Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1900-02-02

NH W'IlO<Z
shop where Paxton received it, was ex-
planned.
who do you suspect is your fathers
murderer" asked Paxton.
Levi Kredge!" answered Reid Oak
burn in tone Of conviction.
Why SOP" -
Because he was flush of money after
the murder, and it was not marked
money he had. l think he robbed my
fathers little private safe, after killing
the old gentleman.
The detective questioned Reid Oak
burn further, but nothing worthy OF
record was elected after that, and the
interview was cut short by the arrival Of
one Of Paxton agents, with note from
the villainous janitor, who requested
him to come to his cell as soon as posi-
BILE, as he had decided to make con-
fession.
will he confess the murder? How
will the mystery be explained" Won
dered Paxton.
He felt that the denouement was sure
ly near at hand, and he fastened with
out the least delay to the Tombs, where
Levi Kredge was confined:
AS soon as he was in Kredge's cell the
janitor began:
Il am going to make clean breast Of
the job. I don't want to be put on trial
for John Oakburn' s murder"
You've come to your senses at last. y
Yes; now LISTEN
On the night of John Oakburn 8 death.
I entered rne once through the rear
window where you found my tracks. I
had found out that John Oakburn kept
a large sum of money in his little safe,
and having duplicate key to it, |
meant to rob it.
had entered the office, after forcing
open the blinds and raising the window,
and had robbed the safe and locked it
up again just as had found it after Sc
curing the money, nearly eighty thou
sand dollars, on my person, when sud-
denly John Oakburn entered the outer
Office.
I had only time to hide behind desk
when he came into the interior office,
and hastily unlocked his little private
safe.
! shall never forget the cry of agony
he uttered when he discovered that the
safe had been robbed.
He reeled into the outer office and fell
into chair.
The old man had paid the seventy
eight thousand dollars he drew from the
bank that afternoon, and which belonged
to Garrison, to save scapegrace son OF
his from arrest. Pratt and Weeks had
captured that son, and to them John
Oakburn paid Garrison money, intend
ing to replace it with the money which
was In his little safe.
I remember the way the old man NUT
tered as he sat there after he discovered
the loss of his money.
II am ruined, l am an embezzler, l
have appropriated my employers money
to my own use, have betrayed sacred
trust. I have kept it q secret that had
saved large sum of money, and that
1t was in my little safe. My story will
not be credited. will not live to suffer
this awful disgrace, 1 whose one wish
was to live an honest man, and dying
leave spotless reputation. l will die by
my own hand"
1t was like that he went on, almost
remember his exact words. Then he
seized a pen and began to write, I
watched him breathlessly, and bad as
am, I resolved to save his life, to pre-
vent his committing suicide.
When he had written for some time,
he came to his safe again, and took out
pistol. He carried the weapon out
| into the outer office, and | heard him
say:
Il will kill myself in ten minutes.
I saw him sit down, pistol in hand,
and watch the clock. The time was al
most up, and l was about to rush out
and disarm him, when he threw down
the pistol saying, lam afraid" l saw
that he trembled from head to foot.
After that he paced the room for a mo-
ment or so, but finally he picked up the
pen and wrote few lines. Then as il
he had decided, he picked up the pistol
again.
II cannot face the weapon. The sight
of the pistol unnerves me. If could
not see, I might have the nerve to pull
the trigger.
Then he took up the pistol once more,
opened drawer and took out ball OF
twine. Tying one end Of the Irvine to
the trigger of the pistol, after cooking it
he placed the weapon in bracket at the
side of the door, where there had been
lamp, and with the cord in his hand
walked back to the table.
Before could prevent 1t, and before l
fully comprehended what he intended to
do he pulled the string attached TO the
trigger, the weapon, which was an air
pistol, was discharged without report,
and Oakburn fell dead, shot through the
back of the head. In his fall he over
turned the table.
sprang forward and secured the pa
per which he had written, for surmised
it was a statement that he had COM
mitted suicide.
Then l left the office as | had entered
it, taking care to close the window and
the blind behind me-, had an idea that
the suicides last written words might
be of value to me in case | was sus-
pected, and the result proves that was
right, said Kredge.
CHAPTER XxXvi.
"a S.e4 ~ eoorof If John Oakhurn' 6