SPEAKER LANIER.
Lanier walked forth from Mrs. Turner's house an enraged man. Horace
Christian's slighting reference to his (Christian's) having killed a
Negro came back to him now. Christian's utter disregard of the solemn
promise made to him relative to treating the Negro girls as ladies
intensified Lanier's contempt for his moral nature. Before taking any
action he decided to find out all about each of these crimes of
Christian, the killing of the Negro and the betrayal of Margaret
Marston.
Christian had not gone away from Richmond as yet, though the Legislature
had adjourned. Lanier called to see him and at first engaged him in a
conversation on subjects of minor importance to throw him off his guard.
Later he found it convenient to address him as follows: "By the way,
Christian, you have never told me about that frolic you had with that
Negro. You were telling Stewart about it when I called to see you at the
first of the legislative session just closed."
Christian said, "Excuse me, Mr. Lanier, but the deed was too
cold-blooded to be mentioned. The darky had never done me a bit of harm
and I have never gotten over what I did."
"I suppose that that is what made you so gay this session. I have heard
of your little intrigue with Margaret Marston."
"Ha, ha, ha! Have you heard of that? I did not know it was out. I
suppose there will soon be a young African calling me daddy. Ha! Ha!
Ha!"
Lanier was so disgusted with Christian that he could hardly repress
manifestations of his repugnance. He found some way of excusing himself
and went to his own room. He locked himself up in his room and walked to
and fro. He had two great problems on his hands. One was to save John
Wysong from the gallows, the other was to kill Horace Christian. At
length a plan suggested itself to him, and he grasped his hat to examine
into its feasibility. He went down to the jail in which John Wysong was
incarcerated, and being an intimate acquaintance of the jailer, he was
allowed to visit John privately in his cell. In fact, the jailer owed
his appointment to Lanier's influence. Lanier had John Wysong to stand
up. He eyed him closely from head to foot. He then had John to turn his
back to him, which Lanier examined thoroughly. He next examined his
hands and his feet. He reached in his vest pocket and drew out a tape
line with which he measured John accurately and thoroughly, taking a
record of the measurements. Having obtained the information he desired
he started to leave, when he caught sight of a burned place behind
John's ear. He stopped and looked at that closely. He then said to John,
"If the jailer seeks to cut off your hair you must not let him. Plead
with him to the very last. Your life depends upon it." So saying he gave
another scrutinizing look at John and then left. From the jail he went
to the tailor shop where a number of the legislators always had their
clothes made. He took the book in which the tailor kept the measurements
of his regular customers and on the pretence of copying his own
measurements, copied those of Christian. He now took these to his room
and placed them before him, by the side of those of John Wysong. He was
astonished at how the two ran together, only differing by half and
quarter inches. He paid Christian a visit and while they indulged in
ordinary chat he noticed every feature of Christian's face. John
Wysong's lips were larger than those of Christian, while their noses
were about the same size. There was just a shade of difference in the
color of their eyes. Christian's cheeks were not quite as full as those
of John. Other than this, if Christian were black there would be
scarcely anything to distinguish him from John, as John was a Negro of
the most common place type as to features and Christian was a white man
of the same mould. Of course there was a world of difference as to their
hair. Lanier was now convinced that shrewd management would enable him
to carry out his plans.
Knowing where the jailer's mother lived he boarded a train and went to
that place. Lanier found a person suited to his purpose and left in his
possession a telegram to the jailer informing him that a dying mother
desired to see him. This telegram was dated the day before John Wysong
was to be executed and was to be sent on that day in time for the jailer
to catch the afternoon train leaving for his mother's home. By another
device he so arranged as to get the death watch who had had special care
of John out of the way. He next bought a quantity of a solution which is
said to be used by burglars and criminals in general of the white race,
who at any time desire to pass for Negroes. The secret of the compound
was guarded so closely that Lanier experienced considerable difficulty
in getting hold of it. But he secured a large quantity of it, as well as
the counter solution enabling him to cleanse himself quickly and thus
become white again. He now goes to Christian on the day before John
Wysong was to be hanged and said:
"Christian, let us have a little frolic to-night; let us get our hair
cut real close, paint ourselves black all over, using a solution which I
have. I have another solution which will cleanse us immediately. Let us
go among the darky belles and have a good time."
"Bully, Lanier, bully. I am in for it. Since Margaret left I have had
the blues. I want a little fun. But say, you are a sly chap. With your
grave looks we would not have thought anything like this was in you.
Yes, I am in for it. What time will you be here?"
"At about ten o'clock. Don't fail me, now," replied Lanier.
"I won't. I wish it was night now," said Christian.
Lanier listened out for the news from his telegram. It came in and the
jailer went speeding out of town, but not before Lanier had gotten a
permit to see John Wysong at any time. Thanks to his other device the
regular death watch was out of the way also. That night at Christian's
room Lanier and Christian transformed themselves into "Negroes" and went
forth.
Lanier said, "Christian, if we happen to get drunk to-night and are put
in the lockup you must not squeal. You must play "darky" to the last or
our enemies will get hold of it and we will be done for politically."
"Don't be afraid of my squealing. I'll play darky all right. I won't
mind getting arrested and paying a fine, for the sake of the novelty of
experiencing just what a darky does go through."
"All right; now, Christian, be merry. Play your part like a man."
The two go to a house of ill-fame, where Christian gets beastly drunk.
Lanier slips out and goes to a place for which he had arranged
beforehand. He undresses, applies his solution and is white again. He
grasps a valise in which he has a number of things and returns to where
he left Christian. He gets him by the arm and leads him until he comes
to the jail in which John Wysong was incarcerated. He aroused the
substitute jailer and, showing him his pass, was allowed to come in. He
told the jail officials that he brought along a fellow who was going to
do a kindly act for John's sister. The two, Lanier and Christian, were
allowed to go into John Wysong's cell. Lanier left Christian in a
drunken stupor in the cell and took the jailer and death watchman _pro
tem_ aside and supplied them with whiskey to drink. It was drugged and
they were both very soon unconscious. Lanier seeing that they were sound
asleep returned to John Wysong's cell. He took out a pair of clippers
and soon had all of John Wysong's hair clipped off to the scalp. He got
from his valise a wig made of Negro hair just like John's, and carefully
adjusted it to Christian's head. He took out a syringe and injected a
poison in Christian's upper lip which caused it to swell slightly. He
looked from Christian to John to see how the likeness grew. He next
injected a small quantity of the fluid into each of Christian's cheeks
and they came out. He was astonished himself at the resemblance
Christian now bore to John. He had omitted to fix the lower lip which he
now did and stood off and surveyed his work.
Mr. Lanier and John together then undressed Christian, putting
Christian's clothes on John and John's clothes on Christian. Lanier now
examined the wig again and saw to it that it was so closely connected
with the scalp that only the most rigid examination would reveal that it
was a wig. He observed that the representation of the scar behind John's
neck was in exactly the right place, in the adjustment of the wig to
Christian's head. Christian's feet were somewhat smaller than John's,
but shoes were exchanged anyway, John cutting Christian's open to get
his feet into them. John did all of this without question, Erma having
so often praised Mr. Lanier and having led him to believe that he would
be largely instrumental in saving him. How little did she dream of the
way in which it was to be done. Lanier now goes back to the drunken
jailer and watchman, takes his seat as though he had never moved and
finally arouses them from their slumber, joking them about being able to
stand only a little drinking. After awhile he signifies his intention of
leaving. John Wysong, acting as drunken Christian had acted on coming
in, sat in the jail corridor waiting for Lanier. The jailer, watchman
and Lanier walked down the corridor, glancing into Wysong's cell as they
passed. The jail door was opened and Lanier and John Wysong walked
forth, leaving Christian in the cell of the doomed to die. The death
watchman drowsily took his seat by the side of the cell in which Horace
Christian was sleeping his last sleep on earth.