The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-11-27


"Were you at church in the forenoonf" I
| quickly interposed.
No, sir. / had to bide at home and mind
the dinner"
"Were the windows all fastened?"
"Oh, yes; and the front door locked"
| "But not the back door?"
A slight pause elapsed before she said, rather
hesitatingly-
No, sir; not the back"
Did any one come to the back door-any
| neighbor or acquaintance?"
Another slight pause and then came the de-
cided answer
No; nobody-nobody."
There was no more to be got out of her, and
we dismissed her, and sat staring at each other.
He seemed TO feel what was coming but was
loath to give the first hint.
Well, 1 suppose we had better co." said, at
last.
"All right. Do you wish to take anything
with you z" he answered with the utmost readi-
ness, though evidently feeling the position
acutely.
Nothing but the coat and hat" answered,
but first if you'll get light I'll have a look
| around the rooms before lock them up"
| He struck match and lit the lamp and /
| searched the rooms thoroughly, but l found
nothing more tending to connect him with the
crime. 1 then fastened the windows locked
| the room and left the house. There was no stir
| outside whatever, and we went to the police
station without attracting attention, and there
left him till should go TO the farm. / there
| asked to be admitted to Miss Carnavon's pres
ence, when / showed her the cairngorm stone
and asked if she knew anything about it. The
| stone was one of great purity and sparkled al
| most as brightly as diamond, and the moment
/ produced it both May and her aunt ex-
| claimed:
"It's the stone of the brooch!"
But the young lady said no more, while the
elder added eagerly:
"Where was it got?"
al got it in the pocket of Mr.. Henderson's
velvet coat" l slowly answered, when the
shivering young lady started up with some-
| thing like scream.
| "What! then you suspect him?" she cried,
with an agonized look.
He was seen here about the time of the
robbery, and declares he was miles away, so
| took him to the station till | should have things
cleared up" l said, putting it as gently as
| possible.
| "Arrested!" breathed the stricken girl, and
then softly sank back in faint.
The next day removed Henderson to Edin-
| burg, and with great difficulty managed to
learn of May Carnavon all that she had seen
and heard during the robbery. In spite of
every protest Henderson was remitted to the
! High Court, and with the recovery of the serv
| ant girl the evidence of his guilt so grew on
our hands that before the day of his trial was
certain that he would be convicted. And con-
victed he undoubtedly would have been but
for visit had from the schoolmasters serv-
ant, Janet Richardson, the very day before
that fixed for the trial.
1--WE come to see you about that poor man
Henderson," she said, in pallid and fearful
way that made me scan her face closely for
the first time; 9" am sure he is innocent, and
l think know who was guilty"
why didn't you speak out sooner" 1
- Al.
in the case-your evidence was taken down in
writing and sworn to like the rest-was it not
the truthp"
'Not all-not ALL" she said, sobbing Bit
terly and wringiug her hands.
"Then you committed perjury" shortly
responded. Do you know what's the penalty
for that?"
81 don't care what's the penalty or what be-
comes of me now," she recklessly answered.
"Jim Deans has deceived me and run away,
after promising to marry me- and l only want
to see him caught and put in prison for what
he's done;" and then she explained that Deans
was handsome collier who poached, drank,
and everything but what was right and yet
had managed to steal her heart.
He came to the back door after the kirk
bells rang in, and asked for the lem O. Mr..
Henderson's coat and hat. l couldn't think
what they were for, and he was only away
about an hour. But when / heard the story
( o. the robbery / kent what it meant, and spoke
to him." she continued. "Then he asked me if
l wanted to be his wife or no, and l said Yes;'
but he has kept putting off, till the other day
| l found oot that he was gaun wi another lass,
and now he has run away wi her."
| glanced at her in no very amiable frame of
mind, for her statement, although it might
have the gratifying result of freeing an inno-
cent man. made me and my movements and
ferreting look very foolish. There was nothing
for it but to lock her up and make new in
vestigation, the result of which was that we
found one or two of the stolen articles buried
at the back of the house in which Deans had
lodged, and also the knobbed stick with which
the servant girl had been felled. My impress
sion then was that Deans had borrowed the
things simply for the purpose of deceiving the
old woman at the cottage near the farm, for
on questioning her found that the mans face
had been averted while he was passing her
window. The blood stains in the coat pocket
had probably been caused by the knobbed end
of the stick being thrust into it as the man left
the house. The cairngarm stone exactly fitted
in the brooch found at the back of Deanss
lodgings.
Henderson was quickly liberated, to the great
joy of Miss Carnavon, who shortly after be-
came his wife. The poor duped servant lass,
Janet Richardson went to prison for perjury;
but Deans had burrowed so well that it was
long before l got a trace of him.-Detectipcs'
Stories.