Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-08-30
TheMyterE0faHan0nCab
By FERGUS ". HUMR
CHAPTER XII.

UI1I.tlu uuu Dtcu ulSCONcTCu ~ uuu Dccu
looked upon as q common murder, and one
that society need take no eognizance Of be
yond the fact that It was something new to
talk about. But now the affnir was assum-
ing gigantic proportions, since the assassin
bad been discovered to be one Of tho most
fashionable young men In Melbourne. Mrs.
Grundy was shocked and openly talked about
having nourished yipsr in her bosom which
had turned unexpectedly and stung her. In
Toorak drawing roorns nnd Melbourne clubs
tlls l6zttsf was talked about morn, noon and
night, and Mrs. Grundy declared positively
that she never heard pf such a thing. Here
was young nan, well born-''the Ftzger-
AID, my dear, an Irish family, with royal
blood In their veins"-wcll bred-"most
charming manners, assure you, and so very
good looking and engaged to one Of the
richest girls IN Melbourne-''pretty enough,
madam, no doubt, but he wanted her money,
sly dog" And this young man, who had
been petted by the ladies, voted a good fel-
low by the men and was universally popular,
both in drawing room and club, had commit
ted a vulgar Inurder-it was truly shocking.
As to Mr. Felix Rolleston, 1t was time Of
great joy to him, knowing as he did all the
circumstances of the case and the dramatis
persona When any new evidence came to
light, Rolleston was the first to know all
about it, and would 60 round to his friends
and relate It with certain additions Of his
own, which rendered it moro piquant and
dramatic. But when asked his opinion as to
the guilt of the accused he would shake his
head sagaciously, and hint that both he and
his dear friend Calton--he knew Calton to
nod to-could not make up their minds upon
the matter.
"Fact is, don't you know" observed Mr..
Rolleston, wisely, ''theres more in this than
meets the eve, and all that sort Of thing
think 'tective fellers wrong myself-don't
think Fitz killed Whyte; jolly well sure he
didn't"
Mr.. Rolleston, however, in spite of his as
severations, had no grounds for his belief that
Fitzgerald was innocent, and in his heart Of
hearts thought him guilty. But then he was
one Of those people who, having either tender
hearts or obstinate natures-more particu-
larly the latter-always make point of COM
ing forward as champions of those in trouble
with the world at large. There is q proverb
to the effect that the world kicks man
when he is down; but If one half of the
world does act in such brutal manner, the
other consoles the prostrate individual with
half pence. SO, taking things rs whole,
though tho weight of public opinion was
dead against the innocence of Fitzgerald,
still he had his friends and sympathizers,
who stood up for him and declared that he
had been wrongly accused
Cation was very much annoyed at Brian's
persistent refusal to set up tho defense Of an
alibi, and, as he felt sure that the young man
could do so, no was anxious to find out the
reason why he would not do so.
"If it's for the sake of a woman" he said
to Brian, 81 don't caro- who she is, it's alb
surdly Quixotic. Self preservation is the
first law of nature, and if my neck was in
danger I'd spare neither man, woman nor
child to sayeit"
II dare Say" answered Brian; ''but If you
had my reasons you might think differently" !"
In his own mind the lawyer had theory
which sufficiently accounted for Brian's re-
fusal to answer for his doings on that night
Fitzgerald had admitted that he had an ap-
pointment on that night, and that it was
with a woman. He was q handsome fellow,
and probably his morals were no better than
those of other young men, so Calton thought
that Brian had some intrigue with married
woman, and had been with her on the night
In question; hence his refusal to speak. II he
did SO her name would be brought into the
matter; the outraged husband, whoever he
might be, would interpose, and the who.e
affair would probably end in divorce court.
''Its better for him to lose his character
than his life" argued Cation, ''and that
woman ought to speak-it would be hard on
her, admit; but when mans neck Is in
danger she ought to risk anything rather than
rec him hanged"
Full Of these perplexing thoughts, Cation
went down to st. Kilda to have talk with
Madge over the matter, and also to see II she
would help him to obtain the information he
wanted. He had great respect for Madge,
knowing what clever woman she was, and
thought that, seeing Brian was 50 deeply IN
love with her, If she saw him about the
matter he might be induced to confess every.
thing.
The lawyer found Madge waiting anxiously
to see him, and when he entered she sprang
forward with a cry Of delight.
s'Oh, where have you been all this timer
she said, anxiousiy, as they sat down. "a
have been counting eTery moment since
saw you last. How is ke-my poor darlingF
.'Jnst the same,n answered Calton, taking
on his gloves, ''still obstinately refusing x
save his own life. Where's your fatherF
he askesl, sud,k"li'
'.Ous * town., she answered, ilntaticntly
"He will not be back for a week-but wha'
do you mean that he won't save his owr
lifel'
Calton leaned forward, and took her hand
"Do you want to save his ifein he asked
''Save his iifel' she reiterated, starting uI
out Of her chair with cry; "God knows,
would die to save him."
'sPish,n murmured Cation 10 himself, al
be looked at her glowing face and out
stretched hands, ''thess women are always IL
extreuies The. fact Il, . he said aloud, "Fits
gerald II able to prove an alibi, and he 70
~ fuses to do SO,
'tBut %hygn
Calton shrugged he shoulders.
"Thst Is Btst known 10 hiinselfE som,
Quixotic idea of henoss fancy. Now, HI
refuses 10 tel me where he was Dthat night
perhaps hewcnt refuse 20 tell iycu--so yo,
must como UP and see Mm With me, and per
haps he will recover his geasss, end confess.
"I3ut my father, she xaitered-
"DtdA you not say be was out Of town.
asked Caltou.
"Yes, heaItatsd Aaaee "But he told M
not t. 60" 81 ~
''In that cass" said Caison, rising and tax
ing up his hat and gloves, II won't ssk you
Shc laid her hand On be arm.
"etdpf will \ do any Gocdf
II is not surpfising that Polecat Bi
Elliott, editor of the lgssadGy EkgtSak, I