Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-09-29
The Doom Of
DeanshQrst.
d ElzDE6zlE

$500
hundred pOun',' he says, an I'll break
oop G casts / took, before your eyes
"'Wot il ! refuseg' axed Mr.. Ste
phen. sidlin up close to L keeper.
IVY, I'll give " away says Ash.
croft. 'Ye can take that FROM me
straight
"'Take this first, you hound.' cried
Mr.. stephen. l seed a bright CLEAN in
{ q k, an t next moment Sam Ash
croft wur lynn on t ground. Mr.. Ste
phen, he just waited for mebbe two
minutes, put Is and or t others wrist,
an walked away. I crept up to t body
an felt 'un. Sam wur stone dead.
Then | went arter Mr.. Stephen, an
presently l found a long, queer-l0okin'
knife a-lyin' just whar he'd dropped it.
l had just time to slip one side when
back he COON, lookin' for summat
plain enough. an strikin' matches ev-
cry few yards. AFTER some time. he
gave Oop { hunt, an went right away.
H. police i'm Cornwall has 20. L knife"
lis this itY' asked the inspector,
producing a s~tiletto-like weapon. seem
ingly of foreign make.
"Yes, that be un,' was the reply.
"Why did you not give information
to the police at the timey' demanded
the magistrate, sternly.
II wur afeared to, fur one thing. An
besides" he added, with vicious cam
dor, Il hated Ashcroft. / wouldn't a
said nothin' now. but for Mr.. Stephen
leavin' Luke to be hung for wot he
done hisself." And he confirmed the
statement by glaring sayagely at the
prisoner.
Have you anything to say?" In
quired the magistrate. addressing Ste.
phen. Il presume you are aware that
any statement you may make may be
used against you Mt your trialf"
Nothing. 1 reserve my defense"
answered stephen, forcing the words
through his ~eadaverous lips with obyi-
Gus effort.
Then, stephen Deane, you stand
fully committed to take your trial at
the Old Bailey Criminal Sessions for
the Willful Murder of Samuel Ash
croft"
1t was all over. And Stephen knew
Ii. He had feared it when the boy
commenced 10 give his evidence, and
this fear had changed into certainty
before he had concluded. The finding
of the weapon used had put the finish
ing touch, as 1t Were, to an already
clear, strong, coherent case. That miss
ing weapon had at first caused him in
tense anxiety: but, as 1t had never
been reported as having been founu,
he had deemed IL irretrievably lost in
the wood. Yet now Ii had been PRO
duced i'm a very piece de conviction
against him. 1t was a clasp-knife. OF
Maltese make. with an unusually long.
narrow blade: and abundant proof
would he produced at the trial that il
had been In his possession for years.
In the half-insane calmness begottcn
of the absolute despair which low pos
sessed him, Stephen thought out the
near future. link by link. as it must
certainly eventuate. He would be pub
licly tried for his life. and. upon the
evidence against him, he must inevlt-
ably be convicted.
He fancied he already saw the hum
dreds of eyes turned upon him as he
stood in the dock mt the Old Bailey
Alice's amongst them. Could he en-
dure this degradation? Then the YER
dict-GUILTY. And then DEATH
at the hangman's hands! These were
the terrors In store for him. Why
await them? Why endure the soul
torturing interval that must elapsc be-
fore even a felon's death could grant
him respitey
That evening he w0nld, he knew. be
removed from Bow street to a prison,
where he would be under far more rig
i'll surveillance, He would be more rig
orously searched, too.... He would lie
down and think this over.
An hour later a turnkey entered the
cell with some refreshments ordered
by the prisoner beforehand. He was
lying upon the blanket-covered slab,
which did duty for 4 couch, apparent.
ly asleep. But only apparently, He
had opened the carotid artery with the
laIcct-like blade Of Il penknlfe, and his
life-blood had almost entirely ebbed
The alarm was sounded. and a
surgeon was kneeling beside the mo
tionless figure within a few minutes.
All to no purpose.
s.Too later muttered the urgeon
when he had arrested the now slug
gish flow of blood. .'Thc man Is still
alive. but he will be dead within TWEEN.
~ minutes"
An inspector had FASTENED To- APP
prise the magistrate of the tragic
event, and they entered the cell togeth-
CIR. When the angel of death flaps his
wings. the official mind instinctively
turns TO thoughts of dying dispositions.
"He may or may not con
before DEATH" said the u
geon. in answer TO their eager inquir-
les, but 1 do not expect he will ever
speak again. / shall try what a stinl-
ulant can do"
The surgeon proved to be- wronl-
Stephen never recovered consciousness,
but just before he died he recovered
his voice sufficiently to BIZ audible to
the magistrate, who pls ed his ear
close to the dying mans fps, and re-
the words 10 he Inspector, who
wrote them down.
Hush cautioned the magistrate.
Listen
'Rcnounce the curst gold, for, until ii
be sped,
Not n Deane of them all shall die In
his bed"
"What on earth Is he driving attn.
Quiet, my poor fellowi. -"
With a last cOnyulsiye effort Stephen