288 Slide – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

256 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

day, and he knew the hour. On the previous afternoon little
Helen Ferguson, Mary’s chum, had called for Mary’s pay,
and Frank had teld her that Mary should come and get her
own pay, breaking a rule of the plant in doing so. He
arranges with Jim to hang around and make himself eon-
venient. Jim takes his aceustomed seat in the hallway. Par-
ties come and go. Jim observes all that happens, he says
nothing. Finally, Mary Phagen arrives, beautiful, innocent,
coming in her blue frock and new hat and a ribbon around
her hair. Without any thought of evil or foreboding of
tragedy, she tripped into the building and up the stairs,
going for $1.20. No explanation can come from Mary. The
dead have no stories to tell. She went in a little after 12.
She found Frank. He tells us that much from his own lips.
He was there from 12 to 1. It’s his own statement. What
a statement!

There was Mary. Then, there was another little girl, Mon-
teen Stover. He never knew Monteen was there, and he said he
stayed in his office from 12 until after 1—never left. Mon-
teen waited around for five minutes, Then she left. The
resultt There comes for the first time from the lipe of
Frank, the defendant, the admission that he might have gone
to some other part of the building during this time—he
didn’t remember clearly.

Jim Conley, sitting faithfully downstairs, heard footsteps
going toward the metal room. Then there came the sound of
other footsteps, footsteps-that pursued. There was no return
of the first footsteps, and the footsteps that pursued tiptoed
back from the metal room. Then Leo stamped a signal on
the office floor.

I will be fair with Frank, When he followed the child
back into the metal room, he didn’t know that it would
necessitate foree to accomplish his purpase, I don’t believe
he originally had murder in his heart.

There was a seream. Jim Conley heard it. Just for the
aake of knowing how harrowing it was, I wish you jurymen
could hear a similar scream. It was poorly described by the