The man made some response; but in such indistinct tones of voice that Mrs. Gibson could not understand what he said. It was enough to convince her however, that there was a human being confined in the room.
Mrs. Gibson hoped by thus continually talking to the prisoner to get the mother to say something about it, but the old woman did not notice her at all, but after doing something about the yard went into the house.
On Tuesday morning at about 3 o’clock, Mr. Gibson was awakened by noises at the same window. He at once arose and dressed himself and called his mother up and told her he heard some one at Herriges window. These noises were mumbling and singing and a strange noise as though some one were clapping his hands together.
At this time Mr. Gibson got out upon his own shed which leans down toward Herriges fence, and would have got up to the prisoner’s window to tear off the bars and get the man out but his mother would not allow him to do it.
It is not more than eleven or twelve feet from Mr. Gibson’s window to the window of the little cage like room in which John Herriges was confined, so when Mr. Gibson got down to the edge of the shed he was not more than about three or four feet from the prisoner’s window.
Listening a while he could shortly distinguish words being uttered by the prisoner. Among them were these:
“Murdering! Murdering! George! George! they want to get me out of the way.”
Mr. Gibson then spoke to him saying:
“Why don’t you try and get out of there?”
The prisoner instantly replied: