20,000 Years in Sing Sing (Warner Bros.) (1932)

TWENTY THOUSAND YEARS IN SING SING By LEWIS E. LAWES Warden Sing Sing Prison Screen Version Fictionized by Hamilton Thompson from Warner Bros.’ Sensational Picture of the Same Name CHAPTER IV HE two young humans, hope and dispair mingled in their He faces, sat side by side. Fay’s eyes filled with tears. patted her hand. Tom was first to speak. “You ... you okey?”’ “‘Sure!’’ Tom eyed her narrowly. he queried. She did not answer for an instant, and then, ‘‘Why didn’t you tell ’em we were married ?”’ ‘*What for?’’ demanded Connors. ‘‘It would have made it easier—they asked me a million questions. ”’ > ‘Gee, Baby, you look good to me.” eS in a touching scene from the picture.) : ‘Aw say, Honey, get wise! You don’t—want to hurt my chances of I’m liable to a guy what never had a chance. . ‘etting out, do yuh? And they wouldn’t do ‘*Anything wrong?”’ (Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis it if they ‘“Gee, Baby, you look good to me.’’ He put his arm about her, and clasped her passionately, then thrust her away as if ashamed of his weak ness. : ‘*Don’t come up here dolled up— those low necks . . . those tight-fitting . that perfume. . have me nutty.’’ dresses . . you’ll He spoke brusquely to mask his emotions. kid, I never thought I just wanted to look ‘‘T’m sorry, about that... nice for you.’’ ‘Aw right, Baby .. "nother thing, don’t come up here again on a Saturday. All the tough breaks I ever had came on a Saturday. Look at ’em. I was caught on Saturday; tried on a Saturday. Sentenced one a Saturday—and I came into this dump on Saturday... . only, and just to make it binding I was born on a Saturday.’’ Then changing suddenly, Connors said, ‘‘Go ahead and spill any news. What’s doin’? Fay brightened. ‘‘Joe Finn’s working; he’s putting on plenty of Fay did not get it over as she wanted. pressure, he tells me.’’ ‘‘VYeah?’’ Connors bristled. ‘‘ Why don’t he tell me?’’ **T don’t know; maybe he don’t want you to get steamed up until he gets all set.’’ ‘“‘That so??? Connors was skeptias he looked at Fay with a new ‘<T wonder what’s eal, light in his eyes. put the smoke under him.’’ | ‘“‘1’m Using Him, That’s All” | “‘Can’t you guess?’’ ‘¢ Just little Fay. on him and he’s fallen overboard Fay pouted. I’ve put the works with a splash.’’ ‘‘Veah??? it a bit. ‘<T’ve got him where he’ll do anything for me!’’ Connors did. not like ‘¢Ves, and to you.’’ He grew hot et fan mail—social workers, who| thought I was married. Get wise.’’ and cold. 0 the governor, saying Sat it it was... because I’m | nors. TWENTY THOUSAND ‘| YEARS IN SING SING | By LEWIS E. LAWES 7 Warden Sing Sing Prison } Sereen Version Fictionized by Hamilton Thompson from Warner Bros.’ Sensational Picture of the Same Name CHAPTER V HE break was started by Hype feigning illness. and moaned as if in terrible pain. the run. He ealled the night sergeant. Block 5... Call the hospital... Hype continued to groan. Bud hastily dug into his mattress and got out the home-made revolver; also the improvised key. Connors stood staring at the newspaper—and the date-line —SATURDAY, April 30. “Boys, (Arthur Byron as the Warden starts out to quell the riot in the picture.) “That may be the trouble,” said the Warden. Warden Long and the three guards, walking through the yards, heard the report, ‘‘Man sick in Cell Block 5.’’ ‘‘That may be it,’’ said the Warden. ‘« Boys, let’s go.’’ cell. For the moment it was the old Con | | with that guy.’’ He writhed The guard came up on ‘*Man sick in Cell Tell ’em to send a stretcher.’’ let’s go!” The guards with the stretcher arrived and stopped in front of Hype’s One of the guards threw a master lever, which moved the bars “*T don’t want you playing round from all the: cells. The other guard unlocked Hype’s cell door with his key. Both men stepped in. Silently and swiftly, Bud, who had been watching, unlocked his own cell with his make-shift key, and One of and door, crept toward Hype’s cell. the guards became suspicious, looked out. blank. The guard sank to the floor, while Hype suddenly swung on the other guard with the brass knuckles. Bud fired at him point Most of the other prisoners were at their cell doors by this time. Wild with excitement, they banged on the bars—yelling and shrieking. Bud stopped at Conners’ cell, and unlocked the door. .‘‘Come_ on, Tom,’’ he said. ‘*T ain’t comin’ with you,’’ “he cried. ‘You yellow?’’ Bud glared. ‘‘Naw—but it’s Saturday, my jinx day te 2d nx yuh ale tsa ake Black Jack — that’ll make There a .6 ‘‘Aw, Hell . Quick, With Hype and Black Jack dressed in: officers’ uniform, Bud laid on the stretcher, and the group started along yuh . come on then, Jack. into the guard’s uniform.’’ the corridor ... to t eir destiny. Meanwhile, Warden Long and the three guards, entered the building in a rush, but not before a sergeant who had encountered the fleeing men on the upper tier, had been shot down, as he blew his whistle as an alarm. Bedlam! Whistles shrilling, taking up the refrain from the whistle of the dead sergeant; alarm singing out Then ‘‘ Big Ben’’ prison steam whistle with clarion notes. the came into action, sending out its bellowing message of ‘‘ ESCAPHE,’’ to the countryside, summoning all guards to the prison immediately. powerful Fay tried to placate him. ‘‘ Don’t get excited, Honey; he won’t get to first base. He’s stuck on me ,and I’m using him—that’s all.’’ Connors got red in the face. ‘‘ Listen, Babe, what’s happened to you? The more he gets stuck on you, the longer he’ll keep me up here. Don’t you see that?’’ Fay turned a bewildered face to him. ‘‘Gee, I never thought of that. I’l] have to ease him off.’’ ‘“All right, Honey; ease him off— and be wise.’’ ‘“Time’s up, Connors.’’ It was the guard. ‘“Okey.’’ Connors held Fay close for a moment and as she passed out, he stared after her, loneliness and yearning, and how much she meant to him written on his face. Tragedy impended at Sing Sing! Connors, in the shoe shop, to which he had ‘‘graduated’’ after the rockpile, found himself thinking of the warden’s warning, ‘‘You haven’t a chance—not one in a million.’’ And he wondered what he would do if his chanee did come. Connors was the center of the whispering and scheming group headed by Bud Saunders and Hype Packer. Suddenly he found himself lacking; mot in nerve, certainly. He could not explain it. He first met Bud,-a weakly handsome arrogant chap, and Hype, a big powerful mug, in the office of the prison psychologist. Connors did not understand about the blocks and. the pieces of colored pasteboard. He was told that it was a test to determine h occupational capacity. He laughed. When they were mixed, and he was told to put them together in in their preper places as quickly as possible, he pretended to be stupid. Then he learned that the stupid ones went to the coal shoveling jobs, the lavatory details, and like employment. He quickly regained his intelligence. Each of the three men, in turn, did their best, and all were assigned to the shoe shop. Here they came in contact with ‘‘Black Jack’’ Higgins, plenty tough, and only -awaiting a chance to start any kind of dirty work. Connors and Bud worked at adjoining machines. Near them was stationed Hype, : ata beneh with sole: used in the= ue machiner\ — ; gi ern, aw durard . > i ho | Not a Chance Ina Million From that point it was as the Warden had said, ‘‘Not one chance in a million. ’’ Loads of gas from gas rifles! Three desperate men fighting though they knew all was for naught. Dead men, {00 = s5-: The gas began its deadly work. Noise of choking, strangling men. ‘*God—I’ll knock the can off yeh . ’?? It was the voice of Black Jack as he staggered into view at the head of the stairway at the bottom of which weited Warden Long and the three guards. He carried some sort of weapon in his outstretched hand. Warden Long fired. Black Jack fell screaming dowr the stairs. But started to run back, followed by Hype. For them it was all over excepting paying the price. Bud, made of more sensitive metal than Hype realized the situation and placed the muzzle of his home-made gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Tom Connors shranh back into his cell and covered his face with his hands. It was thus that Warden Long found him a few minutes later. Then a guard exclaimed. ‘‘Hey, Warden, look at this ... The cell door is unlocked.’’ The Warden looked keenly at Connors. ‘(Lose your. nerve, Connors?’?’ Then quickly, ‘‘I’m glad yo. didn’t try it.’’ ‘‘Say, Warden .. .’’ Connors came to the front of the cell. ‘‘How’d a guy like you ever come to be a copperencs: * * * One night a short :ime later a large black sedan var speeded along a Westchester road, chauffeured by a tough-looking gangster. He grinned elear back of his lopped-ears as he caught fragments of the talk of the couple in the rear seat. Big Joe Finn and Fay, Tom Connors’ sweetheart. Finn had just pulled down the curtain and Fay instinctively recoiled. He reached over and patted her arm with one hand while with the other he pulled out a fat wad of greenbacks. Finn felt quite sure of himself. * Quite a bundle, huh? All yuh, Sweets.’’ for their attention when the guard was not looking. He showed them something, then quickly slipped it within his shirt. It was a pair of brass knuckles, made from a small wheel taken from a steam radiator. Things Moved Fast That was the beginning. Things moved fast. Trouble always comes quickly—in prison as outside. Saunders himself an inventive fellow, told Hype just what parts he needed. Bits of mechanisms were made one by one and hidden in a slit in his cell mattress. One night Bud held a completed weapon to the light. It was a revolver—crude, but effective at short range. A compli-— cated key device was next designed by the inventive Saunders and completed by Hype. This also was hidden in Bud’s cell. To all these plans and preparations Connors turned a receptive ear. He summed it all up in his mind as he murmured to himsilf, ‘‘I’d give my right leg to get out—’’ Still a small voice within him kept repeating the Warden’s words ‘‘Not one chance in a million—’?’ Connors was ready to go along with the rest when the big hour struck, but that evening, after he had bee: locked in his cell, he picked up a newspaper and the first thing that caught his eye was the date-line. It was ‘‘Saturday, April 30th.’’ Saturday! And that night had been picked for a jail break. His unlucky day! What followed made history at Sing Sing! Warden Long sat-at his desk. It was the ‘‘Lights out’’ period. Three guards stood before him. He spoke calmly. ‘‘There may be trouble tonight.’’ He looked at them grimly. ‘‘We better take a little walk. But first—’’ The Warden unlocked the prison arsenal, armed the guards with revolvers in shoulder holsters, giving one a tear gas gun. ‘‘Send out an order to all guards especially in the towers to be on watch for trouble. Get word to me of the smallest irregularity.’? T: Warden then left the spgMe follc by_ his. me. May, playing Thor: gam me : looks like all the money in the world.’’? She drew a little away from her companion. ‘It’s a plenty—for what we’re going to do... This guy we’re meeting tonight swings more influence than anybody in the state.’? Then he grew bolder and tried to. get one arm about her. ‘‘It’s a_ cinch, Bebe.’? Fay caught his hand and held it. ‘*You’re a great guy, Joe.’’ ‘*T’m glad you like me—because I’m daffy about you.’’ ‘‘Listen, Joe — =o0 know I’m om 62Piblo cle ‘Wake ape a ad aes began to get ugly. ‘‘Don’t be a damned fool. You won’t ever see your Tom if I don’t get him out for you. And I’m gettin’ him... ain’t I? Why?... Because I’m stuck on you... crazy for you... and I’m goin’ to have yuh ...See!’’ He pulled her to him roughly. Fay Fought Fay fought like a wild cat, Finn at first seeking only to protect his face from her wild swings and scratchings. In the front seat, the driver grinned the more and stepped on the gas. Fay redoubled her efforts until one stinging blow landed full in Finn’s | face. He cursed and reached out to eatch both her hands, ignoring her knees, which immediately came into action. One suddenly doubled upward like a jack-knife catching Finn in the pitt of his stomach. This was the opportunity Fay sought. Finn momentarily relaxed; but as Fay’s hand found the door handle he quickly recovered and moved toward her. She pushed it downward and pressed forward. The doo1 opened suddenly and Fay’s body hurtling through the air from the speeding car, struck the concrete pavement, and rolled down a _ steep embankment. The car slowed down momentarily. Then a hand reached out, the door war slammed shut and the car continued toward the city. Down below lay Fay’s body very still. (Continued tomorrow) Page Eleven