The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-05-14

well.
want FL, oOO," answered the other,
doggedly. "You can give. me q new
start in life, and you'll find it cheaper
to do so than to quarrel with me-"
John Goldwell uttered a moan Here
was q lion in the power of 4 cur. The
catastrophe which he had dreaded all
his life had come upon him, and Just in
the form that he had expected ia de-
mand for hush-money, with the prospect
of being for evermore in the power OF
the man to whom he should have once
Welded. His visitor was 4 fellow named
! Tom Dunno, who had nee been q
policeman, and had apprehended John
! Goldwell, alias Williams, when the lat
ter had been given into custody for
fraud five-and-thirty years previously.
Dunno had afterward become a detec-
. tive, but had been discharged the force
, for drunken misconduct. He was now.
by his own account, living on his wife,
and made a poor job of it. John Gold
well looked ut the man, marked the leer
in his eyes, the bloated condition of his
face, the weak twitch of his lips, and
perceived him to be an irrcclaimablc
drunkard, with whom it would be folly
to compound. To give him money
would be like pouring water into a sieve.
In Il moment Goldwcll's mind was made
up, and he resolved to resist; but want
ing time to decide what steps he should
take to get rid of his prosecutor once and
for all, he dissembled for the present.
You must give me time to consider
yourrequest," said he. "To begin with,
I have not fl,OOO here in my private
house."
You can give me q check on your
bank"
"No: that is out OF the question.
Leave me your address, and ] will write
in two days to tell you what 1 have de-
cided. Will you consent to go to
America if give you the money!. =,
eyes, that's what / want to do" said
Dunno. eagerly, for he thought he saw 4
sign Of yielding on Goldwells face. III
remarked tina the wanted q few Soverelgns
to 90 on with, as lie was cleaned out
Goldwell gave him Is. THAT will do,
sir, for the present." said he, as he
pocketed the money; "I1l let you have
forty-eight hours to reflect if you'll
give me the El,OOO. If you won't"
Every WELL" said Goldwell, interrupt.
ing him. Il will write and give you an
appointment. Go out now. | have
nothing more to say to you"
Tom Dunno went out. When he hat
! gone Goldwell paced the room for a few
minutes, holding his head between hi.
hands, as if it would burst. A very
storm was raging in his skull. He
thought little of himself; but the retlec'
ton that his daughters marriage might
be broken off if his own antecedents wert
made known, excited him to n point
verging on frenzy. At last he could bean
his anXieties no longer, and hurried on
of the house. A hanson was passing
he jumped into it, and told the cabmal
to drive to the address Of Fermeroy. Ill
was determined to make n clean breas'
Of it to the general.
Gen. Fermeroy was an elderly Officer
Of about sixty, who had seen much ser
vice, and whose hair was grizzled. III
was not particularly imaginative OF
clever, but his impulses under all conceiv
able circumstances ran straight rs lines
He had never done q mean thing, III,
could not hear that anybody had trans
crossed without twirling up his mus
taches in q significant manner tina
seemed to say: THAT man and l hay,
seen the last OF each other" He like
John Goldwell because he regarded hin
as q paragon among men of business,
man at once honorable and industrious
and he was glad that his eldest son wa
going to marry Goldwelrs daughter
Consequently he gave q start, asst he hat
been shot Mt, when the banker burst upol
him and said: General, Ihave a comics
sionto make! Sit down and hear me t.
the end. I need your advice. l I'M mis-
cradle man: but l give you my word tina
I was hardly responsible for my act
when | did the thing that brought me t.
my present position"
The two men remained closeted for IL
hour, and John Goldwell unfolded hi
wretched story. He had been clerk in
bank, when, falling in love with SOM
actress, he had spent for her more none
than he could afford. and had one day
to save her furniture from seizure Gas b.
thought), appropriated some moneys in
trusted to him, hoping to make good tn
amount before its disappearance wa
found out. Detected Immediately, IN
was given into custody, tried and sen
fenced to transportation without an,
extenuating circumstance being admitte'
in his favor. That was all he had to say
except that he had repented of his foil.
in the deepest misery and sorrow, ant
had tried to make atonement for it b,
leading the most honorable life ever sine,
he had come to NJ. He appealed t.
the general as to whether the latter ha'
ever heard Of his doing any dishones
thing.
The general listened in silence. III
was not an emotional man, but in hin
the spirit of justice predominated owe
every other sentiment. He glanced Il
Goldwell. saw his intense wretchedness
his wistful, appealing glances, his cvi
dent despair. He cleared his throat ant
exclaimed, indifferently: "Well, I'll b.
hanged-this is a curl ous start. Yous 81,
this scamp lives in b street,"
eyes, in B. street. | have pre-
vailed upon him to wait forty-cigh
hours for my answer
"Well, leave me to deal with him."
"You, General? And may | hope tha
you will not suffer my guilt to be visited
upon my poor child?"
"Ahem-well, we'll see" The genera
looked fierce at that moment. "Cal
upon me tomorrow ut this hour, and II
tell YOU what I think of your communi
cation. You say it's B street. That!
right; I'vegot it down. Good night
John Goldwell walked out sad ant
anxious, and the generalremained alone
He sat down at once and wrote 4 few
unsigned words upon q piece of paper
requesting Tom Dunno to meet per
son who would bring fl,00O," next da,
ut A--park. in the outskirts of NJ
When he had dispatched this missive
the general stepped up to q panoply 0
arms which adorned his study and tool
down two foils. He examined thcil
points, their edges, their supplencss. HI
made a lunge ut the wall; he stood for :
moment, head erect and weapon in hand
rs if he had an invisible foe opposit,
him; but suddenly he threw down hi:
foil with q shrug of disgust. Il can
soil q sword on such vermin as that
A pair Of bludgeons will do for this kint
of rame:' and he proceeded to look out
two stout walking-sticks from among
several that stood in a rack in his hall
n
Twenty-four hours later the rain wa.
falling heavily Owe A-park, when
toward seven in the evening, Tom Dunno
made his way, with drcnched clothes anC
creaking boots, toward a secluded par
O fthat pleasure-ground. He was par
tially drunk, and muttered as he walked
He had u loaded revolver in the poke
ofhic p,eat-coat. and proWled to himsel