Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-11-01

) imagining him connected with thi
) robbery. AS well suspect my father
| or myself, or you" "
" He is mIssing,' said Mr. Morris
shutting the door upon us three
He was seen to return late in the even
ing. He was one of gang of house
!, breakers when we took him in, ant
many declare the character to be form
ed at six years old. He was nine.
believe he has been won back to his
old ways
''You viii not express your belief tc
others, said Mr. Grinby. g
"Not as yet, most certainly" said
Mr. Morris tI o 50
Well, sir, that was bitter day tc
me-a bitter day. We could Learn
nothing of Young Wade after eight
O'Clock on the previous night. TheI
several had seen him.
He had taken tea at little coffee
house, as he sometimes did when he
did not intend to return home until
quite late, and had said to some one
there, 6 [ must go back TO the office, ]
have forgotten something
Half an hour afterwards Mike, the
porter, had passed him in the street,
and young Wade had said:
| "What's the time, Mike ~
The porter told him.
" I shall be too late, y he said. 81
have an engagement, and I must go
back to our place for a parcel I've for
gotten. ...-.-.1t 1888
An apple woman on the corner had
seen him enter. He often bought fruit
from her for lunch, and she knew him
well by sight.
There the news ended, until Mike,
going in to light the fires, found the
place scene of confusion--desks and
safes rified, papers strewn about, and
every mark Of systematic burglary.
Later in the day Lucy Evans came
down. Her brother had sent her word
of what had occurred. She believed
some terrible accident had happened
to Ben, and begged the firm to spare
no efforts to discover him. She was
almost distracted, and who can wonder.
They had been going together, it seem
ed, to see some play the night before,
and she had been sufficiently alarmed
by his failing to keep the appointment
to be III measure prepared for the
worst. She knew he intended bringing
her a book He had spoken of it.
That must have been the parcel he
went back for. OF course she never
doubted him, and no one had dared to
hint at what had been whispered in
her presence @
For weeks, sir, the authorities we're
at work Immense rewards were offer
ed fOr,the burglars, and for the recovery.
alive ordead, of young Benjamin Wade,
but without the least effect.
We were notified of every body wash
ed ashore, and of every unknownsnan
I found dead for months, and at last
there were few who did not laugh at
poor Ben's friends for their credulity
It seemed plain to them-and may
heaven not judge them as they judged
their brother-Ben Wade was guilty
/ Poor Lucy never locked up. It was
J easy enough to see that her heart was
+ broken, and in year she died, just q
week too soon to hear what [ Shall tell
( you.
One morning I was very busy at my
desk in the Office, when gentleman
came in and asked for Mr. Morris or
Mr.. Grinby. Old Mr. Grinby was
home with the gout, but Mr.. Morris
and the young gentleman were in. /
saw the gentleman was a clergyman,
and fancied he had called to solicit
subscription for some mission to the
heathen, or Sunday School, or new
( church But his first words made me
start. They were these:
/, d" You remember, of course, surgla-
ry committed here year ago or more. y
4 could not keep my seat then, but
went forward trembling Like a leaf.
g Young Mr. Grinby had turned quite
faint, and was leaning against the wall
for support. r =fu...s
g You are agitated, said the clergy
man 6 / fear you will be still more
tfaffected by what you must hear. A
person now in custody, condemned to
execution, has confession to make to
you in regard to that affair a very hor-
fible one, | fear" .sasW WIH I7I0TF Z
IiI He tooka card from his pocket and
wrote a few l1nes
! ai" IF you will call at the prison any
time to-day you will not be too late
Tomorrow is Friday and he is to suffer
execution at dawn. Present this, ii
you please and [ impIore you ask no
4questions now.315ia3 5dj gul tGsh = 81
In Before they could say much he was
gone, afraid, I think, to be the first to
tell the story, and our gentlemen called
a cab and took me with them at my re-
quest. They seemed to expect us at
the prison, and we were admitted, But
in the narrow. corridor Morris stopped
us.
q Gentlemen, he said, you must
nerve yourselves. Have you reflected
/ that you may see Benjamin Wade when
I yonder door is opened 90
4 Young Grinby put his hand upon his
Il heart, and seemed turning faint again.
It was the first time the thought had
J staggered my mind, and it was blow.
It,staggered me. vtis
s The next minute the. turnkey flung
q the door open,I and We,were IN the cell.
FOn the floor lay mana broad-shoul-
dered fellow, III rough garments-who
4 seemed to have cast himself down IN
grief OF terror. 1t was not Ben Wade.
Atfirst / thought I had never seen the
= face he lifted as he arose. In mo-
ment it came to me- It was the leader
of the gang who had been arrested fol
that old attempt at robbery, when we
had found little Ben in the stone vault
you've come, have you?" said he,
sittingdown on the stone seat, "and
see you know me. They've caught me
again, and it's murder this time, and
j I've got to swing. IF it wasn't for that
no person 'ud have got this out of me
But I've promised, and I always keeI
my word, [ do. You remember 6
b young man called Ben Wade?' ...
4 SaWhat Of him p we said in a breath
+. "Not much-he didn't rob YOU
place, that's gaH. We done -it=Dicf
Burch, Slippery Tom and me. Tel
you how it, was. You know that boy
informed on us, and I was locked III
for hard labor for more years than mos
men live. I didn't stay though I cut
off and came home And the frs
thing ] did was to, VOW vengeance. OF
that boy. Why, there he was a ga,
young buck, in fine togs,. with the
handling of money, and thought o
and trusted just for having done for US
Proud .too-wouldn't speak to us in tht
street. Threatened to give information
L 2 L