The Jacket (The Star-Rover)

utchins. Al Hutchins was serving a forty-years' sentence, and was in hopes of being pardoned out. For four years he had been head trusty of San Quentin. Tha

thousand dollars and of the promise of a pardon, cou

came into my cell intent on murder. Hi

" he ordered

entrance to solitary, and exposed my poor wasted body, the skin ridged like brown parchment over the r

d it?" the Wa

tor Jackso

the h

len

l stand ten day

ur

nounced savagely. "But we'll try it

on the flat-spread jacket. The Warden se

er," he

weak to succeed, and could only sp

n," was Jacks

done with him," said the Warden. "Lend him

y back, where I stared up i

our last chance now. Come across with the dynamite. The moment it is in my hands I'll take you out of here. You can bathe and shave and get clean clothes. I'll let you loaf for six months on hospital grub, and then I'll put you trusty in the library. You can't ask me to

ugged his shoulde

, you start in the

hen I remembered Morrell's trick. Now, if ever, was the need of it; and now, if ever, was the time to practise the faith of

ten days, when you unlace me, I smile up at you in the same way, will you give

nks, these college guys,

ic man, and he took my reque

get an extra cinchi

u can cinch me as tight as you please, but if I smile ten days f

sure of yourse

ade the proposi

ligion, eh?

e life than you can ever reach the end of. Make it a hundr

will more than d

you have you won't even lose the price of the two five-cents

k the face off of you

se, and I'll still have enough face left with which to smile. In the meant

may be both, and, in addition, he may have faith. I know now that I had the faith and so acted on it. I believed what Morrell had

sensed this faith that i

ok. He got religion. He said that a golden chariot was coming to take him to heaven, and he sat down on top the red-hot range and sang hymns and hosannahs while he cooked. The

nding squeal,"

t, why don't you accept my

e plight. His face was convulsed. He clenched his hands, and, for a moment, it seemed that he

ou'll have to go some to smile ten days from now. Roll him over, boys, and cin

ce shed my flesh, while my muscles were attenuated to mere strings. I had neither the strength nor bulk to steal more than a little, and the little I stole I swear I managed by sheer expansion at the

sessed ten or twelve thousand dollars, and his freedom was in sight if he obeyed orders. Later, I learned that there was

back while he drew the lacing light, he constricted me as no man had ever before succeeded in doing. So severe was this constriction of my frail frame upon my vital organs that I felt, there and then, immediately, that death was upo

ht," Captain Jamie

tell you nothing can hurt him. He's a wo

lacing and my back. He brought his foot to bear upon me, with the weight of his bod

" he said. "You know your job. Now r

ion the first time I went into the jacket, I would surely have died in the first ten minutes. But I was well train

id the Warden to me. "Start that

heart threatened to burst, while my mind reeled, neve