Pictures and the Picturegoer (April - September 1915)

PICJ'URJES AND THE PICTUREOOER Apart. i l.h-d bitterly. ' bo think Unit my < > 1 1 1 > s hi i nothing b tter than a uommon thief." " Hut perhaps, dear." drieb pleaded persistently, "it was no! be win i stole from the i >ffert< irj -hags. ' "Not he," her husband retorted ; "if not, who else could it be ? Why. was it nut jon who found bis still smouldering cigaretteontl if the vestry -table the cigarette with his initials on it? Faugh! . . . Ah! would to heaven L could persuade myself it was not he." As h the door was flung open, and Lester himself, soaked, covered with filth, and dishevelled, rushed v ildly into 1 he room. " Father!" he cried, looking fearfully into the grim face turned to him, "for Heaven's sake save me from the police." "The police!" at the word whi;h seemed to materialise all her unspoken fears, his mother sprang to her feet, "Oh, my boy, my boy, what have yon done now ? ""It was an aecident, I .swear it. I meant no harm. I ." Again the door was flung open without ceremony, and a police officer strode into the room. "' Mr, Goodrich," he said, respectfully, ''.I am sorry, sir— but your sen must with me." ■• On what chaw^e f " the clergyman demanded, hoarsely, and his heart grew cold as he glanced at his grovelling son. •' On three charges, sir," came the terrible reply. " First, one of attempted criminal assault on a young girl who was his companion; second, of being ■mod in her deatli ; third, of murdering a motor-cyclist patrol whowent to her assistance and tried to arrest him."' As he finished speal iris Mrs. Goodrich collapsed with a heartbroken. cry ; but the father turned quietly. to his unworthy son. " Y~ou hear," he said. '"No, ton'l lie to me. Keep whatever you may have to saj for the ears of those who will judge. you;1 Go; and may the law deal with you as you desen ''•" * Brought to trial. Lester was found guilty on all counts of the indict ment; but his youth saved him. from the electric chair, and the sentence was commuted to one of imprisonment for a number of years. At first his conduct as a prisoner was • exemplary, and soon he was transferred , to a penal settlement within a few miles of bis old home. The lone smouldering hut carefully concealed desire for freedom became unbearable, and one day. whilst with a gang of convicts he tvas repairing some waterworks, he thought he saw a mean of effecting his escape. "Listen," he whispered to his mate. as the 'Warder, thrown off his guard by ■ their seeming good behaviour, turned his back on them for a minute, "we'-ve only got to draw up the water-gate and the torrent will sweep away the f. u officers who guard us and the rest of the gang working below will go with them. Every one will think we ha\c perished with "the rest, and the path to ire, 'if mi will he clear. ' Hardened criminal &$ the other con« vicl was. he revolted at (ir-t against :: deed which would cause -,, terrible a if life, but tie : for liberty 1 1, and the next minute, stifling the promptings of his better nature, he agreed to the immediate execution of Lester's villainous scheme. "Quick, then there is not a moment t o lose '. " Frantically th id at the heavy iron levers, and before the startled warder who guarded them could shout a warning to those who worked below the d water thundered down, carrybig bim to certain death as it oyer the edge of the rocks sweepiugail in its path to instant destruction. • Husli : "' In the dead silence of the night Mr. Goodrich gently roused his sleeping wife.' "Do you hear anything:' . . . Ah! There it i^ again. . . , Burglars ! "' Hastily scrambling into some clothing,.the worthy clergyman descended the stairs, and entering the study came full upon a man who was busily engaged in rifling his bureau. The struggle was short and stem, then, as Mr. Goodrich turned up the lights, he staggered back with a cry. "Lester! My son ! Oh. heaven ! has" it come to this."' he moaned, "that-yoii return here in the dead of night wearing the uniform of shame to rob your parents P " •Alarmed by the sound of the strh . and fearing some ill might befall in r husband, Urs. Goodrich had followed him downstairs; now she sprang forward with outstretched arms, only to be waved back. "Ho," her husband cried, "forgetful of our loving kindness, devoid of the slightest spark of gratitude, he has returned to commit yet anothei crime, and it is our duty to see that he returns t' ' prison. v •■ ■ " Father." Lester whined, "not that, net that. I. say you must not send me back, for this time there would be no escape from a fate that would stain your name for all time." ■ "What:-; .. . In whining sentences the convict 1 loured the story of his escape into the horror-stricken ears of his brokenhearted parents. •As he finished the shameful recital Mr. Goodrich drew a long breath. "He is rie-ht." he said hoarsely, as lie dashed the beads "of perspiration from his brow. " we cannot send him back." With a cry of joyous thankfulness Lester sprang forward, but the old man hurled him back. " No. the law might make the mistake of showing yon mercy, as it did before; it might save you from paying the price of your infamy, and and this time there must In' no mistake. You hear, wretch — tliis time there must hi no mistake." "James," the trembling mother whispered, " w hat are you going to dor " Mr. Goodrich squared his shoulders. "I am going to do mj duty to humanity," he ansn ered quietly. Swiftly he gagged and bound his son. " Take your list farewell of him." he said when the sinister preparations were complete, " then go and pray for one whose ruin you nave helped to brineabout by yielding' to hi< extravagant demands." Shudderingly the Id lady left the ro mi, and, falling on her ! by the Bide of the bed that had i th' Boy's, she prayed that • -at the eleventh hour be saved for repentance. But in the silent study, tl .nan re examined the bonds which found tin: criminal, and then, having foil. thing secure, he picked him up. and ^tiod" with a firm tread fr Soon they arrived at the i the boy's attempted crime against the'. girl who had trusted him. and. for _ firm upon his knees, the execntioner removed the gag. "Pray to just Heaven for that mercy that cannot be shown you here ■ n earth," he sai i hoarsely. "* Pray, Lester, pray, for your time groi bort." ither's grim words struck I into the boy's heart, and an upward grance into the stern set tac which tears of agony slowly trickled. told him that this was no idle tin Vainly he tried t' • pray half-forgotten fragments of prayer learned at bis doting mother's knees came haltingly to the lit s which had not the • r to utter them, then a hundredfold horror seized his soul as slowly. menacingly, the spectres of his victims ■ from the depths of the moonlit and beckoned him. " Come." they — nj .-d to chant. "come to that Judgment beyond which th. no appeal, no escape. Gome t i that torture-filled existence bereaft r which is the ordained price for an ill-spent life on earth. Come ! " With a shriek he shrank hack, trying in fad to close his ears to the dread summons; then he heard his fati voice once more, felt himself swung on high, to be hurled far out over the edge of the breakwater to the very feet of tire beckoning epectn voices" rang in mocking triumph as the waters closed over his heal and he *ank down, down, and ever down. . , , * • ■> • With a wild cry for mercy he thrust the tangled bedclothes from him. and. staggering to his feet. looked round amazed. There in the clear moonlight were the hundred and one familiar objects "( his room. Hi head ached tciribly. bringing a vivid memory .if the events of the previous evening; then. as he staggered from the room to seek his parents' loving guidance, he knew that the horrors he had gone through were but phantasy— a vision sent by ' Providence to warn him of the fate in store for him did he neglect the warning and turn a deaf ear to the voice of conscience that was for ever urging repentance and pointing oat the path of honour and of happiness. « • • * This intensely powerful story with a moral is a three-reel Kcleetie drama made in America. It will be released b\ Pathe Fivres on the 25th instant. The acting is quite as powerful as the plot and the photography is magnificent. Oreighton Bale a Lester and M. < >. Pennasthe reverend father have both given masterful interpretations, ayd arc players who have already made a name for themselves in screen art.