Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-05-16

wished he had never started. II Mr..
Il almond was convicted. let 1t be up.
onsother evidence than his He would
never have resting upon him the re-
sponsibility of sealing tho doom of a
man who might, for all he knew, be
honestly trying to blot out the past
and lead an upright life. He called
to mind every little net of kindness
that Mr. Hammond had ever extended
to him. His excited Imagination
magniticd them into boundless obli-
cations. And this was his return for
them! Mr. Street would have given a
years salary to be back at his desk.
at every station he went out and
stood on the platform. with a wild de-
sire to get off and go-any where!
away from Barrville. The people in
the car began to look at him strange
~ and suspiciously. And, in the
midst of his agonizing reflections. the
brakeman dashed open the door and
sang out: "Barrville." -t
How he got off the train and over
the distance to the courthouse. Mr.:
Street never knew. He spoke to sew
eral persons ON tho way. but he
couldn't have told, for his life, what
he said to them. The first real
ization of his surroundings was when
nc found himself ascending the broad
steps of the courthouse. with a green
baize door in front of him-and all
hope behind him.
He hesitated a moment. That mo-
ment was decisive. The green baiz.
door was suddenly opened from with
in. and he had no choice but to enter
The room into which he came was the
courtroom. Court was in session, and
the room was filled to OVERLOOKING. Mr..
Streets entrance was scarcely noted;
every eye was strained toward the wit
ness stand.
A man near the door made room for
Mr.: Street on the bench beside him.
The cashier sank. into the proffcred
seat The buzz of voices in the court,
room came to him in indistinct muir
murs, like sounds great distance
away. And, all the time, the man a,
his side kept talking on in a desultory
fashion.
1.-The fellows up for larceny" he
said. Queer you hadn't heard about
it. Your stranger here. amt your
He's the same one that robbed the
Kerrin's Saving Bank in '76. P'raps
you recollect. He owned up to ii
when he found they knowed it. He's
been on the stand all the morning.
They're waiting for him now"
The loquacious stranger craned
his neck around to get better view.
Mr. Street felt that he should faint
or shrek if something didn't happen.
Something did happen.
''There he is!' exclaimed the
stranger; 'that's him on the witness
stand. Hes a holding up his hand to
be sworn. I guess you'll have to
stand up to see him.
The cashier staggered to his + eet.
He looked at the people, the ceiling:
the clock-it was just quarter past
fve-the jury, the lawyers, the judge.
Then. with an effort. he raised his
eyes to the prisoner-and-saw-
Not Mr. Hammond-but man as
like him as his reflection in a glass.
Like him, but not he. There were
the same piercing eyes. the same
strongly-marked features; but this
mans face bore the impress of hard
and reckless life. It needed not his
confession of the crime, for Mr..
Street knew, now, beyond peradvent-
ure, that this was the man with
whom he had grappled on that event.
fnl night. six years ago, and that MI.
Hammond was as innocent of the
crime rs the cashier himself
For one moment Mr. Street stood
staring blankly at the prisoner Then.
as the whole force of the revelation
dawned upon him, with all indescrib-
able look of horror and remorse. he
seized his hat and dashed frantically
from the building.
The night train bore away from
Barrville man who sat bolt upright
in the corner of the seat, with his hat
crushed down over his eyes He
neither spoke nor stirred. He had
seen the phantom which had pursued
him for the past year, until it had
come to seem living reality, dissolve
and vanish before his eyes. And
it had left him dazed and be-
wildered. He no longer tried to rea-
son it out He doubted his very senses,
and grasped the arm of the seat firm
ly, to make sure that he was not
dreaming. The romance of his life
had departed. He was no longer the
mysterious emissary who carried in
his breast consuming secret but q
commonplace business man, whose
thoughts any one might read.
But commonplace people sleep
soundly. That night not a dream dis