The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-10-20

"Of course not; I brought his key
, away as well as my own
= II wonder said Hammel, "wheth-
) er any one else knows that he is III -2''
mot a soul, - replied Banham. ~
walked straight from the tower to
s.Yardel. He bought his weeks pro-
visions there, as usual, last Saturday
and the same boy who always takes
them up the hill for him, did 50 then
and noticed nothing particular.
"What! do you mean to say you
. made inquiries ~ said BsldOck.
''Yes, but quite naturally, and with
Teference to my rent. I said nothing
that could excite suspicion, whatever
may happen; rather the contrary"
He won't be missed till Saturday
this is Wednesday night
''It is a shame TO leave a sick man
alone there all that time" said Ham
mel. HE might die, you know, and
|, die without an heir. Now if he saw
Us he might make US his heirs. II
woald be kind to pay him visit al
. FoRce. What do you say ,"
The two others nodded and rose.
BaldOck took alantern and matches
= and also pTt in the pocket of his pea
i8cket an ninstrumentO of twisted whale
bone, having q heavy lump Of lead on
one end, called a-life-preserver. Then
they blew out the lights and left the
house quietly. The fresh night air,
striking on their frames heated with
alcohol, made their heads reel and
: their footsteps stagger; but the pur-
pose they had in view keptdOwn the
fumes of drink, and as they silently
followed the path which led through
the farm, and breasted thessteep hill,
they grew steadfer and steadier.
By the end of the hour which. ii
took them to reach the top they We're
/ almost sober.
They reached the tower, unlocked
the gate, ascended the stair case. Bal
dock lit his lantern and tried the sit
4 ting room door; it was fastened on the
inside. Hammel set his back against
; tae stone wall and his foot upon the
lock, and pried with his whole force.
The door flew back with a crash, and
a column of fRtid air rushed out up
on them.
] aBaldock advanced with his lantern.
Old Claxton lay face dOwnWards on
the floor, his left hand grasping q
| leather bag by the neck, his right
stretched towards an open iron safe.
I He was. quite dead; the effort to de
fend his chest against FBanham and
fasten the door upon him that after
] noon, had exhausted his little remain
I ing strength. He tried to reach his
bed-fainted-feH-died.
s'fNo needfoFviolence, atall events y
said. Baldock, smashing open one. of
the windows. '..We may die of the
pest, but are safe from jack
What need to detail lOathsOme par
ticuIars? ? Suffice it that they got the
body on the bed, and transferred all
the treasure they could find to the
room below. There We're three bags
ofsovereigns, and a dozen larger ones
ofsilver and copper, crowns, half
crowns. shillings, sixpences fOur-pen-
ny bits being all stored up separately.
Han1mel proposed to divide. the
/ fpIGnder and leave at once but Bal
dock suggested that there might be a
/ great deal more hidden away in old
! corners, behind WainscOttings, &c, as
he had heard was the custom. with
misers, and proposed devOhng the
whole of next day to q thorough
| search.
II can't stop here without liquOrp
said Hammel. T.
,tirhen let us go odd man who shall
walk back for whiskey and provisions;
there VIII be time to return before
daylight, Or stop; Hammel can't go
as he is staying at my place, and does
not know where the things are; you
and l toss, SQUIRE
sI will 60" said Banham, II can
get some bread and cheese and a
couple of bottles of brand from my
own house quietly"
When he was gone the other two
began to count the money.
9Do you really think, there is much
more hidden Gnywhere%' asked Ham,
mel.
ifNo," replied Baldock. 81 wanted
to get rid of the squire"
"Aye, /, guessed it. He is Of no
more use-he is squeezed dry. For
my part I should not mind getting
rid of him altogether
'FYou forget his third share of this.
No, don't; but he will stick to
that, you may take your oath. He is
/ thinking how he may best give us the
slip at any moment, I'll lay any odd"
dWhy should he have any part of
the swag, mate?"
"What's to prevent him ~
''This.n
And as he spoke, Baldock drew the
life-preserver from his pocket. Ham
mel turned pale.
'I don't like itn he said. 'If it was
only for the money wouldn't do it.
But he is tired of being in our power,
and I know he is thinking CT getting
the start and splitting first on us. So
that to put him out of the way would
be only self-defence. But there is the
risk.n
"Deuce a bit. There is a dry well,
as deep as the pit, not thirty rods from
the tower; and who would take the
trouble to wonder where a ruined beg
gar who is hiding from everybody
had gone to? Why, he has not got a
friend in the wOrld.n
Ignorant of the plot which was be-
ing laid against his life, Banham
strobe rapidly down the hill with a
thought which the devil had just put
into his head seething and stinging.
What a chance ne had now Ofgetting
rid of his accomplices and tyrants, and
of starting in the world afresh with
good sum in hand. There must be
upwards of thousand pounds, and
should they be shared with those fell
lows when he might so easily secure
the whole?
The events of the day had preven-
ted the whisky swallowed early in the
night from producing the effect upon
him which a similar quantity usually
did, but il had braced his cOwardly
heart with a fictitious boldness, and
so far affected his brain that he felt
like one moving and actingly anight-
mare, with a sense of uncertainty
whether anything was real.
Years ago he had obtained a subtle
poison for the purpose of escaping from
a general burst of scOrn which was
well nigh intOlerable even to him;
but his nerve failed him, and the drug
was in his possession still. BY its aid
he might be even with those two yet.
Baldock was the cause of his ruin.
When quite a child he had taken
him to a dog-fight, and instilled those
tastes into him which had caused his
expulsion from schoOt-it was Bald
Ock, too who taught him TO love
drink. The same n1an, in conjunction
with IIammell, had made catspaw
of him, melting him to an act from
which thcy reaped the principal profit,
and threatening him with exposure |
when he would have broken with |
them. He had 4 long score to clear
with them.
He reached his house, entered it, /
struck light, procured bread and
cheese, and placed it in a fishing-creel;
took bottle of brandy, went up to
his bedroom and shut the door. Then T.
he opened his desk Ia boys desk, a
birthday present from hismother, had I.
he remembered it?) and took out
something: then he drew the cork of
the brandy bottle. He paused, his /
hand shook; fear, the only substitute .
for. conscience he had left, warned him .
to stop there.
Why not fly from these men, Fath- /
er? He had a relative living who
would pay for his passage to Austria
liza, and even make him q small quar-
terly allowance if he would remain
there, not out of affection indeed, but (
to be rid of the disgrace of him. No;
the wiser impulse was but mOmenta-
~; he consulted the demon which
lived inside the bottle, and when the
= L I