Evening journal., 1897-04-19
BYANARROWNARGIN
HOW A MANS LIFE WAS SAVED BY A
MARKED SO BILL.

the CircumetAntial Evidence was very i
strong-A Government Omciai Tells why |
Eo Changed His ways.
"Were you ever suspected Of muir
ders' inquired a government official Of
Star reporter
Never, responded the reporter as
calmly as il questions of that pleasing
character were his daily food
swell, j was once, and If you have
any feelings at all you need never want
10 be. :"
The reporter nodded for the official to
proceed, ana the official proceeded
When 1 was 90 or thereabout y he
said. ~ was "a hard case. i don't know
why. because my family were decent
people and had some money, but Some
how / flew the track and before i had
attained my majority j was a gambler
a drunkard and genorallya tough char
acter though up to tho time / am about
10 tell of ! had never been in the hands
of the law. Living i'm my neighborhood
was q man whom ! hadn't much use
for. and 10 was known we were not
friends though we were on speaking
terms and had some business relations.
Our town was about three miles from
the railroad station, and ono November
evening, just about sunset as / was
coming Go town afoot, / met him walk
ing TO the station.
"ne stopped me, much 20 my sur
prise, and asked me IL / had amy money,
because If had he would sell me his
watch for almost nothing, as hc was
going Co the city unexpectedly and
needed cash. AS it happened, had two
$40 bills and three 50, which 1 had re-
ceivcd from the station agent not an
hour before, aud as the mans watch
was a good gold one J thought had q
chance TO turn an honest penny, some
thing didn edo very often Sol opened
negotiations. Several persons we knew
passed Us as we were dickering, and at
last went on home with tho watch, and
he went on 10 the station with S2j, in-
cluding $40 bin with the station
agents uamo ON it in red ink, which
had caused part Of our delay in the
trade, rs he didn't want it,, and l in-
sisted that he take il.
"As it turned out, he had % reason
for not wanting it, and ] can't say why
was SO anxious for him TO take it.
Well. next day the mans dead body
was found in the woods quite near the
station and a mile from where we had
met aud mado our trade, and il was
evident that he had been robbed, for his
pockets were turned inside out and cv-
erything taken. My connection with
the matter did not strike me until the
day after whom was arrested ON suspi-
cion / was so badly ratified by the
shock OF the arrest on such a charge
that / made my case worse by talking
and when tho man watch was found
ON mo and it was known that / had
been treating the crowd the night OF
tho murder, hadn't amy show ut all
s'Of course protested my innocence
aid told my story, but people took il
with little grace, for my character was
known, and after an examining trial
was jailed without bail What / suf.
fercd nobody except myself can know,
and before % week had passed i had
made up my mind to commit suicide
and end the whole thing L am sure
would have done so, but providence hao
something elso in store for me, and sent
it 10y stranger This man was arrested
as drunk and disorderly ten days after
my arrest, and when he was searched
in the station house q $40 bill was found
on him bearing the station agent'i
name
'rho officer who searched him was {
friend of mine, and as soon rs he 90
his hands ON the bill he thought he haC
found a way out Of my difficulties anS
won't after my lawyer. Then they saw
the station agent, and he identified tn
bill as the only one he had ever put hi
namo ON, and remembered that i ha'
jozingly asked him to do it TO make i
good. The next move was to make
few Inquiries of the stranger as to hoy
he came into possession of the money
This was done by waiting until mex
morning when hewas sober, and charg
ing him directly with murder. 1t wa
SO sudden that ho weakened on the spot
as most murderers will, and the resul
was that ] was saved. Saved in mon
senses than one, too, " concluded tn
official, for from that very day ] live
new lie, and thank God, / have
never fallen into evil ways again, an
that was 30 years ago.
How do you explain your notion
have the station agents signature G
the bill, and your insisting ON the ma
taking itg" inquired the writer.
God moves in q mysterious way h
wonders to perform, was the reverel
reply
And the man who did not want
take the marked bill.'
He was running away from justic
lie had spent every dollar of a fund
longing to an orphan, and had be-
called to an accounting. "-Washingt'
Star
Earl Grey.