The St. Johns herald., 1896-10-03
THE DRAGONS DISAPPEARANCE
By WILLIAM LEIGHTON.


 paper to the bailies' office and found that the assessor was so much impressed with the strangeness of the whole story
 that he had resolved upon handing ii over to the fiscal Nor did he fail ir this, as soon appeared by a wall bill which, about o'clock, glared in various parts of the city to the effect that whereas paper on which was written the following words (quoted) had been found on the High street of Edinburgh. a reward of e5 would be given to the person who had written the contents of the said paper (assuming it doubtful whether Angus Macgillivray was the manl, if he would come forward and give testimony as to the object or mean ing thereof, or to any person who would give information tending to show where the person of Duncan Macgillivray, dea- con of the hammermen, could be found, whether dead or alive. Nor did the fis- cal limit his official duties by this proc lamation, for about 9 o'clock he con- menced precognition of all parties who knew anything regarding the affair, among whom were the deaconess (who was, in consequence of her weakness, taken to the office in 8 sedan chair) Mrs. Angus Macgillivray, McPherson, Girvan, myself and the individuals who had seen the missing men on the day of their disappearance.
 But nothing came out of the bill or the precognitions tending toward any theory sufficient to stay the mind or in- duce belief, if we except a statement made by young man, 8 clerk in the coach office, opposite which the blood stained paper had been found He went forward in the afternoon and was pre- cognosced by the fiscal to the effect that on the day of the disappearance he saw two men whom he did not know mount the coach just when it began to move, and without having time to pay their fares, which they probably calculated upon settling at the other end of their journey.
 One of the men, who was stouter and fatter than the other, got inside, and the other, immediately upon perceiving the movement, sprang up behind. He observed no concert between the two, yet he felt satisfied that the one had re- solved to go after he saw the other about to take his seat It was only after he heard a description of the two Macgili- vrays that he began to think they were the men whom he had observed. When this story came to be known, it was conveniently found to agree in some re- spects with the history of the paper As suming that the men seen by the clerk were really the two brothers, it seemed probable that the deacon was he who went inside, probably called upon to undertake the journey on short notice by some business emergency, and that An gus, who was prowling about, had seen his brother in the act of entering the coach, had suddenly formed a resolu- tion to dog him into the country and there wreak his revenge at a distance from Edinburgh.
 This sudden purpose seemed probable, because if there had been any concert between the two to travel together Angus would have gone inside also, where, according to the clerks state ment, there was plenty of room for him. So far ingenious and cer- tainly in the circumstances not improb- able. Then, as to the paper, what more likely than that it should have come with the returned coach, having been sent by Angus when upon the eve of flight after committing the deed and bearing the marks of bloody fingers? As for the motive for thus proclaiming his villainy, the most difficult element in the whole story, 1t might have been (what might not be when the mind is to find that it is0 the wild act of bravado, glorying, as Mrs Mac gillivray herself expressed it, in his re- venge at time when he knew he would be far away before the paper reached its destination.
 Another day dawned, bringing with it of course further confirmation, in the passage of time, of the universal con- viction that, whatever might be the ;peculations as to the when, how or there could be little doubt of the fate of Deacon Macgillivray. And with the same increase of effect the day passed. Taking Girvan along with me, I called at the house in Borthwick's Close about o'clock. We found there Mrs. Girvan, and another, of all the world the most unexpected, the wife of Angus Macgillivray herself. Her story was extraordinary enough She said hat ever since the taking out of the awborrows Angus Macgillivray had oeen changed man. He read his Bible i n the morning and showed other indi- cations of penitence for the enmity he lad entertained toward his brother.
 "And now," continued the woman as he took from her pocket Bible, which he had probably brought with her for he very purpose, "I swear by this holy look, which hope to be the means of he salvation of my soul and that of my that Angus MacgiIlivray, on hat morning when he so strangely dis ppeared, stated to me, aye. with tears n his eyes, that he mourned continual y over the separation of himself and his rother; that he was determined to hrow himself in his way, to confess is contrition and sorrow for what had | assed, to offer him his hand and swear renewed friendship, which he would eep true to the day of his death"
 This rer,1arkable gtatement which | vas confirmed by the manner as we'll as he honest character of the woman, was,
 think, believed by all of us excepting he deaconess, who had been so con-