The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-09-14

Robert Harbut then went back tt the
porters lodge.
81 want to have half an hours chat with
you, he said, 81 want some information
that Mr.. Freeman says you can probably
furnish me with. and of course | am ready
to pay you for the trouble of giving it,n
and he slipped a sovereign into the mans
hand
"All right, sir, will answer any question
l can, If it is in my way and amt going to
do harm to any members of the college. If
it is say frankly that you won't get any
thing out of me-"
''No; my inquiries concern a man who
was scout here once. who left some twenty
years ago."
''You don't mean Thomas McrsonF' the
porter asked
"Yes, do; but how in the world did you
guess thatm
well, sir, there was another party ask
ing questions about Tom some three months
backn
You don't say So"
''Yes, he came in here one morning; he
was rather seedy looking chap, with
shining hat. l was standing at the gate
way and he SAID:
Porter, want to have few words with
you about a man named Morson, who was a
college servant hereabouts twenty years
ago
"'Well, said I, if you want to know
about him you had better go and see his
people and ask them-they live at Wood
stock, and can tell you as much as they like.
don't know what you want TO know for,
and don't care, so there is the long and
short of it,
''He seemed good deal a-taken back.
However, he put on bold air and said:
-" 1t might have been something in your
pocket if you had told me what wanted to
know. You people down here are too we'll
paid, that is what you are'
"'Well, said I, well paid or not, If
you do not step outside them gates sharp
will chuck you out, and so he went off cuss-
ing.
THAT is very curious, porter; the fellow
hadn't been here before, supposep
II do not think so. TIE under porter was
here at the time, and l asked him and he
said he had never set eyes on him before.
and as one of us is always at the gate we
should have seen him if he had been here.
He looked just the sort of chap as would
come to serve a writ, and you may be sure
we shouldn't have let him inside the college
till we knew what he was up TO. Oh, and
he said something about his belonging to a
| detective Office, and gave me a card. I've
got it somewhere and can show it you il
you are interested in it. But here is the
under porter. Jim, just mind the gate for
half an hour. Now, sir, we can sit down
comfortable
He led Robert into the lodge.
Nov, sir, what do you want to know
about Tom Morsonp
"Well, | want to find him.
"Well, sir, what do you want to find him
for, if may be free to ask? 1t is many
years since ! saw Tom; but we were pretty
thick together when he was here, and l do
not want to do him bad turn
HI have nothing against hin, xUhataxzar -
| Robert said. "We believe that he can give
some information that no one else can give,
| about an event that took place nineteen
years ago. and as it is important we should
be ready to pay good sum for the infor-
| nation. So you see it will be doing a
good turn, rather than a bad one, to Nor
son."
"Oh, if that's it, I will tell YOU all l
know, sir but that is little enough. / can
tell you all about him in the days when he
was here, but for the last seventeen or
eighteen years l have heard nothing of
him. His people live, as / told you, at
Woodstock. He was a sharp boy and fond
of horses, and he has an uncle who was
head of the stable to a nobleman in France,
and when Tom was 10 years old he went
out to be with him. He was out there
about five years, and I don't think it did
him much good, except he got to talk
French. Then he got later on as sort of
assistant courier to some rich Englishman
who was friend of his uncle's employer,
and travelled all over Europe for a couple of
years. He had two or three other JOURNEYS
of the same kind. Then he came back to
Woodstock, and said he wanted to settle at
home. AS he had good testimonials from
his employers and was handy chap the
head porter, who was a cousin of his
mothers, was able to get him berth as
scout. He was college servant about four
years, and a smart fellow he was. He was
favorite with the undergraduates. He
was up to all sorts Of things, you see, and
having been accustomed to Wallets work did
more for them than most of us did. He
used to do very well, for he often went
away in the long vacation as a courier. He
was sharp fellow. Tom was. | used to
think sometimes little too sharp. Not
anything that wasn't honest, you know, sir,
but don't think his ideas were like those of
the rest of. know his cousin would never
trust him here at the gate after it was
closed. He did at first, but it got said that
there was golden key to the gate of st.
Boniface, and that there was many one
passed in here whose name never appeared
in the list. 1 ahi1k II got to the head por-
ter's ears, and Tom Morson was never put
on to the job after that"
"Do you happen to remember whether,
among the gentlemen Morson went on with,
he went with Mr.. CorbynP
Eyes, he did," the porter said, without
hesitation, 81 remember Mr.. Corbyn well,
but why | remember particularly about
Morson going with him was because when
he left he told me he was going away with
Mr.. Corbyn for long trip this time; he
had been with him before when he was an
undergraduate. This was two or three
years after that. He said that Mr.. Corbyn
had written to him saying that he was going
to travel for year or so, and if he would
like to go with him he would be glad to have
him"
at was curious Morson's throwing up his
berth here for years engagement" Rob
ert said.
"Well, sir, he was always an unsettled
sort of chap, and was saying that the life
did not suit MIN, and that he should not
stop out the year. He got married here two
years later before he left, and l dare say
that would have, settled him, but his wife
died a year afterward. That made him
worse than before, and he took to drinking
a bit, and fell in with rather bad lot, and
he got into two or three scrapes and fancy
he saw that it could not last much longer, so
he jumped at Mr. Corbyns offer. / never
saw him after that but l know about a
couple of years later that he did come back
and saw his people at Woodstock. / heard
that he went away out to Australia;
anyhow, | have never seen him since.
expect he has got on well wherever he is,
if he shook off that trick of drinking he