Berea High School - Prima Luce Yearbook (Berea, NC)

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P RIM A LUCE enough foAwTmeal ’ 5 U ' Cl ’ ' n1ght 1 put out the liets and onl y ot cot , AS WS e ” ,erKl ,he “oney i »ited us ,o rest ourselves upon the « “ hTamwri ? • books ■ ' 1 «— ■ « ' • « « •• « «■ . hood days ' , and since little Wdliamfdeath I E’b™ ,hep f sion of V b °y; “Alter studying his charade; for m hour or or ' e™ ?T y fon ' ° f p “ ,ry , ' ing than I had anticipated, we suddenly placed hS, ’ , Wh ' ch WaS ™ ore command ' be surprised, but was not excited and ralmlv asher T Y TYc He a PP eared tp v asked why he had been apprehended. “Specialists were sent to examine the skeletons five nf t , . i that of women. The grave under the ’ of ,ch were found to be bore out Mahoney’s story. mapIe tree was excavat ed, but its contents The trial of IMahonoy at Swan Oinrtpr . Public sentiment was runnin g hHh Parents Ir f rapld as lt . was spectacular, daughters and everybody was talking about the , fordie Safety of the11 ; Warren represented the defense and Mr aw 6 ” 1 ' , Me , SSrs - Mann and The lawyers for the defense had difficulty in fiYr Resented tbe States case, formed an opinion on the case. ln twe ve men who had not people, each ffinging get gllmpse f ' the r °° m Wa f fille 1 with curious war this true odhe c y h i8 assrsss s ne his”Sep ' rr ,h ? : “ d r 4 s „“ Webster, with suppressed emotion, rebated the misW ' families. A relative of Mrs. Mahoney told of bor Hi- 1 Lines that bef . e , their of the unhappy ones were presented to the jury MahonY I™ 1163 phere throughout the trial a, u, swXii inSt IS ' hTS ramtedTi’stoyhOTd mVblieJ ye ' arT and p’d Tf? lle bri , fly admitted having Miss Webster ' s picture that; n “ EJbf ' tf ' P T Emphatically he maintained that he knew nothing of the bones and added that he had only been on the Banks a couple of days when taken into custody y “To make a long story short, Mahoney ' was convicted and hanged His daughter was placed m an orphanage. On the day of his execution he requested Letter wTrinTtrucdon 7 ““ ■ ° ne of the j ad -s said’ that he gave rfn •, ■ th ,nh tructions to present it to no one except ‘mamma’ While going to the police heaquarters a few months afterward I met Capt. Bndgeman. He extended his hand, remarking • Mr “ PAS™ ' tffS g ,f‘f tU ‘ ' ° y “ ,he 1»‘ you hay, rendered. Mrs. Bndgeman yet feels that our daughter jumped overboard because she did not want to return to school, and also because 1 there was a disagreement l 9 [ Page 66 ]

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PRIM A LUCE ■ “Returning to Swan Quarter, I got in touch with Mr. Sawyer at the police headquarters, and the morning after my arrival we motored over to the Banks. Scarcely were we across when the wind began to pick up. “ ‘Wind, wind, and more wind !’ These were the words of sea-faring men. “As some ragged racks passed over from the southwest the sand flew, and every now and then a hawk would fly up and be overturned by the tail, like an airplane ‘looping the loop.’ “ I oward night the wind calmed and we made our way to the shanty over the sand, which was uneven, for a few bushes- and scrubs served to mound it up. East of the wooden hut on the southern side of a sand hill we ran upon some scattered bones. I saw a skull. With the aid of a mattock, we unearthed a mass ' of human bones. “‘We have the mystery!’ I said, ‘Mahoney’s a bluebeard. These are the bones of the victims. I here aie the remains of the women who have disappeared.’ We searched the shanty for more evidence. The appearance inside was quite orderly. There was a light covering of sand which had been blown through the roof, io one side was a cot by the side of which was a table covered with books, mostly old and worn apparently read and re-read. In one corner was a dilapidated trunk mostly covered with a bear skin rug. We searched the trunk. In the top drawer we discovered nothing particular; but in the second one there was a woman s fur cloak, and in the bottom one we found the portraits of several girls. It seemed to me that I had seen one of the portraits before. Pulling out the one which the Webster family had given me of their daughter, I compared — “ ‘The same, the same,’ I murmured. “Beneath these pictures was some lyric poetry. “ ‘Evidently an artist,’ 1 reflected, ‘the same story, “poetry and women.” ’ Sawyer, who was acting watch, beckoned to me that someone was coming. I replaced the things as they were and stepped to the door. A man, leading a little girl by the hand,. was approaching from the direction of the sound. I saw’ the man make a motion with his hand toward the root of a small maple that stood nearby, as if pointing out something. We went out to meet him. “ ‘I guess you think that we have run in on you,’ I greeted him, introducing myself as Henry Spencer. We were hoping to find shelter for the night— “‘Not in the least. Will be glad to have you,’ the other replied. He gave his name as Mahoney and introduced the little girl as his daughter wi th a degree of parental fervor. The man was well in middle life, clean shaven, with lines in his forehead. His voice was firm and a bit reluctant and there was no special effort on his part to display or entertain. Glancing in the direction in which the sti angei motioned his hand, I saw a mound of earth with a juniper plank driven in the giound at one end. In front of this plank there were two padded places. “ ‘What’s that ?’ I inquired. “ ‘That’s the grave of my little boy, William, who died last year—’ ’ the man’s voice lowered and a moment later he uttered : Here

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PRIM A LUCE over a lover; but I, for my part, will forever believe that that scoundrel, Mahoney, was responsible for her disappearance.’ With this remark he passed on. “One afternoon the following September, as I was sitting in my office, the postman shoved a letter through the slit in the door. Its contents were : Dear Mr. Humphry : Mrs. Webster and I were overjoyed to learn yesterday that our daughter is alive and living happily with her husband in South Carolina. Thanking you for your former services, we beg to remain, Your affectionate friends, Mr. and Mrs. John Webster. “As I was re-reading the note the bell rang. “ ‘Come in,’ I answered. “At this word the slender form of a woman, deeply veiled, entered the room. “Ms this Mr. Humphrey?’ she inquired. “I replied in the affirmative. “ ‘Have a seat,’ I continued. ‘Thank you. but I haven’t time,’ the visitor responded. ‘I understand that you were connected with Mahoney’s case.’ “ ‘Yes, I was given charge of the preliminaries,’ I assented. “Briefly I gave her the synopsis of the proceedings and of Mahoney’s end. “ ‘Do you know where his children are?’ she inquired. “ ‘He had but one child, did he? Oh, yes, one of them, the boy, is buried on the Banks, the other one is in the orphanage, or was until recently. Really, I don’t know where she is now.’ “ ‘I thank you,’ the woman returned in an almost inaudible voice. “ ‘But why are you so interested ?’ I queried. “ ‘I am related to his people and would like to care for the child. Mahoney was buried in Wilkes cemetery, was he not?’ “ ‘ Yes,’ I answered. “The lady left my office without revealing her identity and her sad appearance and reticence excited my curiosity. “ ‘I wonder who she is,’ I mused to myself. “Before I had time to collect my thoughts, I was called to investigate a shooting scrape in the city. The following morning the body of a woman, which was identified as that of Mrs. Mahoney, was found on the grave of her husband. Her hands were pressed tightly on her bosom holding this letter : Dear Flossie : May Lucille give you this letter. Some day you’ll return and regret your treatment of me. I know that lizard will desert you, as you deserted me. I’ve tried to bate you again and again, but I cannot. The remembrance of our early childhood days when we used to play together at school remains with me. I remember the long hours you sat beside me when I had the fever and the cooling effects of your caressing hands. The few happy days I have had were spent in your company. Flossie, Remembrance says Love; Judgment, Hate. You have been the destruction of my home. When little William died last year I promised him [ Page 67 ]