Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1883-09-28
THE BURDEN OF GUILT.
BY MARK TWAIN.

w ~
in the calaboose? The caboose victim
stranger, a harmless, whisky-sodden
tramp. | knew more about his case
than anybody else; knew too much of
it in that bygone day to relish speaking
of it. That tramp was wandering
about the streets one chilly evening,
with pipe in his mouth. and begging
for match. He got neither matches
nor courtesy; on the contrary, a troop
of bad little boys followed him around
and amused themselves with naggiug
and annoying him; l assisted. But at
last some appeal which the wayfarer
made for forbearance, accompanying
it with a pathetic reference to his for
lOrn and friendless condition, touched
such sense of shame and remnant of
right feeling as were left in me, and |
went away and got him some matches,
and then hied me home and to bed,
heavily weighted as to conscience and
unboyant in spirit. An hour or two
afterward the man was arrested and
locked up in the calaboose by the mar
shal-large name for constable, but
that was his title.
At two in the morning the church
bells rang for file, and everybody
turned out, of course with the rest.
The tramp had used his matches dis
astriously; had set his straw bed on
fire and the oaken sheathing of the
room had caught. When | reached the
ground two hundred men, women and
children stood massed together trans
fixed with horror, and staring at the
grated windows of the Jail. Beyond
the irons bars and, tugging frantically
at them and Screaming for help, stood
the tramp. He seemed like black
object against n sun, SO white and in
tense was the light at his back.
The marshal could not be found, and
he had the on,y key. A battering ram
was quickly improvised, and the thun-
der of its blows upon the door had so
encouraging sound that the specta-
tors broke into wild cheering, and be-
lieved the merciful battle won. But it
was not so. The timbers were too
strong; they did not yield. 1t was
said that the mans death grip still held
on to the bars when he was dead, and
that in this position the fires wrapped
him about and consumed him. As to
this do not know. What was seen
after l recognized the face that was
pleading through the bars was seen by
others and not by me.
saw that face, so situated, every
night for long time afterward; and
believed myself as guilty of the map S
death as if | had given him the matches
purposely that he might burn himself
up with them. | had not doubt that
should be hanged if my connection
with this tragedy were found out. The
happenings and the impressions ofthat
time are burned into my memory, and
the study of them entertains me aS much
now Us they themselves distressed me
then. Ii anybody spoke of that grizzly
matter | was all ears in moment, and
alert to hear what might be said, for
was always dreading and expecting tC
find ont that | was suspected; and sc
fine and so delicate was the perception
of my guilty conscience that it often
detected suspicion in the most purpose
less remarks, and in looks, gestures
glances of the eye, which had no sig
nifcance, but which sent me shivering
away in panic of fright justt same
And how sick it made me when some
body dropped, howSoever carelessly
and barren of intent, the remark tina
"murder will out" For a boy of ter
years l was carrying pretty weighty
cargo.
All this time / was blessedly forget
ting one thing-the fact that was al
inveterate talker in my sleep. But one
night | awoke and found my bedmat'
my younger brother-sitting up il
bed contemplating me by the light o