The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-05-17

hlngley came out with their prisoner.
As the young ruffian heard the OIL
GERS tell their story and listened to the
bereaved husbands tones full of sor-
| row and suppressed fury he grinned
broadly. When asked if he had any
| thing to say for himself he grinned.
That was his only answer. Justice
| Bloxam committed him to answer in the
county court. No bail, of course. was
| allowed. As the officers were about to
lead their prisoner away deep groan
| was heard from the rear of the room.
All those present looked around, and
| the nurderer's eyes dispassionatelY
turned toward the sound. What he
saw was white-faced old man sup
ported in the arms of a sandy-haired
youth on one side and fat young law
yer on the other. Their burden had
tainted. and the rigid face, SO thin and
sad, looked as if the angel of death had
swept it with his wing. One moment
the assassin gazed, and IN that moment
abe thin blue eyelids were raised. Fa-
ther and son looked in each others
eyes. The slender, wasted arms of the
old man were held out bezeechingly
and the trembling li.s formed two
words: "My boy" n instant the
prisoners thick iips seemed h .critch
and his eyes to gil ten; then t1irr-i.-.g to
his guards with scowl he sails
"What'r youse letters STAMINA there
for? Come on r I'll leave yer"
All of those who had tfronged the
courtroom were gone with the eXcep.
zion of the old man. He sat in the
bottomless chair with his hands clasped
and his eyes turned toward the floor.
Painted there on the boards before him
was a picture-a child's laughing face
with a mass of brown hair floating
about it, and blue eyes that seemed to
look the love that the rosy lips fain
would speak. Long the old man gazed
with the picture shinIueving and dane
ing before his eyes. Now and again it
looked as If the wanton hair WIS blown
by q gust of wind across the smiling
face. Merry eyes CLEANED through the
riffs at him who sat and dreamed. At
last q man came to sweep out the
place He touched the old man gently
anu Sdfti III ~ lDliC.
You'll have to go out now, mister.
You'll have to 60 homo. Court is
closed
The old man meol,ly rose, AID as he
walked toward the door the vision
hCoted on before. Down the narrow
stairway he crept and out upon the
pavement. People passing jostled him,
but he needed them not, for above their
heads the laughing eyes, the saucy lips
and brown head hoated like phantom
of the past. Caught up by the sweep
Of the crowd he was carried along
north with it, but before him went the
vision as though it were q guiding star.
Pushed and bufeted here and there, lie
took no heed of his direction. only look
ing to the vision to lead him where 1t
would. When the Clark street bridge
was reached he failed to realize it, and
walked slowly on with his hands
clasped and the merry face still going
on before. A hell rang He heard it
not. for the chud's lips were parted
with smile. By and by-not long,
but how long he knew not-he came to
the end of the bridge. AS he looked
down, down into the muddy, opaque
stream, the vision danced on the waving
ripples and the blue eyes seemed to say:
Come" The old man stretched out
mis- arms. and it seemed as if thevision-
his boy, his darling baby, the treasure
of his heart-hoated nearer, and it
seemed as if the rosy lips were pursuing
themselves for a kiss. Nearer and
nearer came the bonny face, and the