again. I left it with a six month sentence 488 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:36,319 for disorderly conduct. When I got out, this time, dazed, broken, aged, 489 00:25:36,759 --> 00:25:39,319 I realized that nothing I could ever do or say, 490 00:25:39,319 --> 00:25:43,240 would reinstate me. This second arrest, caused by the man 491 00:25:43,279 --> 00:25:46,240 who had ruined me, had branded me forever and ever. 492 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:50,400 I learned my husband had divorced me, disposed of everything 493 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,440 in our home, and sailed to France. Those who had 494 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:56,279 been my friends passed me on the street without recognition. 495 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:58,839 There was no one in the world I could turn 496 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:03,720 to practically, without means to be sure. I owned this house, 497 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:05,599 but I did not have the money to keep it 498 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,119 in repair, and I could not live in it. The 499 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,799 memories it recalled were maddening. Then two, I felt everyone 500 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:16,519 knew my story and I could not face their scornful glances. 501 00:26:17,279 --> 00:26:20,279 Time and again I was tempted to kill myself, but 502 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:24,720 one thing always held me back, my undying soul eating 503 00:26:24,759 --> 00:26:26,640 hatred for the man who had passed. 504 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:27,119 Speaker 2: Judgment on me. 505 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:31,119 Speaker 1: One day I realized why this monstrous thing had happened 506 00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:34,119 to me. I was to be the instrument with which 507 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:38,039 to save innumerable women from a fate similar to mine. 508 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,640 It was to be my task to rid the world 509 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:44,440 of the viper who destroyed innocence and laughed at his handiwork. 510 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:48,279 I almost became happy in contemplation of what I would do. 511 00:26:48,799 --> 00:26:51,720 What did it matter to me that to accomplish his destruction, 512 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,640 I must accomplish my own the thing he had branded me, 513 00:26:56,160 --> 00:27:00,799 I became In reality, I was beautiful. I learned I 514 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:04,720 was desirable and I could be fascinating. I studied all 515 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,319 the arts and wiles of the oldest profession in the world, 516 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,519 and determined to sell myself to the highest bidder. My education, 517 00:27:11,759 --> 00:27:14,640 my knowledge of society, my culture all stood me in 518 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:18,680 good stead. Understand, I always stayed within the law. I 519 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,200 was never crude. I took no chances of another arrest 520 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:25,200 my new name though when I adopted. When I became 521 00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:28,759 of the Demi Monde, I kept unsmirched, if you could 522 00:27:28,799 --> 00:27:31,200 call it that. I became a leader in the set 523 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:34,279 where mistresses laughed at wives, and where lovers were more 524 00:27:34,279 --> 00:27:38,680 popular than husbands. I discovered, to my intense delight that, 525 00:27:38,759 --> 00:27:43,839 although austere and apparently religious, Judge Macpherson's besetting sin was women, 526 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:47,200 that he used the timeworn excuse of an invalid wife 527 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,519 to cover his indiscretions. You don't know it, of course, 528 00:27:50,559 --> 00:27:52,839 as he kept the scandal quiet. But it was I 529 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:56,480 who brought about his divorce. It took me three years 530 00:27:56,519 --> 00:27:59,240 to secure an introduction to him, but it took less 531 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,519 than three hours to hopelessly ensnare him. It was not 532 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,519 strange that in the smiling, elegantly blaise woman of the world, 533 00:28:06,559 --> 00:28:09,559 he did not recognize the half crazed, bedraggled woman of 534 00:28:09,599 --> 00:28:13,359 the police courts. He was just at that most susceptible 535 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,319 age where he felt that youth was slipping from him, 536 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:18,759 an old age waiting to claim him had put a 537 00:28:18,799 --> 00:28:22,200 taboo on affairs of the heart. With a desperate desire 538 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,200 to remain young, he flung himself headlong into my hands, 539 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:29,319 never doubting that I was what I appeared, a divorcee 540 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:33,039 whose misplaced affections had made her a trifle bitter toward men, 541 00:28:33,319 --> 00:28:36,000 yet who was longing and looking for a loving protector. 542 00:28:36,759 --> 00:28:39,440 I played my cards well. I used all the coyness 543 00:28:39,519 --> 00:28:42,319 of the angenoux, with the blandishments of the courtesan to 544 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,359 keep him on tenter hooks before he became that protector. 545 00:28:45,759 --> 00:28:49,000 After that, it was easier. He did not realize why 546 00:28:49,039 --> 00:28:53,039 I suggested weekend parties, gradually making this house their setting. 547 00:28:53,599 --> 00:28:56,559 I had from the first determined that as this was 548 00:28:56,599 --> 00:29:00,599 the home he had destroyed, so here he should be destroyed. 549 00:29:01,039 --> 00:29:04,640 It was his money which furnished those rooms upstairs. Rather 550 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:08,480 grim humor, isn't it. Can you conceive of the loathing 551 00:29:08,559 --> 00:29:11,240 I felt at that man's touch, How I cringed as 552 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:14,839 he embraced me, How I laughed and anticipated the climax 553 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,440 of it all. He called me a charming child with 554 00:29:17,559 --> 00:29:21,079 quaint ideas when he first saw this place abandoned and decayed. 555 00:29:21,319 --> 00:29:24,480 The unusualness of our rendezvous appealed to him as unique. 556 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,279 Early I learned unwholesome things intrigued him. Tonight was our 557 00:29:29,319 --> 00:29:32,960 third visit. We arrived just before the storm broke. As usual, 558 00:29:33,079 --> 00:29:34,920 we brought a lunch kit with our dinner in it. 559 00:29:35,119 --> 00:29:37,960 That meal was never eaten. I drugged the wine just 560 00:29:38,119 --> 00:29:40,799 enough to befog his brain and make him like wax 561 00:29:40,839 --> 00:29:44,359 in my hands. Then, as he sat there, stupid, dazed 562 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:46,880 and inert, I told him who I was and why 563 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,480 he was here. And I laughed, laughed at him as 564 00:29:50,559 --> 00:29:53,079 he had laughed at me when he had me taken 565 00:29:53,119 --> 00:29:55,960 away kicking and screaming by the police. You would have 566 00:29:56,079 --> 00:29:58,839 laughed too, had you seen his face when I showed 567 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,079 him the revolver and told him I was going to 568 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,440 kill him. He cringed like a sick animal, whimpering and 569 00:30:04,559 --> 00:30:07,880 begging for mercy, the kind of mercy he hadn't shown me. 570 00:30:08,559 --> 00:30:09,519 Speaker 2: Still, I laughed. 571 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:12,759 Speaker 1: He staggered drunkenly to his feet and came toward me. 572 00:30:13,319 --> 00:30:15,599 I don't think he felt certain that I meant what 573 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:18,359 I said. I whirled on him and backed him into 574 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,079 the bedroom. Then, when he made a lurch toward me 575 00:30:21,279 --> 00:30:24,119 trying to secure the pistol and stumbled against the bed, 576 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:28,240 I fired and he fell across it dead. Where's the pistol, 577 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:32,359 Alan asked dryly. The woman's eyes narrowed. I flung it 578 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:34,920 under the bed. His blood smeared my gown. 579 00:30:35,039 --> 00:30:35,599 Speaker 2: See. 580 00:30:35,759 --> 00:30:37,759 Speaker 1: After a little, I went out to drive the car 581 00:30:37,799 --> 00:30:39,839 to town, but it was raining so hard I became 582 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:42,640 drenched before I reached the barn. I came back to 583 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:44,880 the house. Then I heard you come in at the 584 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:49,079 front door. I was frightened. I'd fancied myself absolutely alone 585 00:30:49,079 --> 00:30:51,640 out here. I locked the bedroom door when I heard 586 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:54,839 you climb the stairs, you know the rest. We were 587 00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:58,119 silent for a few moments. Then Alan said abruptly, I'd 588 00:30:58,119 --> 00:31:00,559 like to take a look at him again. The woman 589 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:03,160 rose slowly, and we all filed up the stairs again. 590 00:31:03,599 --> 00:31:06,359 At the bedroom door, she laid a feverish hand on mine, 591 00:31:06,599 --> 00:31:09,640 and I felt a shudder go through her. But when 592 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,559 we stood staring at the cold, dark figure before us, 593 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:17,160 her face was unexpressive, emotionless. Half entangled in the lace 594 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:19,799 of the bedspread, where it had fallen or been thrown. 595 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,920 As mc pherson stumbled against the bed was the revolver. 596 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:26,720 The light from the lantern, though not brilliant, illuminated more 597 00:31:26,759 --> 00:31:29,519 space than Allan's spot had done, Hence it had been 598 00:31:29,559 --> 00:31:33,079 hidden from our view before. Allan looked steadily at her 599 00:31:33,119 --> 00:31:35,480 a moment I could not read what was passing through 600 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:39,000 his thoughts. Then he motioned for us to follow him downstairs. 601 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:42,400 The steady drip drip of the rain made me drowsy. 602 00:31:42,799 --> 00:31:45,319 We huddled in silence on the floor before the stove, 603 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:49,359 the woman staring off in space. Presently I dozed, leaning 604 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,960 against Alan's shoulder. When I awakened, it was breaking day 605 00:31:53,319 --> 00:31:56,920 and she was gone, Alan, I cried, shaking him a 606 00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:57,960 little to waken him. 607 00:31:58,240 --> 00:31:58,880 Speaker 2: She's gone. 608 00:31:59,599 --> 00:32:02,359 Speaker 1: Yes, I know I saw her when she left. But 609 00:32:02,799 --> 00:32:07,279 who are we to judge, he asked slowly. Four two 610 00:32:07,359 --> 00:32:10,000 days later, picking up a New York newspaper, I read 611 00:32:10,039 --> 00:32:14,440 the headlines Judson McPherson, well known justice of the Criminal Court, 612 00:32:14,519 --> 00:32:17,799 commits suicide in an abandoned house in the Catskill Mountains. 613 00:32:18,319 --> 00:32:22,319 Then followed a half column account of the act in detail. McPherson, 614 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:26,000 having gotten into financial difficulties, had chosen the coward's way out, 615 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:29,400 so said the paper. A letter announced his intention of 616 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,319 dying and gave the location where to find his body. 617 00:32:32,599 --> 00:32:35,359 The paper also stated that the knowledge he had recently 618 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,200 married a young and beautiful actress came as a distinct 619 00:32:38,279 --> 00:32:41,759 surprise to his friends. A picture of his bride accompanied 620 00:32:41,759 --> 00:32:46,559 the article. The wistful, almost tragic face pictured was unquestionably 621 00:32:46,599 --> 00:32:48,920 that of the woman who said that she had killed him. 622 00:32:49,279 --> 00:32:51,720 I stared at allan as I handed him the newspaper. 623 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:56,279 Was she lying, I gasped. He shook his head. If so, 624 00:32:56,559 --> 00:32:59,480 she was a clever actress, he answered, But one thing 625 00:32:59,519 --> 00:33:02,599 is certain, will never know the truth either way. He 626 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:06,599 brought about his own death and of the abandoned house 627 00:33:06,839 --> 00:33:07,799 by Beulah Pointer