The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-25
CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY
Continued from Tenth Page,)


 rectory, the sad meeting of the bereave' family was got over, the solemn fu
 neral service was held, and at S30 p. m
 George and I were on the platform
 the Startford Junction station, waiting
 for the mail train to come from London
 When the train steamed in there Wer
 no signs of Carter but in the smoking
 compartment nearest to the guard
 van in front of the train was George!
 portmanteau and his rug, all saf'
 enough. a.....-
 Good, faithful clerk Carter had done his duty, and George Croome was as l good as out of the country.
 On arriving at the office on Saturday
 morning there were no signs of Carter
 l went round to the Green Dragon tc l settle the bill with the landlady, but
 she seemed surprised at my calling, anc
 told me that MT. Croome had slept there
 on the Thursday as arranged. and had | left on the Friday morning to attend | the funeral returning later in the even- | ing; that he had had a hasty dinner there called for his bill, paid it, and | taken a cab, with his portmanteau, to the Shoreditch station; and she hoped all was right, as there had been very shabby looking man hanging about
 asking questions about him. If I felt
 some little astonishment, I did not let
 my face betray it, and merely remark ed that if the bill was settled, that was all I felt concerned about.
 A little later on in the day l got a short note from Garter, which, so far as I can recolect at this distance of time, ran as follows:-
 Sloman's, Cursitor street Chancery Lane.
 Dear Sir: I am afraid I must trouble you to come down here The fact Is the sheriff'e officer had little mistake yesterday and want you to come here and identify me as being your faith full clerk. George Garter.
 I hurried down to Cursitor street. where I found Carter in durance vile in the sponging house kept by Sloman, wcll known to all London lawyers at that time. His first words to me were: q will explain how the mistake. arose when I am out of here; until then you had better ask no questions, but take the proper steps (which he indicated) to procure my release"
 I had to go on to judges chambers and make a special application to the judge sitting there that afternoon, It happened to be aron Martin an Irish man, with keen sense of racy humor, but withal stern sense of the neces- sity of maintaining the majesty of the law and the dignity of tha court. In addition to swearing that Carter was not Geore Croome, and had been arrest ed in mistake for him, the judge requir- ed me to swear that I had had no hand directly or indirectly in bringing about the mistake which had occurred; this he required of me as an attorney and officer of the court and 1 was glad to be able to swear 1t with a clear con- science This done the old judge sat back in his chair and laughed heartily at the discontinue of the money lender, and ordered the immediate release of Carter. only adding these insignificant words at the end of the order: No &C., ton by any party against the sheriff."
 Ip was not until the next day that Carter told me his story; how he had seen that the only safe course to get George Croome out of the country and luIOW lIle SutlilL C UlllCeI OIl tue NlbuS scent, wae to take Georges place at the Green Dragon, where he was not known: that after closing the office on evening he went home, dress ad himself in black clothes, and betook himself with George Crome's portman- Il eau and travelling rug to the Green Dragon, informed the landlady that he vas the gentleman for whom had writ | .en to secure the room, that he wished 70 spend the evening quietly by him self, as he was in great grief, having i ecently lost his father that he was go ng to the funeral the next morning ear y, but would come back again, in the | vening for his luggage in time to catch | he mail train from Shoreditch.
 The plan succeeded admirably The | heriff's officer had been very neatly | he had bribed the' "boots'' if the hotel, and had pumped him as to he movements of the gentleman who 'wned the portmanteau with G. c. printed on it., and kept quiet all day taiting for Carters return in the even ng. Carter then told me with much lee how he had got good start of the ff1cer by arriving earlier and leaving arlier than he told the landlady he would do, and had taken the luggage to he station and had placed it in the car iage under the care of the guard, and vas just hurrying away from the sta ion when he was tapped on the shou- CT by the officer and told he must con- ider himself in custody. He felt bound 0 carry out his plot to the finish. and lerely remarked: 'I thought I had to get away clear: it is irimes I suppose: well, take me some rhere for the night, till l can get my olicitor to arrange the thing to-mor- lw," and had gone off like a lamb to ursitor street as soon as he saw the 'an with the luggage safe in the car age moving out of the station, and new that before night George would be afely on board the boat steaming for ntwerp.
 I felt it my duty to expostulate with arter for sailing SO very near to the ind, but I could not keep it up when 9 replied: Well. sir, if that sharp 1eriff's officer did not know a poor wyer's clerk from born gentleman, 9 is not up to his business Good, faithful clerk, he died at his ork: he was knocked over by cab l
 crowded thoroughfare of London le day when he was out on some busi- esq of mine, and although terribly in- ( lred, he would not allow anything to i