| Show tT FLOYD GIBBONS Adventurers Adventurers' Club ClubA A fl ill Mothers Mother's Defense By FLOYD GIBBONS f Famous Headline Hunter THIS HIS time boys and girls its it's Mrs Elizabeth Jacobs o of Brooklyn N. N Y Next time it may be you In 1927 Mrs Jacobs lived Jived to in a se secluded part of Ridgewood in an apartment house that was the only one in that section atthe at atthe atthe the time A short block away was a a. cemetery which stretched out for about a mile mite It was deathly quiet at night and the tombstones tombstones tombstones tomb tomb- stones shining white in the moonlight made it seem more so The very atmosphere of the nel neighborhood Mrs Jacobs says gave ave one the creeps and none of the women would venture out after dark ark But this story has nothing to do with the cemetery It only added to the fear of th the tenants when one evening at dusk piercing screams of agony shattered the usual silence of the night Hearing Screams the Neighbors Rushed In Mrs Jacobs nearly Jumped out of her skin when she heard them She rushed to the dumbwaiter and added her cries to the din She knew the other tenants could hear henr her and she called for them to come to her apartment In a few minutes several men and more women arrived and the group of neighbors located the screams as coming from an apartment on the first floor occupied by a young widow and her two Infant children They burst In the apartment and a n strange sight met their eyes A strange man dressed partly In womans woman's clothes lay on the kitchen floor writhing in pain A vapor apor rose from his wet garments as he threshed about He was obviously badly ly hurt The two children In a n nearby room awakened by the noise were doing their part by crying lustily The body of the widowed mother lay on the floor in the living room The whole incident was wrapped In mystery The man was too delirious to answer questions the children too young and the widow unconscious Mrs Jacobs says the whole thing gave her herthe herthe herthe the willies whiles While the men tried to soothe the man the women devoted themselves themselves themselves them them- selves to the widow She had fainted d but soon revIved and told the whole story Lets Let's reconstruct It Just as it happened A Little Old Woman Knocked at the Door Mrs Burke the widow had just put her babies to bed and was Vos boilIng bollIng bolling boll boll- Ing their underclothes in a small on the stove stoie when she heard hearda a rap on the kitchen door She opened the door and there stood a little old woman bent over with age and shivering from the cold Mrs Burkes Burke's heart was touched at the pitiful sight and she invited the poor creature in to have a warm cup of tea and a bite to eat ent The old woman thanked her and came in in Mrs Burke then drew up a chair for her and busied herself with the making of the tea Suddenly as she turned from the stove her heart came into her mouth Criminal Disguised as Woman Terrorized Widow Wido Her Eer v visitor was not a woman at all but a man I She could coul see a mans man's pants leg hanging out below the tattered skirt I IThe IThe The man saw her ber consternation and stopped his acting He lie jumped to toA toA toto to I 1 I IJ LI J r iLI i o I l A Mans Man's Pants Legs Hung Below the Skirt his feet and straightening up to his full height grabbed Mrs Burke roughly by the arm your jour our money he growled or Ill I'll kill you Mrs Burke was terror The thought of her two babies sleeping peacefully while their mother might be bo murdered made her decide not to resist With the Intruder holding on to her arm with a grip of steel she led him to her bedroom and gave him her pocketbook She told the thief It was all she had and begged him for h her r childrens children's sake not to harm her The man only laughed as he dragged her back to the kitchen He fie looked at her hands that ring he be demanded The mans man's eyes narrowed He ne twisted her arm cruelly He forced her hand open and tried tiled to tear the ring from her finger that ring he snarled or Ill I'll cut off oil your our finger That threat was too much for the distracted m mother ther She wet her finger and started to remove the ring But as she did her mind worked fast The man she knew now was a desperate criminal Desperate methods m must st be used to fight him She sparred for time like a boxer as she tried to think of a weapon The Tho wash Vash boiler with the babies' babies clothes came camo to her mind mindl Perhaps She Hurled a Steaming Wash Boiler Over Him The ring came o off IT She threw It on the floor For Fora a moment she thought the man was going to make her pick it up If he lie did all was lost But Dut he Ills His gree greedy y e eyes ejes es sought the ring on the floor He bent down to pick It up And that by golly Is something a thief should never do o. o In a n flash Hash Mis 1 Burke acted She picked the small wash boiler ort oft the stove and before the thief could rise had hurled burled the boiling contents over his bis bent form Corm Wow No wonder the tenants heard screams The badly sC scalded thief rolled on the floor In agony the children woke up and cried and the mother with her precious eng engagement ring safe cafe promptly fainted Of course the police came finally and Identified the man as an habitual criminal They congratulated the brave little mother and took her ber attacker to Jail Ib 0 Service |
