Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-10-05


serted her at this crisis of her fate. The
colonel with his six feet two, broad
shoulders and soldierly chest, bronzed
countenance and fiereely curvlng gray
mustache, was the most terrible being she
had ever looked upon The stood before
him in fear and trembling. and in her
agony she told him the actual truth.
"Jaker had been out very late that
night-it was the night after the races.
He had won few shillings on True
Blue-not a10 pounds, sir; no, that
was falsehood-and he stopped drinking
at the Coach and Horses till after
IL o'clock-the landlord had to run 'em
out, him an some others. The other man
lived in the village, so Jaker had to come
home alone. It's good two mile from the
village, and he'd have to pass the park, as
you know, sir. There's a right Of way in
the daytime, sir, but none after the gates
are shut"
Yes, yes, know"
"But Jaker was never one to stop for
gates, so he got over the fence and crossed
the park. 1t would save him a good half
mile. He had got nearly over to the other
side-where there's a gate into the narrow
lane that leads right on to the Marlborough
road, close against our own lane, when he
heard some one groaning. 1t was SO dark
that he couldn't tell at first where the
groans came from, but when he had CROPPED
about bit he found a man lying under
tree, dying as he thought. He had little
bottle of spirits in his pocket that he was
bringing home for my rheumatic shoulder,
and he forced some of that down the mans
throat. 1t brought him to life, and he
asked Jaker if he could find him shelter
for the night anywhere, he didn't mind
how humble, and he could agord to pay for
it, as he'd got some money about him, poor
as he looked. He had wild sort of way
of talking, Jaker said, and was all of
tremble. Jaker offered to take him to the
Coach and Horses and knock the landlord
up and get him bed, but the man would
not have that; he wanted to go where
nobody would know anything about him.
Oh says my husband, 4 understand.
You're hiding He didn't say yes, nor he
didn't say no. So then Jaker offers to take
him 20 our own cottage, and he says, Yes,
that would do very we'll, and / can get off
by the rail early tomorrow So Jaker
helps him over the gate and brings him
home, and we makes him up a bed in the
room upstairs. But when the bed was
made it was hard work to get him to go to
it. He sat over the fire and talked, talked,
talked so fast and so wild like. And he
offered my husband a sovereign to go and
get him bottle of brandy, and we could
hardly make him understand that it was
the middle of the night, and that the
public-h houses were shut. He was dread
fully wild, but Jaker got him up to bed at
last, almost carried him, as if he had been
a child"
"And when did Jaker find out about the
money!" asked the colonel
at was the next day. The young man
was in very low way till he got the
brandy. He cried, and said he wished he
was dead, and took on dreadfully. But
when my husband had fetched bottle of
brandy from the village, and he had drunk
the best part of it, he cheered up a little
made some broth for him in the afternoon,
but he would hardly touch it, and he
wouldn't take tea or anything | offered
him except brandy He finished the bottle
before night, and he was very abusive
when my husband refused to get him
another In the evening he went off into
wild state, and raved about something
he had under his pillow-a treasure, he
called it-and he laughed and said his
mother had been very mean to him, but
"His mother" repeated the colonel,
wonderingly. What could he mean by
that"
And then he reflected that in paroxysm
of delirium tremens all mans words are
alike meaningless and unworthy of con-
sideration.
"Whle my husband was sitting and
smoking his pipe beside the bed the young
N he Ept Iarb nil
and Jaker saw that it was roll of bank
notes. The young man counted them
over and talked abo1t tie money, and
what he was going to do with it, as wild
as any mailman, and it seemed as if, for
half farthing. he'd have put the notes in
the candle and burned them ALL DO you
think care for money for it's own sake?'
said he. Not bit. 1 shall drink and
game it away, dare say, before am three
months Older and then Jaker thought
what shame it was that this mailman
should have all that money to spend in
drink and cards, or perhaps to set light
to 1t when the wild fit was on him-money
enough to take US all to Canada where
we'd been planning to go for the last ten
years, and to buy us a bit of land, and
start us In an honest life-and So late that
night, when the young man had gone off
INTO a restless sleep-he never sleeps above
quarter of an hour at a time-Jaker puts
bis hand softly under the pillow
And stole the notes"
mo, sir. He took out the packet, and
looked through the notes, and took
half of them, leaving most of the
small ones. He took two ffties
and five twenties--just enough for
our passage money. and to buy lit
tie land over there-and he went off early
next morning"
Did he know of any ship sailing for
Canada" asked the colonel.
Yes. there was one that was to sail from
plymouth yesterday, and he was in a fever
to start by it"
plymouth and yesterday. Mr. Penwern
VIII be day after the fair" thought the
colonel
Did your lodger find out that he had
been robbed," he asked presently
Lord, no. sir. He counted over and
over again next day in stupid way. like
a man half a sleep, and seemed at first to
think that there was something wrong.
He kissed my husband too, but when |
fetched him his little bottle of brandy he
was quite content Your husbands dead
ne SAID. 1 believe | shot him. Late at
night he had a wild fit, and thought the
police were after him. and raved and went
on dreadful, crying out that he should be
hung for murder-just as his father was
hung for murder before him. No he
says, they didn't hang my father He was
mad and they locked him up"
inns fairly startled the colonel Why,
this was Stuart Mackenzie's story What
could 1t means Could this young man be
no-No, the notion was too wild too hor-