The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1883-03-15

said eyes" again.
"Will you give a stranger dying
stranger-a year of your timer"
"Will give" began Crane.
"Listen," with sudden energy. 81
hadn't an enemy in the world. am
dying by the hand of murderer. Will
you give one year to find the man who ia
responsible for this? And will you make
it cost him his life?"
Crane hesitated, but looked into the
eyes turned toward his face and said
"Yes" again.
"Swear it,
A long pause, and then Crane said sol
emily: 81 do swear it,"
A wilder blast swept across the park,
and when it had passed Crane was look
ing down upon the dead face of the man
whose path had crossed his that fearful
night, and to whom he had pledged
year of his life.
II.
Thomas Crane testified at the inquest
to the conflict he had seen, and to being
with the man at his death. To his
father and to Harry Fenton only did he
tell of the fearful oath he had taken in
the tempest of that January night Both
grieved that ne had taken it, but neither
said word to induce him to break it.
"My legal knowledge is at your COM
mand," said Harry Fenton.
my fortune is at your command"
said his father.
Long before noon the dead mans rela-
tives had come to claim him-his wild.
owed mother and his sister; but they had
nothing to tell which woild throw any
light on the murder. Charlie Jackson
had spoken the truth when he said that
he had not an enemy in the world. He
had no great amount of money. 1t was
a terrible mystery.
The next day Thomas Crane began his
search Search around the scene of the
murder was rewarded by finding the
knife with which the deed was done.
The police had failed to find it. Crane
found it himself.
Days followed in which he carefully
examined the stock of cutlery in one
store after another in his search for
knife like it. He found its mate at last
| in little variety store far ont in the sub
urbs, the only one which he had seen for
sale in the whole city. He bought it,
treated the man who had sold it to
glass of beer. praised the little child who
|
| ing behind it, and so won upon the man
that he learned where the other two
knives from the quarter dozen he had
had, had gone when sold.
He took the likeliest case first.
A fellow who had been indicted for
manslaughter once, and who was popu-
larly believed to have escaped by false
swearing, was followed first. Whatever
| h. 10 In,uo ha anvaripn IN
his tracks. But when found at last, late
in March, thousand miles away from
where Crane had commenced to follow
him, lie was sitting in bar room whit
| thing n single with the mate of the knife
which had killed Jackson, and two
months of hard work had come to moth
ing. Crane WAS Disguised. not disheart-
ened.
The next day he was on his way back,
to begin again.
| The other man was an express messen-
ger. An honest, hard working, straight
forward man, it seemed almost a mock
cry to follow him. Crane took another
themselves before he began. He went
to the manufacturers, and from them to
the wholesale dealers, telling them just
| euouSu VI Ills Putpooo w ScouAo enSi'
aid. and traced the knives from the place
where they were made.
In towns not far away, knives like
these had been bought and sold again,
but only the three he had already known
of had ever been sent to the city in which
the murder took place.
There was nothing left to do but follow
the express messenger. Crane began
his work He had seen the man once or
twice, and so he knew him by sight. He
found him one morning in his neat yard
at home. He was cutting limbs from the
trees next the walk; and, to Cranes dis
appointment, the knife he used was..not
the mate of the one which had killed
young Jackson.
Thomas Crane went that afternoon to
see the Jacksons. They had known for
some time that he was following up the
case, and he had been to see them sew
eral times. He told them what he had
done, and what he had found out; but
he did not tell them why he vas follow
ing the murderer. 1t was beginning to
be ghostly piece OF business in his es-
timation. yet he scarcely dared hope for
so welcome thing as failure. Think OF
it. A man bending all his his energies to
one dread end, and hoping that the
CHASTITY necessity of being the avenger OF
a murder may pass by him. How the
man longed for January again, that
beautiful April morning. If he could
only fall sick; but his oath kept him
from his exposure; the year OF his life
was to be given in honesty, even though
unwillingly.