Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-06-26
if she'd nor come in they might have thought i. an accident-she's the only one,"
 Moo leaned forward and put her hand on

if she'd nor come in they might h,,ve thought | i m accident she's the only one."
 Meg leaned forward and put her hand on | my arm. o.1.
 for her to say? she'll say it, she cried eagerly. shell say anything ana you know what woulI save him.
 turned away from her to think quietly. and tho glitter of the brass ring on her finger caught my eye Was she his wife? pondered.
 It was not likely the couple were mar ried. but it was possible, and it was her only hope now, his only hope for life and it must be tried,
 ought to knew You are aafe with me, and must not mind my speaking out. No man can make wife witness against her husband in England, and n--
 But her face was piteous in it's wide gaze at mine.
 You need not talk of it," she said bluntlyr "thev told me- But can't save him that way; I'm not wife enough for that, they say. If he'd only known how it would be he'd have tuken me to church fast enough" she added, with bitter candor; then raising her head, she said defiants .' but it will make no difference. I'll ,:lcs 10 l.iia. and he knows tiff only y,,:' t.li me hcw.'
 No Meg I said gently, "there is noth- in, y,,s. ..o,ild say. If told you anything, I si..;iii "s doing wrong, and it would do no .,oo. they would find out at once you were l.c; speaking the truth
 .. :,r.e is nothing can think of, Meg, un- les, you can hide for sl time, and keep right our o[ the way
 pl,.s and looked straight in my face with wili stare.
 :. If,' she said, her brow knotted with the effort she had made to grasp my suggestion, ii no one came to speak. ii l were not there to speak, would Jim get off.
 II ,io not know. will inquire; but if you are sure no ono else saw the murder very ike!v he might be saved. They are generally particular to have eye-witnesses of a crime. like this. What does James Bond say?"
 "iic says he knows nothing about it.'
 Where is the knife?
 Sho looked at me for q moment, then at tho door, and then she opened the bosom of her dress and showed me a strong clasp-knife with a blade an inch across. It was shut and she did not open it, but put it hurriedly away. She trusted mo, but was mortified. What if she drew suspicion to herself?
 Meg" began, in q tone of remonstrance; but had frightened her. She recognized an effort at responsibility about me, a respecta- bility which was antagonistic to Jim, and turned and went out quickly. I followed her
 
 thing again, and though got lantern, and shouted and searched I failed to find her.
 Nor did find her until, all preliminary in- quiries over, James Bond was brought up for trial.
 The police were reticent. even to me whose face was so well known to usher and inspector at my daily task of reporting; but I gathered that tho evidence for the prosecution was not as conclusive as they hoped to make it. There bod G,n,, o-y.,ifn of l,o savage blow, knife in hand, at his drunken companion, of this the authorities were con- vinced but this one witness had eluded them.
 ' l shall clap my hand on her yet said a terrier-like officer of the detective force to me- rubbing his wiry grey hair with a baf1ied gesture. "By-the-way it is that girl you were interested in. sir. l suppose you do not know where she is?"
 was glad that knew nothing; for though I cared little about James Bonds fate, I cared much for Jim's Meg's sorrow.
 "Ah," said, rather hypocritically, |" then it will be all circumstantal evidence. The knife will be q clue, imagine"
 "The knife!' muttered my friend, irritably, "that's just it, we have not got the knife. James Bond was known to carry one, and he does not produce it; but you can't hang a Elan because he's lost his knife, even if you can show another man with n hole in his side VI I'm as certain as am that sec you, that Jim killed Robin, butwe can't prove it, an,! unless lay my hand on Meg we shan't prove it. You wait and sec"
 I was full of thought for Meg, and decided to walk home, so as to be alone. The girl had evidently run away for she and Jim were too well known to the police to make any hiding place among her former companions secure lrora search, or proof against betrayal. h which direction would she be likely to go: Of course I had not the slightest clue to -,lld" me as to the whereabouts of the girl E':lo wI,,u.t probably wander on aimlessiy into ;h" c,ui;try, 1 walked in my perpexity as ..:.:,ssiy Meg, with the westerly evening ou".zc blowing in my face, nntl found my '..lf in the Harrow Road. This did not mat ter, it would be only pleasant change to go home this way.
 On still, with my head bent, until the road | grew lonely and silent, and lamps were few, 1 and the towns voice no longer around bu: behind me. I looked up, and felt on my | :acc tue damp freshness that blows off water l was beside the canal which here skirts the l road, en somewhat higher leve I heard l .ra:np!ing feet, and saw darkly outlined 1 against a dim and wind-blown yapor which 1 rcilcu the sky, black figures of lads and boys Some bent over ;sn object which lay half on | the canal !.aAk, half in the wash of the water l oth"iss hre;,thlessly told me what it was knew. It was a girls body, wet and drowned {; l the body of Jims Meg.
 1 Enc iale, quiet faee, with the shine of a l lamp on its wetneas, was Meg's-there was a half-snliLe about the lips, and the eyes were l shut:
 1 Ilid my hand where the child heart should | be beating. and felt against tho soft breast l 5On!nilinS hard. l ''S NIence to each Of you lads who runs for 1 policeman, a shilling to the one who brings him ,''
 A shout, the boys scattered along the road, 1 and was alone.
 | I knew why Meg had drowned herself 1 knew that for her there was no other way of 1 hiding the truth, and though a pang shot l through ne as I remembered that perhaps | had urged her to her death, strangely, I was not sorry she lay there dead.
 1 There arc sadder things than dying, and l according to her light, Meg had died well, l Quickly unfastened her poor frock, and took from her bosom, what had felt lying th,: the knife with which James Bond had l struck the murdered man.
 had hardly put it away safely-not daring to drop it in the water lest the police should l search tho canal, when a boy returned pant ing followed by a constable and claimed his 1 shillin, He was able to tell us how the hody came to lie as it did. A barge had passed, and the lantcn standing on deck shone on a white floating faee-one of fhe barge-men had d.:,ys,, hop un ssout of the way of the boats. ]" the lny said, and left her there and then some 1 u: tln- io,IS came uD and then thnv heard ma