The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-10-04
THE PRESS.
London Society,"
A Cool Hand.
CONCLUDED.

equity to what?" asked L.
Come Mr.. Brand, / am your legal adviser
as well as my lords; you must have no Sc
crets from me. But perhaps you mean to
which of the cases? don't mean Lady
Horchester's Jewels. There would be no
fear of hostile prosecution in that quarter if
that was the only matter. But it is this new
busness-thats where the trouble comes"
''But why not plead not guilty to every
thing?"
'Think of the evidence, Mr.. Brand
'Pd rather you'd tell me the evidence
yourself, if you please"
ssThe police have been on the traces of
Lady Horchester's jewels for year. They
have reason-they're not bound to say how
or why-to suspect you. You leave the
country suddenly; they trace you to Africa.
Can you prove that you did not leave the
country suddenly and have not been in South
Africa?'
'Faith, can't do that. But"
every well. With the help of the au-
thorities at the Cape, they find you at last
farming ostriches up the country, in COM
pany with person named Conner. You
were on the poiut of being arrested when, as
if you had some suspicion of the intentions
of the police, you suddenly went away, and
was lost until you were traced to the dla-
mond fields, still in partnership with Common,
whom the police at first suspected OF being
your accomplish, but whom they now believe
to have been your tool-that is of course
how they put it, not /. Once more you disap-
peared when on the point of arrest"
''For Gods sake, don't tell me you're talk
ing of Paul Andrewsp l said, for he had
been my friend, and I'd believed in him.
''You see,' said he quietly, 'what would
happen if you plead not guilty. hadn't
mentioned the name you went by, and you
blurt it out in way that would make the
jury find you guilty without turning round.
Then they lost the track altogether for
time, when they heard of you in London,
living as if the whole thing had blown over;
but meanwhile they had got their whole
case together, and were going to take you
into custody on your way home last night
from Lord Hexam's, when you almost gave
them the slip again. 1t is thousand pities,
Mr.. Brand, that you were taken in the act of
trying to escape from the carriage while it
was going at full speed, and that you tried
to get rid of what you had in your pockets
before you were searched officially. You
will have to be tried for stealing, not Lady
Horchester's jewels, but Mr.. Connor's.
Your knowledge of his possession OF it is be-
yond legal question, for you were in his COM
pany the very day it was found. You and
he were at the Opera on the same evening
You have had financial dealings with his
brother-in-law, Cregan-who, between our
that ever made hundred pounds by lend
ing ten. The diamond was lost, strangely
and mysteriously. Information of the loss
was at once given to the police by Mr..
Graves, the jeweller; and four days after
wards it was found upon you. Believe me,
Mr.. Brand, you must have very strong
story indeed to account for the lawful pos
session of that stone-and then. how will
Lord dorchester himself be able to keep
back the rest of the scandal? OF what ma
ture would your defence be?'
was thinking of Grace and Of Paul, and
l was wondering.
''My defence? Pooh! Tll call Mr.. Con-
nor HIMSELF said l. 'He'll make it as
clear as day to you. You'll go to his lodg-
ings in Norfolk street, Strand. And he'll
tell YOU
What was | saying? l stopped short,
flushing up to my hair-the truth is, there
was such case against me that I'd clean
forgotten for the minute whether L was my
self or no.
''What will he tell me?' said the lawyer.
"Pm thinking that perhaps you won't
find him in Norfolk street, after all, - said l.
'He was there, but he had business in Ire
land"
$50 he told Graves. You see how much
better informed you are about his lodging
and his movements than even the detectives
supposed. But what would he say if he
could be found?'
''On second thoughts, I'm thinking he'd
say nothing said l beginning to feel I'd got
into real mess at last, but not able to see
my way out of it without harming Grace
anyhow.
''Then he must be kept out OF the way,
and you must plead guilty--if you can't get
bail. Can you get bail?'
would you be one yourself@' l asked.
"That would not do at all. 1t is essential
that no name in the remotest way connected
with the family should appear Cregan,
rascal as he is, might do
Heaven forbidv' said l. for he'd identify
me; and so for that matter would anybody.
So said, 'No; l can't get bail-and L
won't either"
''Then we must comtrive an alias for you,
and you must plead guilty. said he. CAT
ter all, it will be the best way-there won't
be bit Of scandal, and you'll get a ticket-of-
leave in no time, and then you'll have a safe
three hundred year for the rest of your
days. May take it as settled thing?"
Well, it did seem hard, that just because
I'd put on dress-coat to go to the Opera,
/ should have to plead guilty to a theft, and
maybe get sent into penal servitude fer five
years or more. But, once more, put it to
every Irish or English gentleman, what else
could do? Penal servitude isn't thing to
be jumped at, whether one deserves it or no;
loss to a girl of her good name. And, try as
| would, couldn't manage to make myself
the brute-beast and the mean cad that I'd
have been if I'd run the least chance of hav-
ing it thought that Grace had been caught
running away at night with anybody but her
own brother. All the same, L don't pretend
that l mightn't have found it easier to make
a cad of myself if l hadn't just learned that
my best friend was blackguard, and if poor
70 ho6 p;t lafty oil oil
in the world-or if that last look of Grace
had left me anything to look for. Icouldn't
manage to care much about myself just then,
and there was nobody else for me to care for
between the sky and the fields. l didn't
even think when l answered him.
eyes, said l, that's settled, and the
sooner the better. So I'll wish you good
morning, Mr.. Fry; and if there's any trifing
thing L want doIle, | daresay you'll be good
enough not to mind doing it for me-
held out my hand and he took it, thief as l
was; and felt more grateful to him than |
had any need to be, for it's fact that L
hadn't shaken mans hand in kindness
since I'd left Africa.
''That's right" said he. you've saved
the Family Honour: and as to the three
hundred year"
"You shall not pay it to mer' said 1, in
a rage. 81 won't touch penny of tiff his
lordship thinks honours worth two thous-
and pounds, don't think it's to be paid for
in diamondsr' said l. You see just at that
minute Paul's honour, blackguard as he'd
been, was my own.
Mr.. Fry stared: but he didn't say anything
more that was worth saying, and left me a.
lone. But I'd been for long time now,
and was likely to be for a longer; so, as ia
had but a short night, turned round on the
bench and went to sleep again. And what
else was there to do?
l don't know much about the laws OF
England, or how long it's usual to keep
prisoner before taking him before magis-
trate, or whether there's any practical diff
ference about the rules when great people
get mixed up in such matters. Nor do
know how long 1 slept on that bench, wait
ing for what was next to happen. might
seem to be taking things easy; but wasn't
at ALL When l woke up it seemed to be
from bad dream, in which | was everybody
in the world but one, and that was myself;
while myself was everybody in the world
but me. | fancied the door was once, and II
didn't swear out loud, | dreamed that
did pretty forcibly-or somebody else did, in