Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-04-08

of wakefulness. The governor had fin.
ished reading the official-looking paper.
! and with the conclusion of the formal
part of his duty he added few words
of congratulation. Harborde seemed to
have no comprehension of their mean
ing. He remained standing IN the CEN
ter of the narrow cell speechless. At
last the chaplain made him understand
the import of the document which had
just been read over to him.
Free! FreeI 1t is impossible" he
exclaimed, and then he threw himself
on the bed in an agony of JOY. The
changing of the bell afresh, the slam
ming of doors, the echoing of footsteps
down the resounding corridors, recalled
him to sense of his position. A warder
entered with suit of clothes. With
trembling fingers he removed his prison
garb; worn, sOiled with weather and
labor and intolerable. The trousers
felt chilly after the thick, tight-fitting
knickerbockers, and rough, thick, wors-
ted stockings. The coat seemed to fit
him nowhere. With one look round his
CELL on the walls of which he had done
innumerable calculations to keep him
self from insanity bred by the terrible
silence and sense of loneliness, NO. 81, -
now no longer a mere figure, machine,
but human being. stepped into the cor
ridor.
There was breakfast for him such as
he had not tasted for nine long years,
but he had no appetite. The one idea
now possessing his mind was home,
escape whilst the governor was willing
for him to depart. He swallowed a few
mouthfuls, drank few gulps of cocoa,
and then with the allowance money in
his pocket hurried to the gateway.
He was free. Free to go wherever he
liked Free to start for home as fast as
steam could carry him. Free to stretch
out his arms to the placid gray-blue wa
tiers of Western Bay now denuded of
their mantle of fog and sparkling in the
sunshine. Free to breathe the pure air
uncontaminated by companions Grim
inal and vicious. But the waters, the
hillside, the lovely stretch of verdant
country extended before his eyes, had
nc charm for him save that they speIt
freedom. Behind him lay the prison
house, the flagstaff from which no en-
sign of dread fiuttered to tell of his
escape. Before him lay freedom.
He rushed down the road, waving his
arms with the reawakened instincts of
boy escaping from school, oblivious
alike of the sympathetic gaze of women
he passed, and the half-contemptuous
remarks of the men. He dashed into the
bleak, shabby little railway station,
only to learn that there was no train
for an hour. Already his limbs, unused
to such riotous movements and stillf feel
ing the lag of the chain, had begun to
fail him, making the haIf-jocular sug-
gestion of the solitary porter, that he
should take little exercise and walk
to Weymouth" out of the question.
'I'll have to wait" was all he could
think of to say.
"Doin' time amt altogether exilter-
attn nor strengthenin' work." the por-
ter remarked.
Harborde nodded his head, yet longed
to tell him that he was an innocent man.
The porter, however, had vanished, to
return in few moments with paper.
Here, mate" lie exclaimed, with
rough kindness. You won't know all
yesterdays news, I'll go bail"
HarbOrde seized the paper. No! he
knew nothing of yesterdays news, nor
that of thousands of days which had
once been yesterday. He could see
nothing at first. The print swan in a
confused tumble before his eyes. When
his sight cleared he commenced to read.
How strange it was. He used to be a
great reader before ne became NO 2T''
And now he seemed to know nothing
of the world. New names confronted
him everywhere. Names of those in
authority. names of towns. names even
Of countries. Where was Mashonaland
and Matabeleland? He was confused.
He read on. This delicious new-found
turmoil of the world. how good it was
after all.
At last his eye caught small par
agraph slowed away at the bottom of
the third column on page six of the
paper. He read it and rercad it over
and again. Her majesty. the queen,
has been graciously pleased to pardon
Thomas HarbOrde, who was convicted
of forgery at the Winchester assizes
some ten years ago, and who is now
completing his sentence of Is years
penal servitude at Portland. Harborde
will be released this morning. The step
has been taken in consequence of the
dying confession of q man at Bristol"
Nothing more! Now he knew why he
had been released. And so death had
taken Edward TiIweu cut of the hands
of justice. II was hardly fair of death.
The porter came up whistling to tell
him the train would start in ten min
utes. He got up, thrust the paper into
the mans hands, and pointed to the
paragraph.
That's me-"
"You Thomas Harborle? >" exclaimed
the man. Then all I've got to say is its
a hanged shame the queen didn't send a
coach-and-six for you. Let's have your
hand, man, to wish you good luck Got
q missis? No? So much the better:
poor soul, if you had, it would cut her
up terrible"
NO." said Harborde. as though
speaking to himself. Il was to have
been married; but that's years ago now. !
and I'm an old man."
'Oidi" interjected the porter, you're /
no more than five-and-thirty. III go |
bail. You do look older. to be sure. /
But wait till you've been out bit. you'll I
soon rub off them lines and look bit +
more uppish."
The engine at the end of the short /.
train of carriages releguted to the Port /
land line after becoming too thoroughly /
out of date for even the Somerset and /
Dorset local service between Weymouth /