The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1895-10-24
IMPERIHL MILLIONS
By JULIAN HAWTHORNE

By JULIAN HAWTHORNE
tCopyright, lN1. BY American Prea A2ocia-
tion.1
Wedged between two seats on the op-
posite side of the aisle, which in the
present position of the car was on an in
clined plane above him, was a body
whose right arm, hanging downward,
was within Keppel's reach as he stood.
He took hold of the hand; it was limp
and clammy-the hand of a corpse.
Bracing his feet against some fragments
of wreck. he grasped the body round the
waist and dragged it from its position.
1t was, as he had surnised, that of the
young man in whom he had fancied a
resemblance to himself.
He had been killed by mass of metal
which had struck him in the face, crush
ing in the features and the front of the
brain. Except that the countenarce
was thus rendered utterly unrecogniz
able, the body seemed uninjured. Keppel
chuckled. ''You have died to save me- .
he said, sat the right moment and in the
right way. May your soul have peace,
brother"
As quickly as possible he removed
the dead mans coat and waistcoat
and exchanged them for his own.
putting the latter upon the corpse.
Then, drawing the lifeless arm into
suitable position, he passed the
free handcuf round the wrist and sprung
the lock. The body was now chained to
that of the dead detective. 'tYou must
submit to be mistaken for murderer,
my good fellow" he muttered. s'You
will never know it; and, besides, am
innocent-if that is any consolation to
you. So now-goodbyp
Clambering out of the wreck, he stood
upon the track beside the shattered
train. He could vaguely see people NOV
ing about or standing in groups. The
noise of escaping steam had ceased, but
the groans of the wounded and dying
passengers could still be heard intermit-
tently. A figure approached him carry
ing lantern. 1t was one of the brake
men.
care you hurt, sir?' he said, pausing.
s'Only few bruises" replied Keppel.
s'But believe most of the others in our
car were killed. And, by the way, there
was one odd thing
"What was that, sir?'
"Why, there was prisoner aboard
he was handcuffed to an officer-they
were taking him to Sing Sing, suppose. "
"Why, that was the fellow that killed
Harry Trent! What became of hin?"
81 was sitting in the seat next him.
He's lying there stone dead, and the de-
tective's with him. His life imprison-
ment didn't last longr'
"Dead, is hep said the brakeman.
"Well, if was he, I'd rather be killed
in moment in a railway accident than
| live fifty years in a prison. Some said,
| though, that he never murdered Trent.
But guess he got his deserts
"No doubt of it. Well, good night. ]
shall walk on to Tarrytown."
"Good night, SIR
Keppel stepped off up the track. He
had no settled plan of fight, but so long
as he did not meet any one who knew
him he felt little or no apprehension. In
the belief of the world, tomorrow morn
ing he would be dead; his obituary would
be read in the papers by millions of peo-
pie. Nevertheless, it behooved him to
keep out of sight, and as soon as might
be, to make whatever changes were pos
sible in his personal appearance. He
would cut his hair-he might be able to
bleach it, perhaps-he would let his beard
grow. He must move out of the country
too; if he could contrive to get to Europe
so much the better. He must take an
other name, and look forward to a life
under totally changed conditions. A
new life, lonely life. Henceforth all
his old friends and acquaintance were
his deadliest enemies. All but one! Olym-
pia had said that she believed in him.
that she loved him and would marry
none but him. Aye, but she, with the
rest of the world, would now think of
him as dead. Death obliterates all things
memory and love and the rest. But
what if he should send her secret mes
sage or sign informing her of his safety!
He paused in his walk to reflect. No, it
would not do, as the message might mis-
carry; and. if not, what avail to write to
her? She could not come to him. They
could not get married and go off togeth-
er. To know that he was alive might
give her happiness for moment, but in
the long run it could only make her mis-
erable. Moreover, money would be in
dispensable, and where was it to come
from? He might still paint pictures, it
was true, but it would not be safe to dc
SO in this country; and as to Europe
1t was better to select some other pro-
fession. Yet what profession could bring
| the immediate returns that were neces-
sary? Robbery was the only one, and
there were objections to that! How was
he to procure the means of buying his
next meal?
A sudden thought caused him to
search the pockets of his coat and waist
coat-the garments which he had taken
from the dead man.
There were papers and letters, and in
the right hand pocket of the waistcoat
there was small roll of bills-four or
five in all. 1t was too dark to discern
the denominations, but there could not
be less than five dollars. 1t was enough
for the present; and indeed Keppel,
who still had some traditions of con-
science left, was glad it was not more.
Nobody could feel the loss of so small a
sum, and it was of disproportionate value
to Keppel himself.
He now left the track and turned off
to the eastward. The rain gradually
cleared and the stars came ont. Guild
ing himself by them, Keppel walked on
and on, now clambering over steep ac-
clivitieS now plungino into hollows