La Junta tribune., 1899-01-21

OF occas!ca: and on that particular Gay
Of the dinner-party he had been more
than unusually cantankerous. That and
my old habits made me take tc the
liquor again. i felt annoyed AID put
out. and was 'nipping' pretty freely
throughout the day After the dinner
the eellaret, and drank 1t up In my
room"
Yes" said Mr. Hall; ''and you we're
not quite sober in the morning"
Il was three-parts drunk when !
awoke and could not clearly bring to
mind anything which had occurred on
the previous night"
Just so."
well, you know the rest. was
convicted condemned, and ultimately
pardoned. Edward Bartlett. the foot
man. swore In his evidence against me
at the trial that had been often talk
ing OF how should like TO raise money
enough to take me out to Australia"
And had you done soy'
Believe me, SIR. as there's Heaven
above and as sit here, It was he who
"AS HEfth4hN VI NoAAs6y OaN
here. Such a notion never entered my
head"
We'll. but how does this bear upon
the question:"
Il will tell you. sir. My brother
Robert was in court when | was tried.
He had been for some years in the
Metropolitan Police. and, unlike me.
was steady in his habits. Bob always
had his head screwed on right: and.
putting two and two together. he made
up his mind that the missing man and
woman had somehow or other made
their way out here
Yes. yes-I understand" said Mr..
Hall
His letter explains the rest" con-
tinued Luke. Il came out here as
quickly as / could-not only in the
hopes OF tracing them and bringing
them TO justice. but. / must confess, OF
sharing the thousand pounds reward"
'Exactly-yery natural,"
"on the way out. on board ship, /
was drinking pretty freely: bu, 1T was
not until my journey up by the coach
that 1t began to tell upon me. When
got TO Sullivan's. l felt in an unnat-
urally excited state-sort Of Wild
cannot tell you how"
II hope never to know from person
al experience" said Mr.. Hall. smiling.
but ! can easily imagine. You felt
what the men up here call jumpy?"
Jus, so. sir. / felt 1t coming on:
and. when heard OF my brothers dis
appearance. was AIKEN"
We'll. we won't talk about that
know all the rest"
Thank you, SIR" said Luke. wip!ng
the perspiration from his forehead a;
the bare recollection OF the agonies he
had endured "One thing ! most par
ticularly wish to ask you, sir" he con-
tinued. after a pause-"is It true that
Baynes received letter from Sydney
that night by the mail. telling him his
sister was dying7"
Poor Baynes. Well. Luke, you GER
tainly have II firmly implanted in your
mind that that harmless youth was
mixed up in some way or other in your
tragedy To answer your question.
to the best OF my belief Baynes did get
n letter to that effect"
ITO the best OF your belief7'
"Yes: for / did not see it,
But you have locked mail-bag?"-
yes"
And you saw the letters taken out7"
Yes. l took them out myself; but
his letter was not amongst them. He
told me the driver OF the coach, Sam
Jones. brought 1t up for him by hand"
1.-The driver brought 1t up?" repeated
Luke.
"Yes, the driver-so he told me-"
THAT Is strange. l never heard Of
that before. The mail comes In to-
night. l will go down to Sullivan's.
and ask the driver"
Poor fellow." thought Mr.. Hall. af-
ter his departure. Il should not won
der II this business drove him mad.
He seems to have the Baynes on tho
brain"
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