Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1901-02-21
Observation-Disclosures

ton, 'Ready? and, after three seconds,
the order, 'Fire!'" .
Without tremor Lennon faced the
weapon leveled at him. Manuel had
pulled himself together, and spoke
steadily, and simultaneously with the
word "Fire!" came the crack of the
weapon. Lennon stood untouched, and
it was now his turn. Never again,
pray, may go through the mental tor
ture that I went through then, as
listened for what easily might be my
fathers death-signal, and as waited
the seconds seemed minutes.
could not take my eyes from Len
non. I heard the word "Fire!" saw
his finger press the trigger. I saw his
hand fly up with a jerk, and with the
sound of the explosion he fell to the
ground, The revolver had burst in his
| hand and shattered it, and the blood
| that floowed over his face showed that
! he was wounded in the head.
We ran to him.
"Lift me up!" he said. II have not
had my shot yet. Lend me revolver
and prop me against the tree. Tie up
my head with something"
| And in very few minutes we had
done as he asked, and there, with the
blood reddening the handkerchiefs with
which we had bound up his wounds,
! and holding the weapon in his left
hand, he stood waiting for the signal.
But he was never again to attempt
was not proof against the shock he had
the grass, and the word "Fire!" fell
upon deaf ears.
We made shift to carry him down
some distance, and then Manuel called
for help, and the shattered weapon
fitted in with the story Of an accident.
| Towards evening Manuel came to see
| me.
"He can't last the night out" he said.
II know something Of surgery, and I
can't understand why his wounds
should kill him. He wants to see you,
and believe he has something to tell
YOU"
lost no time in accompanying Man.
uel to the house where Lenr.on lay. He
was propped up on a couch of mats,
and death was written large on every
feature.
"Mr. Tremayne." said he, 1T would to
heaven that fate had made us friends
instead Of foes. I am very near my
end, and it would have comfOrted me
to have seen priest before died, for
wish to clear my conscience of, per-
haps, the worst thing I have DONE"
I shall not try to repeat his words,
for he halted at times to get breath, or
to take the stimulant that gave him
strength to go on. This is the sub
stance of what he said:
Sweeney was the life and soul Of the
Ragged Thirteen, and the name, in
deed, had been of his coming. 1t was
Sweeney who had attacked Mr.. Trav-
ers at Kendall, and this would never
| have been confessed but that Manuel
had told the dying man that Sweeney
had persisted in the wreck of the Night
inga1e though he was careful not to
mention the manner of his death. And
when heard that Lennon and Swee-
ney were more than foster brothers
that, indeed, they were sprung from
the same father-I understood the mar
vellous likeness Of their hands, though
the excitement had prevented me from
seeing it when beat the mans fingers
from the raft.
1t was Sweeney who tackled on poll
tics to revenge, though the latter pas
sion was so strong within him that he
had hunted the world over until he
found my father. He had followed me
to Kendal-for he was the active agent
in the murder of DR.. James-and he
would have made the second attempt
upon Mr.. Travers' life much sooner
than he did, but that he had heard Of q
clue that promised to bring him the
knowledge of my fathers whereabouts
Sweeney was to have been left ir
England, but he insisted on coming
with me, and it was owing to his ad-
vice that the Ragged Thirteen met al
Southampton instead of in Manches.
ter. Lennon trusted to the influence he
had over his half brother to settle the
matters as he had intended when we
should all meet in Fiji. The meeting
at Courtneys was held to satisfy those
of the party who We're politically in
clined, and the assassinations ar.
ranged and discussed would probably
never have gone beyond those stages
With regard to his treatment of Court
J ney, Lennon explained that the money
he got from him had been spent il
searching for my father, but as 4
> would have eventually been his, and a:
, mind was comparatively easy about it
And then came the most startling in
: forma tior of all. The girl who had beer
accidentally shot when the quarrel frs
| rose was cousin to the man who la!
dying out there in Fiji. Lennon hat
i. fallen in love with her, but she had re
fused him, and had accepted-Jim Ma
guire! She was staying in England
when Mcguire came over and took he
to Cambridge to see her cousin Fergus
They could not find him at his rooms
and SO they strolled out into the coun
try and sat down behind some gors
bushes. At the sound of voices sh
and Mcguire rose, and as they did so
she was wounded. And now came tn
crime for which Lennon seemed deepl.
repentant.
| IT got her away from the inn," h
said, land told her that Mcguire wa
| dead, and / wrote and told him tina
she was dead, and at last she married
me- But she saw some mention of Ma
guire in the papers, and discovered tn
. cheat that had put upon her, and sh
, ,of+ ,,,o ond baS never SDOkQn to M