The Somerset reporter., 1902-09-25
WHEN
WON AN
LOVES
By JOHN r. PEARSON
Copyright, 1901, by A. s. Richardson

uOihl1hte CTOOh. du uelLueT
thief, robber nor burglar, but a tinan.
cial agent for people who have proper
ty to dispose of, property acquired In
an unlawful way. For instance, If a
burglar comes across bonds, shares,
notes, deeds and the like while pursu-
ing his calling he bundles them up and
brings them to me. For liberal COM
mission l dispose of the papers on the
open market or deal with the loser di-
rect. Now and then | handle jewelry.
but the gems must be valuable and the
losers wealthy to interest me in case.
1t may be of interest to know that
was fairly good civil engineer before
l became financial agent. Why l ex-
changed professions is matter con-
corning myself alone.
Ten years since a friend of mine
named Dee got into trouble In a west
ern state. In trying to break away
from the officers one of them was shot
dead. That meant the gallows for Dee.
l at once secured the best legal counsel
for him, but was plainly told that only
a miracle could save his neck. When
his case came up, he was convicted
without the jury leaving the box. and
he was sentenced to be hung. We
made an appeal, and he went back to
prison knowing that he would be safe
for eight or ten months to come.
Dee was a man of twenty eight, a
gentleman by birth, one of the hand
a jury of women they would have ac-
quilted him as promptly as he was
convicted. A dozen females broke
down and wept when he was sen
fenced. Though watching things close
ly had not put myself forward at the
trial. Among the interested ones | had
noticed handsome girl about twenty,
and the trial was not half concluded
when | knew that she regarded Dee
as an innocent man and hero. When
the verdict of guilty was pronounced,
she tainted away, and the incident
created some local gossip.
AS nothing more could be done for
Dee for some time | was about to leave
the city, when l received note asking
me to call at certain house. l called
and met Miss Fay, Dee's courtroom ad-
mirer and an helress. She told me that
she had fallen In love with Dee and
that every dollar she had was at his
disposal to save his neck. When l re-
piled that 1t wasn't a question of mon
ey and that he was almost certain to
hang after we had exhausted all legal
lodges, she asked me to remain in
town until heard from her again.
Dee was a far better man in all
things than three-fourths Of those
shouting their morality, but l felt it
my duty to tell Miss Fay just where he
stood. | admitted to her that he was a
criminal instead of hero and that
even if his life was saved through her
efforts she could hardly hope he would
marry her and settle down. Nothing !
could say would dispel her Illusions
and she actually became angry at me
for giving her brotherly advice. She
did not tell me what steps she meant
to take, but knew by the light in her
eyes that she would hesitate at moth
ing. 1t was seven days before l met
her again, and l was astonished at the
work she had done. Dee was confined
in the county Jail, which was as strong
and safe as a state prison. He had
cell at the end of wing and was so
hedged In by bolts, bars, guards and
steel and stone walls that there was
not the remotest chance for an escape.
In a week the girl had located the
CELL rented a cottage outside the walls
and stocked 1t with tools and provi-
sions and laid the plan to defeat JUS
tice. The plan was boldness itself. |
was to find two trusty men and en-
sconce myself In the cottage and dig a
tunnel to the cell of the condemned.
The distance was 100 feet, and we
must go under the street, undeE the
yard wall and then under the wall of
the jail. The cottage was one of three
and had space of only twenty feet on
each side OF It, The other cottages
were owned by the families occupying
them, and the people We're bound to
watch any strangers moving in. To
dig that tunnel was the work OF
mODIDS, anu u run IlS UlueI luOulu
into a cell was feat the oldest engi-
neer and the neryiest sort of a crook
might well hesitate over. | ridiculed
the whole plan at once, but Miss Fay
took 1t up point by point, and SO well
did she argue that after three or four
hours l agreed that there was one
chance In a thousand that success
might be achieved.
The first move was to find family
to occupy the cottage 1t was not very
difficult for me to get hold Of an oldish
woman who would assist us to carry
the scheme through She opened
boarding house, but took In only three
men of u.s. We were supposed to be
railroad men and to come and go be-
fore daylight and after dark. Now and
then we did come and go. but it was
only to deceive the neighbors. AS soon
as we settled In the house we began
work on the tunnel, and we never put
in less than fourtepn hours out of the