The morning news., 1892-03-27

see how he has served me, officer"
His shirt collar was torn open, his scarf
was q wreck, a pair Of buttons were missing
from his overcoat, and on his throat the
purple impress Of Sam Potters knuckles
was plainly visible.
al see. sir !" the officer answered, symps-
thetically.
Then turning TO Potter:
Now are you going TO say anything or
are notf'
Potter's bewilderment was complete and
he stood like a man in a dream.
'po you give the man in charge, sir!n the
officer asked, appealing to Hetheridge.
Certainly / do. II the mans mad he
must be taken care of. If he's drunk he
needs TO be taught a lesson"
81 must trouble you for your name and
address, SIR said the officer, and the brief
necessary formalities having been complied
with Hetheridge went his way leaving his
late captor captive.
The more he reflected upon this incident
the more he was inclined to think that on
the whole it was one concerning which he
might congratulate himself. IL would Ger
tainly have been better to have escaped
| Potter, altogether, but since the man was
bere an encounter between them could
hardly have resulted more favorably. Even
| supposing Potter to recover his memory OF
| events, the fact or his violence and his si-
lence made it easy to suggest that his charge
was no more than a madmau's dream. In
any case Hetheridge concluded it was en-
tirely unsupported by evidence. To any
body who did not know the facts of the case,
Potter's conduct must look absolutely crazy.
| An accusation following on so strange pro-
ceeding might be brushed aside as the
babble Of az idiot. or the raving Of a mad
man.
| You'd better come this way, my friend, ~
| said the officer, when he and sam were left
1 70 a AOu hun of
keys from the wall and leisurely motioned
his prisoner to a doorway leading to the
1 cells.
Sam in his dazed state would have obeyed
anybody in almost anything, but before he
had forward step a gentleman walked
briskly through the doorway which had
| Just been indicated.
"That's all right, Roberts" " he said. ''The
mans safe enough now, and will do very
nicely till the morning. When l first saw
him l thought he was on the way to king
| dom come. As complete a case of alcoholic
| poisoning as ever l saw in my life. Hello,
| my man, what's the matter with you?"
| Sam, with his feet planted apart and with
his hands thrust into the pockets of his pilot
cloth jacket, was swayIng round and round
| In fashion which threatened an immediate
| fall
The gentleman took HIM by the lapel Of
his coat to steady him and looked into his
eyes with grave inquiry. The swaying
| motion ceased, but Sam stared right before
him, seeing nothing and thinking nothing.
"Where did you pick up this fellow, Rob-
erts2'
"Why, it's rather a queer affair, sir"
said the policeman. HE brought himself
here. You know Mr.. Hetheridge, SIR"
The doctor nodded.
This man brought him by the collar
about ten minutes back-rushed him in as
| II he was trundling a wheelbarrow.
| thought he was going to give him in charge,
but he hasn't opened his lips to say word,
good, bad, or Indifferent. Looks a Dit queer,
| don't he, sirl"
"Yes," the doctor assented. "He looks a
bit queer. Perhaps more than a bit queer
Sit down on this bench, my man. There
you are. Now give me q chair, Robertsi"
think he's been drinking, sirF' the
official asked.
"Sure he HASN'T" said the doctor. "Not a
sign Of drink about him. | know the man
by sight. Who is hel'
"Name of Potter, Samuel Potter. Has a
house in the Pleasaunce.n
"Ah, yes. know him now. Look here,
Potter. wake up a Bit"
Sam being thus appealed to, made a half
mechanical effort to collect himself, and
| looked his interlocutor in the face.
you've had q shock, haven't you, Pot
tera Now what was it9 Don't rememberl
You've been exciting yourself. You've
| been flying into a passion. Now that isn't
good for US, is it Potteri This mans had a
sun stroke, or a knock on the head, and ex-
citement spills him. He's clean split now.
| Therell be probably no making anything
out of him till tomorrow
"Well, sir, !" said the official, facetiously,
"Ill take care of him till then"
81 rather think you'd better not" the doc
| tor answered. His temperature is too low
already. The mans shivering. A night in
the cells will do him no good. Give him a
seat by the fire, aud I'll go over and see Mr.
| Weybridge. Send somebody down to his wife
and tell her to come up to the hall at once.
She can find bail for him. The man will be
| best at home"
Poor Matilda was very frightened to learn,
/ that for the second time in their married life.
the unfortunate Sam was in the hands of the
| police. The teapot, under its comfortable
| cozy, already simmered on the table. The
| mullins were in the fender under a mental
cover, and everything was in waiting for
the evening meal.
The palpitating little woman deserted all
and snatohing up shawl and bonnet, rushed
out into the snow-lit night, arranging her
| bows and adjusting her shawl with trem-
| bling fingers as she ran. The instructions
left by the messenger were that she should
proceed Immediately to the hall; and it was
fortunate for her that she had not far to go.
Even as 1t was she arrived in O state of
breathless agitation, and for a little while
was as useless as Sam himself would have
been at that moment. Mr.. Weybridge,
acJing on the doctors statement, made no
difficulty about admitting Potter to bail on
his own reooRnfzance; and Sam being sent
for, was with some lttls tronble induced 70
sign his name and so released.
Matilda wept over him when he had him
once more in her own charge, and would
have clamored at him with questions IL the
doctor had not interviewed
MY dear lady," said the medico. "If
you don't let this unlucky husband of yours
alone, you may have to send him to an
asylum. Don't plague him with questions
tonight. Give him quiet cup Of tea, and
let him get to bed. The more sleep he can
get between now and tomorrow morning,
the better 1t will be for him. rll come in
and do the questioning in the morning"
Under ordinary circumstances Matilda
would have resented this interference with
her domestic rights, but in her solicitude for
Sam she submitted with humility. She
burned with curiosity half the night, but
suppressed her natural cravings with
heroism and forebore to ask a single ques-
tion.
Ia the morning Sam was as queer as ever,
and whilst he aud Matilda sat upbusiness-
like at the breakfast table. the one making
a mere pretense of eating and the other not
oven pretending the little maid brought in
the name Of DIR. Hope.
Matilda herself arose to receive the visi-