Iron County register., 1899-05-18

on me- Don't give me away. I'll 90. I'll
CO. nyouwon'tgive me away You We not
the Iace OF stone heart, nor the voice
OF one neither. Don't send me back
there, Tor the love of him you love most.
IN 1eion, but not villain. Ny crime
was manslaughter. / don't deny my
guilt. But he lied to me about my
mother; he struck me, and struck him
back. I've suffered three years now.
For Heavens sake don't send me back
TO two years morei"
He threw himself ON his knees before
her, and the sweat of agony gathered
thick upon his brow
won't" she said. gently, looking
down upon him. But you're not safe
here in those things. / win give you
something to eat and drink; then you
must co.
He let her go, and while she was
away went round the shed, seeking
something. AT last he ehanced upon
the handle of broken spade, which he
gripped firmly in both hands, as if to
measure the force he could put into a
blow dealt with it.
The door swung open and the young
woman entered followed by stalwart
man of 30, whose handsome, honest
face betrayed his relationship.
| "Cat!" Missed the convict at the
woman entered, followed by stalwart
his head ready to smite down the man
should he approach him.
No names, young fellow, if you
please" said the man, angrily, land
drop that tool. No ones betrayed you
1, IL
fit to die
spasm of intense emotion passed
over the convict's rugged face as he
seized the bread and can of milk the
girl held out to him. He gulped down
the milk, and took a hungry bite at the
bread, turning TO the man as he did so.
Farmer, for goodness sake don't give
me away" he cried. Il am farmer by
calling myself. Take pity upon mis-
erable fellow, and I'll bless you all my
life, and her-and her.
/ Never fear that, man." said the
farmer. But that's not all. Suppose
1T gets known that we've harbored you;
suppose they prosecute me? Eh?
You're farmer? Then your eye must
have told you there's not much money
going on this farm, and-well your wits
will tell you all mean. If you go from
here you'll be arrested by others; your
clothes give you away. So it wouldn't
be fair to let you go like this. Then if
l lend you some clothes / shall have
helped you to escape-as bad an otfense
| as if / had kept you working on the
farm for me, where perhaps you would
stand better chance of escaping recog-
milton than if you went elsewhere, for
We're lonely here, and the place has al
| ready been searched"
The farmer dived his hands into his
pockets and walked the barn impa-
t1ently.
Let me stop, then. For PHYS sake,
give me chance, implored the convict.
"Yes, farmer, l will. My names
Jolly. D'you know the name of Jolly?
No. Forgotten it. probably. Well. I'm
from your part of Hampshire. John At
kins,. and | knew some Atkins. and /
know the ins and outs of that affair of
yours. I'll go the whole hog, farmert
Slip you indoors and We'll wash you
| into new farmland"
The new hand at Jolly's farm was
/ Il
will. and knew his work even better
than did Farmer Jolly himself.
| Two weeks had elapsed since John
Atkins, otherwise James Arnold. which
latter name he had adopted, had been
taken on at the farm, and his knowl-
| edge had made him very useful to Mr.
| jolly. while his handsome face and gen
eral demeanor had induced Mary Jolly
| to regard him with something deeper
than mere pity. deep as pity may be.
| But it must be admitted that James
Arnold did not trust Jolly. When the
warders again walked into the farm one
morning, Arnold had thrown look full
of scorn at the farmer, for he believed
he had been betrayed. And although
| this belief had been dispelled by his es-
Gaping detection by the warders, some
how or other his faith in Jolly's homes
| ty would moi reestabliSh itself. One
reason for this was the knowledge he
had gathered from this word and that
| look, that the farmer was financially
embarrassed, which in consequence of
| the hundred pounds reward which had
| been offered for the capture of John At
kins, was certainly a temptation toren-
| der him up to the law.
No absolute obstacle stood in the way
of the convict's fight from the farm;
! almost any moment. of the day he could
have turned his back upon the farm and
departed. He had considered that hun
| dreds of times, and abandoned the idea:
not because he feared being detected
elsewhere, not because any kind of OBJ
stacle stood in his way, but because of
| e. ~.
mellow, sympathetic voice; because of
because of Mary Jolly!
Under the influence of his suspicion
of the farmer, Arnold grew very watch
| full and astnte. 1t dragged him down
to doing meaner things than-felon as
he was-he1 would otherwise have
stopped to do. He played the spy upon
the farmer many time. But he felt
the shame of it. Still, he had more
than durance vile to dread; he had the
| loss of something dearer to his heart
! than liberty to fear. Thus it befell that
one evening" when the farmer and his
| sister were locked in the tidy little par
Ior of the farm, Arnold was llneeling on
the mat outside the door, his ear and
his eve alternately at the key-hole. At
first he could not hear what either said,
but as they talked their voices in
| stinctively rose, and he heard words
and sentences of their conversation.
r. IL