Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-01-04
TIE EX-CONVICT'S STORY.

/ win tell you my story exactly as 1t
occurred. My parents both died befare
| had reached my fifth year, and / was
brought up in a humble cottage in the
suburbs of Manchester by a man named
Sergeant Holmes. My u%pbringing and
education were paid for by a person
eho, as far as l was concerned, kept
tinself ilypgnito. Neither Holmes nor
his wife would tell me who he vas.
Tor could / CLEAN anything from them
regarding my parents. That i had been
Il fl wholly ~unprovided for, inc was Ell
tirely dependent upon the bounty of
my unknown benefactor, they indeed
left me in no doubt; but further infor-
nation they declined to impart.
AS | grew older, the subject Of my
percentage and other strange circum-
stances Of my life frequently occupied
my thoughts, and vague rumors, caught
haphaZard in various quarters, began
to excite my curiosity. But all my eff
forts to obtain the information i desired
were unavailing.
BY degrees l became disconnected
with my home. and conceived a strong
aversion to Holmes and his wife, who
| reasoned could have furnished me
with all the information / desired. But
they had evidently some strong induce
ment for keeping me in the dark. When
| had turned sixteen the unexplained
circumstances of my life had Become
SO unbeatable, that l deliberately ran
away from home.
Having been taught no means Of earn
M a living, | soon encountered unfore-
seen difficulties, and gradually driftad
nfn a sort nf yn grant n~yiStnnna Tho
Bohemian laXity Of such a life pleased
me for a time, but / soon tired of
It, and began to long for ONE settled
occupation.
! l found my way into the county of
Devon, and learned when l was in the
neighborhood of Barstaple that the
services of some one willing to under
take the toughest kind of agricultural
work was wanted at n farm called
Glebelands. near Combe- Martin. So l
at once set out in search of the place,
In the hope that my services would
be accepted. Whether caused by my
own stupidity or the uncertain direc-
tons given me, / cannot tell; but j
found when i had been several hours
Oil the road, and after darkness and q
heavy rain had set in, that l had wan
dered many miles out Of my way.
Therefore, to reach Glebelands that
night, tired as / was, / Don concluded
vas out of the question. So l was
glad to avail myself of a shelter for
the night in an old barn which / op-
~pOrtunely came upon by the wayside.
| entered the barn without misgiving,
threw myself down amongst the straw,
and was soon fast asleep.
l Must lave slept very %soundly, as
subsequent events proved, and when /
vas at length awakened from my heavy
slumbcr. ! started up as n in q night
mare. The strong light of n bulrs eye
lantern was streaming in my face, and
a policeman was shaking me roughly
by the shoulder.
What are you doing here, and what
Is your Manner he peremptorily de-
nanded.
My name is John Parsons" I re-
> piled, prevaricating; land l took shelter
here for the night because l lost my
way" l added. speaking the truth.
Then, Jack Parsons, perhaps you can
tell Inc where You got these?" and he
showed me a large silver cup and a
shield Of the same metal.
Il have never seen them before" /
answered, promptly.
He stared into my face searchingly
for a few seconds, and then in a super
cilious tone said:
Come along with your pals"
/ looked around, and there at the
other enc of the barn l saw for the first
time another policeman, and two of the
most e~vil-visaged characters / ever
clapped eyes on. I now began dimly to
realize the discriminating nature of my
position. 49,.
Il never saw these men before" l
said; "aGd l should like to know what
you charge me With or suspect me Of"
"Oh, it's beyond suspicion, Jack, old
boy. It's a dead certainty. We almost
caught you red-handed in the act. If
we had been ten minutes sooner we
would have nabbed you at the job"
But / do not understand what you
mean!'
oh, yes you do, Jack. But for the
sake of form, let me tell you that you
are charged, along with your chums
over there, with breaking into Water
brock Hall, and stealing these articles
| have shown you"
With these words he slipped the hand
cuffs over my wrists and marched me
along with the others back to Barnsta-
pie.
On the following day / was brought
before the magistrate, and charged,
along with the other two men, with
committing a burglary at WaterbroOk
Hall, and we were all three sent for
trial ut the ensuing quarter sessions.
At the quarter sessions n chain of
complete and damaging evidence was
produced, and as i had beer captured
IN the barn along with the real culprits,
where also the stolen property was
discovered, we were all three found
guilty and sentenced to five years penal
servitude.
Exhausted by my false position, and
stung by the severity of the sentence,
/ looked at the chairman as i left the
dock, and / said in a menacing tone,
1--WE will meet again"
These words. though but the moment
airy expression of irritation, had in The
light of subsequent events a Hateful sig
nifcance. After serving four and a half
years, l was released.
/ pass over the wasted life l pursued
during the year that followed. Suffice
1t to say that l kept clear of actual
crime, though l was sorely tempted at
times, when hunger pressed me
90 xnn IA.nfa