Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-03-21
A NARROW MARGIN.


The Story Of y Man who stood ON q
slippery Place and Was Saved.
Were you ever suspected of murder"
inquired q government Official of a Star
reporter.
Never" responded the reporter, as
calmly az IL questions OF that pleasing
character were his daily food. ,
well. I was once. and IL you have any
feelings at all you need never want to be-"
Tho reporter nodded for the official to
proceed. and the official proceeded.
When was twenty or thereabouts." he
said, Il was . hard case. 1 don't know
why. because my family were decent peo-
pie and had some money: but somehow I
new the track. and before I had attained
my majority i was a gambler. drunkard
and generally a tough character, though up
had never been in the hands OF the law.
Living in my neighborhood was a man
whom hadn't much use for, and 1t was
known We were not friends. though We
mess relations. Our town was about three
miles from the railroad station, and one
November evening just about sunset. as
1 was coming to town afoot, met him
walking to the station. o
He stopped me, much to any surprise,
and asked me IL had any money, because
IL 1 had he would sell me his watch for
almost nothing. az he was going to the
city Unexpectedly and needed cash. AZ 1t
happened 1 had two ten-dollar bills and
three fives which I had received from
as the mans watch was a good gold one.
thought / had a chance to turn an honest
penny. something didn't do very often.
So l opened negotiations. Several persons
we knew pessed US as We were dickering,
and at last 1 went on home with the
watch and hs went on to the station with
twenty-five dollars. including a ten-dollar
bill with the station agents name on it. in
haA nod <.f
delay in the trade. az he didn't want it
and L insisted that he take it.
As 1t turned out, he had a reason for
not wanting 1t. and 1 can't say why / was
30 anxious for him to take It Well. next
day the mans dead body was found in
the woods quite near the station, and a
trade. and 1t was evident that he had been
robbed for his pockets were turned inside
out and everything taken. My connection
with the matter did not strike me until the
day after, when 1 was arrested on sUs-
picion. I was SO badly ratified by the
shock Of the arrest on such a charge that
I made my case worse by talking, and
when the mans watch was found on
and It was known that I had been treating
the crowd the night OF the murder, hadn't
any show at all.
''Of course. I protested my innocence
and told my story. but people took it with
little grace. for my character was known.
and after an examining trial 1 was Jailed
without ball. What I suffered nobody ex-
a
had passed I had made up my mind TO
commit suicide and end the whole thing.
1 am sure I would have done so. but Prov
idence had something else in store for me.
and sent II by stranger. This man was
arrested es drunk and disorderly ten days
otter my arrest, and when he was search
ed In the station house q ten-dollar bill
Was found on him bearing the station
agents name.
1.-The officer who searched him was a
friend OF mine. and as soon as he got his
hands on the Kill he thought he had found
way out OF my difficulties. and went after
my lawyer. Then they saw the station
agent, and he identified the bill as the only
one he had ever put his name on, and re-
membered that I had jokingly asked him
to do 1t to make IT good. The next move
was to make q few inquiries of the stran-
ger as to how he came into possession of the
money. This was done by waiting until
next morning when he was sober. and
charging him directly with the murder
spot, as most murderers will. and the result
was that 1 was saved. Saved in more
senses than one, too," concluded the Official
for from that very day 1 lived a new life.
and thank God I have never fallen into
evil ways since. and that was thirty years
ago."
How do you explain your notion TO have
the station agents signature on the bill
and your insisting on the man taking it,"
inquired the writer.
God moves I'm a mysterious way His
wonders to perform" was the reverent
reply.
And the man who did not want to take
the marked b.l?"
He was running away from justice He
had spent every dollar of fund belong
ing to an orphan and had been called 10
an accounting"