Morning journal and courier., 1885-12-19

must have enteredl I never heard you, but I saw you in the brilliant moonlit room. You did not see me with my eye at the knot hole, for my room was dark; but l saw you and saw all that happened.
 "You stood by his bedside. You took his
 trousers you searched the pockets and drew ! from them packet and placed it in your bosom. At that moment Yelverton awoke, 1 discovered you, seized a pistol from under | his pillow and 1eveled it at your head. You sprang upon him and threw up his be- | fore he could pull the trigger There was a momentary struggle for the possession of the ! pistol, then an explosion. Yelverton fell l back, shot dead"
 ''Oh, that it had been myself!" walled the youth
 'Indeedl' sneered Hanson, ''I shouldn't | havethought that to have been your sentiment at the time, for I think I never saw an in l stance of the instinct of self-preservation so | instantaneous in asserting itself, or so promptly obeyed. One moment you gazed upon your victim, then darted to the door, | locked it on the inside, leaving the key in it, snatched up another key from the floor, hur- ried to the open window on the roof and ! closed it fast, darted to the open window on l the balcony, passed through it and closed the ! shutters, which fastened by spring on the 1 inside, and could not be opened from the | outside. Thus you made good your escape, | leaving the room locked and bolted from l within, even while the reused house was hur- | ryng along the hall towards the spot from l which the report of the pistol had been heard. | They tried the door, and, finding it locked on | the inside, burst it open. They found the
 man dead in his bed They found the win ! dows fastened on the inside. No one could l have entered the room, they said. Yelyerton had shot himself, was their verdict He had attempted suicide once before, it was said Everyone was shocked, but no one was much surprised. A man who led such a life as Yelverton might have ended it by his own hand at any time these ten years past. Such was public opinion. Only man knew the facts of the case. That man was myself But gave no sign"
 ''Why did you not!" breathed Harcourt, in hollow tone.
 Because the secret was too valuable to be thrown away"
 But as you saw all that occurred, you
 must have seen. that it was an accident!'
 pleaded Harcourt.
 An accident:-was it accident that you
 stole to YelveTtons room in the dead of
 night, to rob him of his money?'
 No, no; not to rob hin-to get back my
 own, or what was more sacred than my own another mans money that had been in
 trusted to my keeping as clerk of the hotel-"
 meaned Harcourt.
 ''And that you staked at the table and lost
 to Yelverton-"
 "A blackleg-a sharper, who won by cheat
 ing" broke in the youth, in tone of des-
 peration, trying to justify himself for en- deavoring to get the money back.
 Don't malign the dead," sternly com
 manded Hanson.
 q do not wish to, but told the plain truth"
 'tWhat business had you to be in company with blackleg and sharper, and, of all things, what right had you to stake another mans money?"
 'Nonel nonel Oh, Godl Easy is the Rx1 III II inal, tearing his hair.
 "Yes, assented Hanson, coldly; land in your case it was not only descent; it was plunge, tumble, dive. You were half way down before you realized that you had started. But come! you need not go head long to the bottomless pit unless you choose. I willing to admit that, from your point of view, the death of Yelverton may have seemed an accident; but under the circum- stances of your presence in the room no jury in this world would call it an accident. The law would call it a murder"
 "I was trying to wrest the pistol away to prevent him from shooting me, when it went off and killed him."
 ''And he was trying to prevent your escape with his property, when the pistol went off, shot and killed him. The law would call it murder. my boy. But cemel Do not de- spair. You acted, one might almost say, in elt-defence-though in self-defence while u to become a criminal. You did not volun- ta6ilg assHaRaa iPtan tAs Ass 4aakd 4bagaakd1Jahhgy
 But the verdict of the coroner's iury was that Nathan Yelverton came to his death Inv Ily tsszsss<sz.s..sl ss The pistol was in his hand when the shot ws fired, said Harcourt, speaking with diff culty.
 ''Yes, the pistol was in his hand, but he did not fire it. The pistol was in your hand also, for you had hold of it trying to wrest it from him. And between you the weapon was discharged and Yelverton killed"
 ''It was an"
 ''Now don't say that again; it is stupid man, and face the music. The coroner's 1 jury have found it suicide, and suicide it | rests. Poor Yelverton's body has this day 1 been given up to his friends and shipped to 1 Washington to be buried there, with the l stigma of suicide on his name. The curtain | has fallen on the last act of the tragedy. This | settles it-unless l, the hidden witness of the | crime, should come forward to give informa- tion," concluded Hanson, with penetrating | gaze into the gloomy face of his companion |
 ''Why did you not give this information before the coroner's jury?" demanded Har- court, in a tone of despair.
 "Why? Because, in the first place, never as called as witness; in the second place, make it a rule of life never to give anything for nothing; in the third place, kept silence Ina. I might sell it to you''
 ''To me''
 "To you"
 ''I am too poor to offer you bribe, Mr. 
 ''And too rich to need a bribe of the sort 'ou must mean"
 'What, then, do you want2" asked the ter or-stricken clerk
 ''Not your money, even if you had it to ter me. l wish you, in return for my si- ence, to do something for me-
 ''What is it2'
 Hanson bent nearer to the dropping figure efore him and peered into the death-iike 1 ace.
 q want you," he said, Ito do somethino l hat will 70 severely try you, rack you, msd- en you, that you could never consent to do 1 but to save you from 6 shameful death. l our aged mother from broken heart and | our betrothed bride from blighted life."
 He spoke slowly, solemnly, impressive1y, coping his eyes fixed on the tragic face of I le youth.
 'Tell me! tell mel" exclaimed the latter t For myself-ah!-Heaven truly knows that would rather die than livel But for my V DOT mother and Roma-oh for Roma!-II ould do anything-anything- avoid dis t that would more than kill lem! Tell me what it is that you wish me | ( do," demanded Hareourt, in a voice of q 9speration. d F.I will tell you later. You are too much & cited now. 1 will leave you to think over 'ur position, and mediate upon the sacrifice tl u would be willing to make for safety. eet me on the Serpent's Back at sunrise to- u orrow Good night, or rather, good morn A g-for it is nearly 3 oclock,'' said Hanson, ss he left the office. The above we publish al specimen chapter of Mrs Southwortb's | eG W story; but the continuation of it from lere it leaves off here can be found only W the N. Y. Ledger. Ask for the number a ted January 2, which can now be had any news office or bookstore If you are G within reach of news office, you can ve that number of the Ledger mailed to U by sending six cents (postage stamps , Il do) to Robert Bonner, publisher. 182 lliam street, New York. The New York dger is the Great Family Paper, full of 'd and interesting reading, and has among Co