The times., 1897-09-26

cneerIuliN accept lne penalty anu sdCtiiice+
IL necessary. all the property from which
derived ny income
But, II Reuben Farris should not re-
cover, the case would be very different.
Then it would be a matter of life and Heath
TO me 20 prove that when | hurled from
my window that heavy leaden missile,
thought 1 WAS throwing it at a cat and
not at the head of man. Itwasgenars.ily
beIIeved that the assailant of Farris Tad
been waiting for him at an open windo v,
knowing tlldt Ec wou' Il probably ;,lolg
Decatur street. Why should / not aave
been waiting for him at an open window
far above hiiu and safe from observation?
Ever ybod knew that had great in
terest in TIE KefforG VIII case, and Con
sequenuy in the appearance or the nom
appear ance of the man who had been sent
for to testify il that case. | had frequently
disrussedt the mutter withmy acquaintances
in the law and out of it, and did SO the
more ZealouSly beceuse by avoiding the
| subiecJ l might have led persons to
suppose that my feelings We're hurt IL
was known. too, that l was paying nt.en-
tions To Hiss Kefford, and that | wss a
warm friend of the family, and in fact he
more l thought of il the more plainly IL
seemed to m e thnt it might reasonably be
suspected that l might have been actuated
BY very strong desire that Farris should
rot testify regarding the kefford will. II
he should swear that he had witnessed the
wiil the fortune 1f the dead Kcfrord w9s
lost TO his relatives There We're chances
that he might so swear, and was know
20 he young man of quick temper.
Why should not the story of the cat
appear absurd and ridiculous? What man
of average sense would stand at a third
story window on a rainy night, when
| footsteps e. uld scarceiy be heard and when
it was Sc dark that people on the sidewalk
could not be plainly discerned, ana hurl
| more than pound of lead at something
which possibly might he "a cat? What rca
son Lad / to expect that | sho uld be aHe
to convince a court that | was silly
| fool and not an intending murderer
When MY thoughts had gone thus far,
| put the dpsy lead in drawer, which
locked, and then / hurried % the hospital.
had been there before and had shown, /
! hoped. Il credItable interest in the uufortu.
hate man. Snd row / tried hard to calm
myself down into the appearance OF one
influenced 10y such creditahle interest and
nothing more. 1t might have been better for
NE TO have stayed away from the hospital
for when / was told that although the
operation. hsd been considered successful,
the patient was still in an insensible CON
dition with yitahIy 50 low that at any
uoment he might cease 70 breathe. ! fear
that | showed an agitation scarcely less
than that which would have been produced
| by the news OF the dangerous condition 1f
10y ed relative. 1t might well be asked
| why, under ordinary circumstances, l
should be 50 affected by the danger Of
person with whom l was not acquainted
Allthat night considered from every pcs
sible poiHt Of view my terrifying situation.
! New reasons for suspicious of ne continu-
ally cropped up. II 1 had accidentally
struck q man seuseless, why should nave
waited fi,-e days before | announced the
| fact" Why should | have allowed one Il
the best men in tie town, man whose
/ son-in-lag l hoped to be, TO rest SO long
under the suspicion of a foul crime? Why
should wait until l should see whether BIr
I Kefford was likely to get into serious
trouble before came forward with this
/ trurlpet-up story of Ii cat?
/ And there was Natalie! If she had by
| this time found out that suspicion was
! gathering around her father, what would
she say when l told her that I had waited
! five days before avowing myself to be the
! Culprit? II she believed l had entirely for
/ gotten what l had done, then it woulh
| almost be as bad as il she did not believe
| A lawyer, whose business il is to discover
/ eliminating facts, but whose Judgment and
| memory art 80 frli a. TO make him over
! look the all-imporrtant facts in such
| case. must be almost as deSpicable "a a
| man who commits a crime and lies about IL.
! l became indignant at fate. Why should
! l lose ever ything worth having in this world:
! Why should give up IN love, my prospects,
my life, because l had committed a care
] less fault2 Why should I suffer the terri
/ BILE punishment which might follow the
avowal of my part in this tragedy. OF which
tragedy, at the time it was committed,
was absolutely ignorant?
In the town OF Camborough, in fact In
the whole world, there was no one who
| could help me answer these questions.
! If told my secret to anyone l would
! have no right to ask him to keep it
d secret, and he would have no right 10
| do So How l cursed myself for the eyre
| gious vanity which had urged me to
| push myself into this affair. OF course,
| il was a good motive which prompted
me to give all possible assistance in the
| searSh for 4 criminal and to clear a good
! man from suspicion, but that had not
been ali my motive. l had wanted to
show Can. borough what l could do by
| myself. / had wanted TO produce tire
| criminal, and now that | ha d found him
l was afraid to produce him. If had kept
| in my proper place no one would have ever
| Enewn that / had done the deed, fol
l should not have suspected it myself
! IL was as il native Australian had
proudly hurled a boomerang at an enemy
ard the nurderOns missile had returned,
striking him fair in the forehead.
/ had reached the point now, when I
considered only myself. The thought
that my ayowal would relieve Mr.. Kef-
ford OF suspicion grew of less and less
Importance. l said to myself that there
was really nothing to positively connect
him with the crime. He might suffer, but
not as should suffer. l could not make
up NY min to shatter my life.
rose in the morning without having
decided whe: her l would continue TO live
among tie citizens of CamborQugh as q
| free and respectable man, or whether /
should deliFer myself into the hands of the
law, for q crime of which / knew / was
| not truly guilty. ! was sitting in my Of
! flee that Inornlng about O'Clock when
| my friend, Craig Wilson, came in. He was
| q young law yer about my age, but he
| had heen longer III the profession, and had
| had s1Ine experience. Wilson had scarcely
seated himself when he exclaimed:
Won a. |, T. .