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Show UD a ' 4 4FAMOUS FAMOUS FAMOUSL : L * FAMOUSHEADLINE HEADLINE HUNTE HUNTE"The HUNTER 0 1 ri iii-'i iii 'i i - ' tf r body ill [ "The The " Thing That Could Not Be Be9 Be9Ry " Ry By y ILOYD I LOYD GIBBONS GIBEO S , THEY ' PHEY long1 say that if you workaround work worl . around insane msane asylums longenough long longenough justfrom yourselfJustfrom yourselflustfrom -1- 1 - 1enough - enough you'lc youlc you'ie youie YOU'l YOUl ' e liable hable to become insane msane yourself-Just yourself Just yourself-lust lust yourself - from association assocmtIon with demented people . To my mind mmd , thatwould that thatwould thatwould would happento be one of the most ghastly things thmgs that could happen to anyone , but Gladys Beeson of Englewood , N . J . , can tell tellyou tellyou tellyou you a lot more about it than I can Gladys was once a nurse nursem nursem nursem m one of the largest insane msane asylums in m London And therecame there therecame therecame came a day when Gladys ' ' eyes began seeing seemg the ImpossIblea impossible -a a - a day when the doctors had her seized , and confined , and andheld andheld andheld held under observation . And when Gladys told them theywere they theywere theywere were making a mistake , her tone lacked conviction be because be- be becausewellGladys becausewellGladys - cause cause-well-Gladys cause well Gladys - well - Gladys wasn't wasnt ' any too sure , herself , that thedoctors thedoctors the thedoctors doctors weren't werent ' right . It all came about over the strange affair of patient No 8 She was 1n to toWard InWard 1nWard Ward 20 , of . which v.hlch vhlch Gladys had charge No 8 was a middle aged woman womana , a homicidal case who slept , as did all 3ll the other patients , , in 10 a separate separatecell separatecell separatecell cell , just oft off the ward She was ill and Gladys was keeping keepmg a close closewatch closewatch closewatch watch over her But on October 11 ii , 1896 , she took a turn for the worseGladys worseGladys worse worseGladys Gladys paid scveril sevenl several visits to her room that evenmg evening evcnin ? Shortly Shortlybefore Shortlybefore Shortlybefore before midnight mldmght , her face turned the color of cliy chy clay , and Gladys Gladyscalled Gladyscalled Gladyscalled called the doctor . He lie said s'ud sud ' she was sinking smkmg rap rapidly lIy , ga gay ga\e ga e \ ' e a her heremergency heremergency heremergency emergency remedies remedlcs , , and left saying saymg ho he would return shortly shortly.He shortlyHe . De He paid another visit at 1 a m . and pronounced the patientdead patient patientdead patientdead dead . Body Was 'Vas Vas ' Limp for Surprising Time . Following Followmg the usual custom , Gladys called m in the nurse from theadjoining theadjoining the theadJommg adJommg adjoining ward to help prepare prep'ue prepue ' the body tor for the mortuary Margaret Margaret- Margaretthe Margaretthe Margaretthe - the other nurse nurse-was nurse was - was a timid , frightened girl , , scared to death at theidea the theIdea theidea Idea of such close proximity to a corpseIt corpseIt corpse corpseIt It was an hour since smce No 8 had been pronounced dead , and as she sheput sheput sheput put on the shroud , Gladys remarked that it was unusual for a body tobe to tobe tobe be so limp hmp that long after death The two nurses went on to finish theIr theIrwork theirwork theirwork work Gladys attached the death card to the front of the shroud-a shroud a shroud - a tagreading tag tagreadmg tagreading readmg reading "Hester Hester " ' Rose 'ttose ttose nose Chargeable to the Parish of Whitechapel Wllltechapel , Lon Lon- London London London - don , E C . " That finished fimshed the business busmess , , and 3nd Margaret asked Gladys to towatch towatch towatch watch her ward while vwhlle s & she &e e e tidied hdled up She went out to the washroom , , rlE She Saw the Dead Woman LJ u Her Shroud . and Gladys , , leaving leavmg the door open in 10 defiance of the rules so that Mar Mar- Margaret Margaret Margaret - garet could get back in m , sat down at her deskIn deskIn desk deskIn In a few moments she heard a low shuffle shu 1e . behind behmd her . She Shelooked Shelooked Shelooked looked up-and up and up - - and stifled a scream . For there , over her shoulder shouldershe , she saw No.8-TIlE No.8TIlE No.8 No8 TIlE No . 8-TIIE 8 TIIE - 8 - THE DEAD WOMAN-IN WOMAN IN WOMAN - IN HER SHROUD , Just Justas justas justas as she'd shed ' been laid out-the out the out - - the death tap tag still hanginff hangmg hanging from her herbosom herbosom herbosom bosom where Gladys had pinned pmned it ! it ! Gladys Thought She ' Was 'Vas Vas Going \ Mad l\lad l lad . "I I " tried to speak , " says Gladys , * ' but I 1 couldn't couldnt ' utter a sound Was 1 I 1suffermg Isuffering Isuffering suffermg suffering from hallucinations7 hallucmahons hallucinations ? Was I 1 going gomg insane msane myself ? In dumbamazement dumb dumbamazement dumbamazement amazement I 1 watched No 8 walk v.alk valk . down the ward and out of the door- door doorthe door - the doorIthe door I had left open for Margaret After No 8 was out of door-I door I sightI sight I still shll sat there there-sat there sat - - sat there until I was roused by a piercing plercmg shriek anda and a heavy crash Then I leaped to my feet and rushed down the halL halt ha1L ha1L"In halL"In halt"In "In In " the wash room I 1 found Margaret Margaret-Iymg Margaret Iymg Margaret-lying lying - lying senseless on the floorwith floor , wlth with an overturned fire bucket by her head . . I knelt down beside her herand herand herand and raised her head Her face was covered with blood that streamed streamedfrom streamedfrom streamedfrom from a deep gash mado made when she had struck against agamst the bucket infalling m in mfalling infalling infalling"The falling falling"The falling"The "The The " blood cohered coered covered co\ co \ ered my un uniform orm , , adding addmg to my terror . I 1 Igrabbed 1grabbed Igrabbed grabbed my emergency whistle and blew it loud and Ions long . Itsshrill Its Itsshrill Itsshrill shrill note seemed to come distantly to my ears . The whole wholeaffur wholeaffair wholeaffair affur affair : was taking takmg on the quality of a bad dream . . Was I dream dream- dreammg dreaming dreaming - ing mg it ? Was all this just the mad indention m\entlon m entlon incentton \ of a disordered mmd mind mindWas ? Was I going crazy ? " Doctors and nurses came carne rushing rushmg on the scene Among them wasthe was wasthe wasthe the doctor who had certified cert ied to the death of Hester Rose . Gladys pointedat pomtedat pomted pointed at him and screamed . "No No " 8 isn't isnt ' dead She's Shes ' out in 10 the corridor " The doctor she was pointing pomtmg at gave her a curious cunous look look-a look a - a lookthat look lookthat lookthat that took in Margaret lying lymg on the floor and the blood on Gladys'clothes Gladysclothes Gladys ' clothes . The same question was in 10 his rus mmd mind as was In Gladys ' ownWas o\\n o n own onWas ownWas \ \ Was she lDsane insane7 insane9 ? It didn't didnt ' take the doctor long to decide He mo mo- mohoned motioned motioned - i . tioned honed to the nurses and two of them grabbed Gladys ' ' arms "LOCK LOCK "LOCKHER "LOCKHER "LOCKHER LOCKHER " HER UP , " he said , "and and " keep her under observation " The nurses hustled Gladys oil ocr off to a cell like the one from fromwh1ch fromwhich fromwhich wh1ch which she had taken the "body body " " of Hester Dester Rose . And then-m then m then-rn rn thenmthe thenrnthe then - inthe the midst of tho the confuslon-m confuslon m confusion-in confusion in confusion - in walked the night mght watchman . . Hewas He Hewas Hewas was supporting supportmg a hobbluiar hobbling woman on his arm-and arm and arm - and the woman woman"as womanw womanwas "as as w " as No.8 No8 No . 81 8 ! 81Watchman Watchman 'Vatcbman Vatcbman ' Solved the Grisly Mystery l\iystery l iystery \ . 'She She ' She gave me a bit of a 3 shock shoch , " Gladys Glo.dys Glodys . heard him say 'She She 'Shemust ' Shemust She Shemust must have rigged herself up like hke this and sneaked out . . I found hertaking her hertakmg hertaking takmg taking a walk down the corridor . " That made a big dulcrcnce Terence difference d Instead of being an object of suspicionGladys SUspICIon , , Glo.dys Glodys Gladys . became beco.me become . an object of : ; sympathy ympathy zympathy . And it made a lot more dif dif- dl- dl dlference difference difference ! - ference to Gladys to know that other people could see that queer qucer , , shuf shU- shU shut- shut shUfung shutfling shuffling ! - fling fung figure of No 8 , too-that too that too - - that it wasn't wasnt ' ' an hallucination hallucmation hallucination"I "I I " 1 needed all the sympathy I 1 got , , " says Gladys , , ' for I was very veryyoung veryyoung veryyoung young then , and the shock of that deathly apparition and the sight of ofMargaret ofMargaret ofMargaret Margaret covered with blood had so unnerved me that I had to take a avacatIon avacation avacation vacatIon , and didn't didnt ' entirely get over the affair for several weeks " But there " were "ere ere other peOpleho people \ who \\ho ho tared fared worse than Gladys Mar Mar- Margaret Margaret - garet was ill III for a long time , and was disfigured for life We . And HesterRose Hester HesterRose HesterRose Rose really did die three weeks and two days after her brief mas mas- masquerade masquerade mas- mas masquerade - - querade into mto the realm re3lm of eternity . "But But " fortunately for me , . " said Gladys , "I I " wasn't wasnt ' on duty at thetime thetimeWNU the thetlIne thetime " - tlIne time e-WNU e WNU 0-WNU 0 - -WNU WNU - Strvlct ServIce |