Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1857-07-30

, cruise. But Of this, Of course Their
!; was no certainty.
Ny wife seemed greatly relieve.
when she had revealed the secret t,
me, and concluded that for "a tins
at any rate, / would let the matte
rest between US, for 1 saw no goot
that could come irem making it ;
public fact.
Not long afterou marriage agair
became watchman, tlayersIng, the
same old beat. / believe | know
every store in it. Never did / pass
the old store which still remained
! unoecupied, the owner stillremainine
abroad, and having no agent for let
ting it without an unpleasant sensa'
ton. Sometimes / felt curious t.
enter and search. the premises, to see
if the money was sill there; but
was restrained by the thought Of the
worlds consciousness, and that my
curiosity might be construed inju-
riously. Sol let it alone altogether.
One evening f.r all the world just
such IAN evening as that when my
wife first spoke to me, | was standing
in the deep doorway, next to number
sc, and thinking. of the fact that a
sloop-of-war's ere y. had been disehar-
ged that very day, and wondering
whether the rogues had been among
them, when I heard the. sound Of ap-
preaching feet, and looked cut and
remarking that two men approaching
appeared to be sailors, "a little in for
it, i shrank back into the darkness
and Listened.
When they got abreast Of The store
one said to the other in a low tone:
MY eyes, Tom, if there arn't the
very old store, looking as if no body
had g one into it,frcn that time to
this! And mayhap there haven't
been. Doyousuppose the man died?'
Shut up, Bob, and heaye ahead,
and let's make the tavern. 1t won't
do to be loose in talk while we're in
this port. The man dead, blast your
eyes! Didn't he get the knife in his
heart, or near about it, for deceiyingI
US? If the store has never been
opened since that time, his skeleton,
most like, is in there now. A bad job
we made of it, Come along
Might have been worse, said the
first speak, r, as they staggered along,
and l heard something muttered
about 'necks stretched
l followed. stealthily. at a little
distance, convinced from what / heard
who they were. But who, thought I,
will be witness against them? My
wife's evidence would be hardly suffi-
cient, even for circumstantial proof.
Still, ! resolved to mark where they.
lodged, and on the way | hit upon a
plan.
When arrived at the sailors board
ing house where they stopped, while
they were drinking, gaming and
swearing near the bar, | sent man for
assistance, and when it came the two
were seized without word of ex-
planation from US, and conveyed to
Jail. They made a desperate resis-l
tance, and were at first assisted by
some of their shipmates, who were
soon, however, restrained by the
landlord, whose assurance that justice
should be done was enough for them.
We put the men in separate cells
and allowed not word 10 be said to
them, and meanwhile ] related my
suspicious and the plan | proposed
for their detection; and en- the follow
ing day it was approved and adopt
ed, aud at night put into execution.
In the course Of the day We visit
ed them, and to the inquiries why
they were arrested answered that it
was for theft, committed on the pre-
ceding day. This was intended to
luIl their suspicious Of the truth,
and prevent, if possible, any premed-
itated defence against the charge Of
murder. / did so, and the men, re-
!ieyed of their chief anxiety, laugh
ed, cursed, danced and sung all day
in their cells, confident that they
would be able to establish their IN
nocence Of the charge.
One of the two we discovered, in
the course Of q carefully worded con-
versatioD, was of a nervous and su-
perstitious nature, and upon him We
fixed as the instrument for the sue
cess Of our stratagem. At night be
was taken from his cell, suddenly
gagged and blindfolded, in silence,