The Washington critic., 1888-04-14

tObd'CO SIolltu lllc lNSJe OF II, lODh
another sip and continued:
Case for the defense. That Roger
Tails has decamped, that no diamond
has been found on you (or anywhere),
and lastly that the bullets in the jew
eler's body do not fit your pistols, but
came from larger pair Not very
much of case, perhaps, but this last
is a strong point"
"Well p ] asked, as he paused.
Nov, then, for the facts of the
case. Would you oblige me by cast
ing look over there in the corner"
81 see nothing but pick-axe and
shovel"
"Ha ha very good nothing but q
pick-axe and shovel Well, TO re-
sumo. Facts Of the case. Roger
Tails murders the jeweler and you
murder Roger Tails; after that, as
you say, nothing but pick-axe and
shovel"
And with this, as ] am living sin
ner, the rosy.faced old boy took up
his flute and blew stave or two Of
Come Lassies and Lads"
"Did you dig him up?" muttered
hcarsely; and, although deathly cold,
] could feel drop of sweat trickling
down my forehead and into eye.
"What before the trial? My good
sir, you have fair, very fair aptitude
for crime; but believe me, you have
much TO learn both of legal etiquette
and of lawyers conscience" And
for the first time since / came in |
saw something like indignation on
that ruddy face.
Now" he continued, 'I either
know too much or not enough. OBJ
viously ! know enough for you to
wish and perhaps wisely, to kill me.
The question is, whether l know
enough to make il worth your while
to spare me. l think / do; but that
is for you to decide. If put you to-
night, and in half an hours time, in
possession of property worth el0, 900,
will that content your"
"Come, come" said, "you need
not try to fool me, nor think / am
going to let you out of my sight
'You misunderstood, desire
neither; only wish bargain. am
ready to pledge You my word to make
no attempt to escape before you are
in possession of that property, and to
offer no resistance TO your shooting
me in case you fail to obtain it, pro-
vided, on the other hand, you pledge
your word to share my life should you
succeed within half an hour. And,
my dear sir, considering the relative
value Of my word and yours, think
it must be confessed you have the
better of the bargain"
/ thought for moment. Every
well, then" said l, $50 be it; but If
you fail"
81 know what happens" replied
he.
With that he blew a note or two on
his flute, took it to pieces, and care
fully bestowed it in the tails of his
coat Iput away my pistol in mine.
"Do you mind shouldering that
spade and pickaxe and following
me?" he asked. l took them up in
silence. He drained his glass and
put on his hat.
"Now, think, we are ready. Stop
moment"
He reached across for the glass
which / had emptied, took it up gin
| gerly between thumb and forefinger
and tossed it with q crash on to the
hearthstone. He then did the same
to my pipe, after first swapping the
stem into halves. This done, he blew
out the candle, and with great gravity
led the way down the staircase. ]
shouldered the tools and followed,
while my heart hated him with a
fiercer spite than ever.
| We passed down the crazy stairs and
through the kitchen. The candles
were still burning there. AS my COM
| panion glanced at the supper table,
"H m, he said, mot bad beginning
of new leaf. My friend, will al;
low you exactly twelve months in
which to get hanged"
I made no answer, and we stepped
out into the night. Themoon was now
up and the high road stretched like
white ribbon into the gloom. The
cold wind bore mp few heavy clouds
from the northwest, but for the most
part we could see easily enough. We
trudged side by size along the road in
silence, except that could hear my
companion every now and then
whistling softly to himself.
| AS we drew near to the Four Holed
Cross and the scene of the murder,
confess to an uneasy feeling and de
sire to get past the place with all pos
sible speed. But the lawyer stopped
by the very spot where the coach was
overturned and held up finger as il
to call attention. 1t was q favorit(
trick of his with the jury.
"This is where the jeweler lay
Some fifteen yards off there was an
other pool of blood. Now the iewelel
must have dropped instantly, for he
was shot through the heart. Yet NJ
one doubted but that the other poo
of blood was his. Fools /"
| With this he turned off the road al
right angles and began to strike rap
idly across the moor. At first
thought he was trying to escape me
but he allowed me to catch him up read
lily enough, and then knew the poin
for which he was making. followed
doggedly, Clouds began to gather
over the moons face, and every now
and then l stumbled heavily on tn,
uneven ground, but he moved alonl
nimbly enough and even crieC
"shoo W in q sprightly voice when {
startled plover flew up b efore his feet
Presently, after we had gone about
500 yards on the heath, the grount
broke away in little hollow, where
rough track led down to the lim'
kilns and the thinly-wooded stream
that washed the valley below. w,
followed this track for ten minutes O.
so, and presently the masonry of tn,
dismal kilns peered out, white in tn,
moonlight, from between the trees.
There were three of these kiln
| stondino oloca haeida tho nath hu
my companion, without hesitation
pulled up almost beneath the yer,
arch of the first, peered about, ex