The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-12-05
SUMTER s. c.. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1894.


the light in the cutter room, within a
short distance Of where he stands. He
hears nothing, observes nothing, until
an arm is uplifted swiftly behind him,
and stifed cry escapes him-no time
for more.
.He falls, beaten and crushed by a
heavy blow. What's happened? A muir
der! Committed in the dead OF night
When Bowser had uttered these
words, there was a silence between US
for some minutes. Scroggie was the
first even to move in his chaic. ! had
reflled his glass during the last pause
in the narrative, and he now stretched
out his hand hastily and lifted the tum-
bier to his lips and drank it off as If it
were water. Els hand shook violently
las he placed the empty glass on the
mantelshelf I had often seen his hand
tremble. Indeed it was seldom quite
steady, but he had never exhibited ex-
cessive nervousness before.
ssWell,'' said he without looking
round
ssThere is not much more to tell, !"
said Bowser. SIT was evidently a col
fusion between the bank porter and a
sailor-or at least man that looked
very like one-seen lettering about III
the neighborhood of a public house on
the night previous to the one on which
this tragedy occurred. The porter was
arrested, tried and sentenced to penal
servitude for life"
.sAnd the sailor?'' said Scroggie
Escaped. He made off with bags
containing large sum Of gold, and he
has never been heard of since. %
With these words Bowser rose from
his seat and began to pace up and down
the room, playing with his bag of gold
in an excited manner.
eyes % said he presently, 1.-THE mur-
derer escaped, but have sworn tosolve
this mystery as to who is the murderer
of her father before I marry Alice Oar
ell That is the clause in our engage
ment. IF the villain is alive, will
ferret him out, hunt him down and
bring him to justice, for I love Alice
Darrell more than my life, and for her I
would run any risk Mr.. Darrell was
my friend I honored him as much as Il
he had been my own father. .
He stopped, glanced around the room
with savage energy expressed in his
face, and then, finging up the bag Of
sovereigns defantly, he cried: "But the
clink of gold will some day awaken the
evil conscience! The man who COM
mitted this crime will betray himself
at last. His guilt will be branded on his
face, like an ugly scar, when he hears
the sound-clink, clink, clink! There is
no escape. The conscience is stronger
than the man. "
Again Bowser tossed up the bag OF
gold and paced the room, more excited
than ever.
..My dear Bowser, 4" I exclaimed, 'for
heavens sake, be rational! To visit, as
YOU do, the lowest haunts in London, to
mix among savages-for some Of these
men in the east end are nothing better
lis to expose yourself to real dangers
These sailors know the sound of gold
only too we'll Some night you will, ]
again warn you, be robbed and MUIR
dered. And that, I added-"that will
scarcely be agreeable news for me to
carry to Alice Darrell Once more let me
seriously advise you to abandon this
scheme. And Scroggie, :" I added
"Scroggie will, know, support me in
my appeal .
abandon it?'' said Bowser as he
walked toward the door. "Why, I've
already taken two or three sharp detect
ives into my confidence. Good night
I'm going to meet one now. y
AS he went down the passage heard
the clink, clink of his bag of gold, and
it seemed expressive of his contempt for
my opinion, and when he had slammed
the outer door Of the chambers and his
footsteps on the staircase had died
away the sound was still ringing in my
ears.