The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-07-10
from last Sundays News
CHAPTER XXX.
THE CONFESSION,

.
q, the hopes of receiving a heavy ran
som as my father was a very wealthy
man at that time. But there was
,afsed such a hue and cry that Marks
aid not dare approach with offers of
restoration. l was hidden away for
months. and then my father had fail
ed i'm business and my abductors felt
mat the hope of reward would scarce
" balance the fear of being brought
~ iustice. Therefore l was kept con-
ceaIed and allowed to grow up among
their evil associates in the midst of
criminals, if not i'm squalor and wretch
Marks and his mother were uniform
l., kind to me, and as l grew up, Marks
thought he saw in me means of gain
IN himself. for he fancied 1 had tall
euts which might be made useful.
Accordingly I was sent to a good
school. where l remained until 1 was
fourteen. l learned easily and well,
and never forgot his instructions to
say nothing about my associates. Thus
early was l trained to secrecy.
The boys at the school did not APP
neal to my better nature. They were
ruffianly DULLES. the most of them,
and might, rather than right, ruled in
the playground. Timid boys were
thrust TO lHe wall. UQI WIGll they SUI
the chance these same timid boys were
themselves the tyrants. All deceived
the teachers when they could with
impunity, and the teachers themselves
we're by no emans impartial nor just.
Indeed, there was nothing at that
school to develop the latent good in
my nature. and 1 returned at the age
of fourteen to Marks, who had a part
ner at this time named Soule. No
doubt they We're engaged in nefarious
undertakings, but 1 did not know any,
thing about it until l was sixteen.
Then / was invested with some of the
secrets of the gang of which Marks
and Soule were the leaders.
do not recollect that l shrank from
their enterprises, which were chiefly
such as required great skill and inge-
nuity-not actual robberies. but dis
honest schemes of less pronounced ma
ture Marks had an office and organ
lied a peculiar kind of business. He
sent out letters to business men in
forming them that on such date their
buildings would be consumed by fire,
protesting to know through the med
jun of clairvoyance that such attempts
were meditated. At first no notice was
taken of the communications, but aft
er several warnings were followed by
the predicted cOnfiagration, the matter
began to be inquired into and the DO
lice interested themselves in the mat
ter Marks was taken into custody,
but he appeared innocent of any Grim
inal knowledge, laying it all to a pc
culiar gift by which he could tell when
such fires were meditated; that was
all and he was released. Afterwards
a new feature was added to these COM
munitatons. Marks professed to re-
Ceive Impressions that if such sums
as he stated were sent TO a given ad-
dress no fire would take place. The
sums We're not large, and if paid all
went We'll. If not paid the buildings
We're burned.
There was no visible connection be-
tween Marks and the address he gave.
and no efforts of the most noted de-
tectives could establish anything like
" to indicate such an understanding.
Marks strenuously maintained his ut
ter ignorance of any gang of incen-
diaries. and the matter was
shrouded in mystery. A regular
bureau of information was establish
ed, and its edicts We're obeyed by
business men, who said as little about
It as possible, however. Nevertheless,
the affair got into the newspapers, and
was widely commented upon, as many
VIII recollect. That a connection did
really exist between Marks and GER
tain incendiaries l firmly believe, but
that it was so wide branched as to
fail to detection by local police efforts
Was evident. l was in Marks office,
and even to me he professed utter lack
OF knowledge, and it was his aim to
keep me in Ignorance.
Marks would fall in a trance, a hyp-
motto state, and 1 would write off what
ne said and send it to the merchant
whose establishment was threatened. 1
cannot say these frances were not gem
uine-indeed, 1 think they were, and
mat his revelations were communica-
ions actually received from some other,
medium at distance. The case was
most remarkable, and the bureau" was
IN existence five or six years. Then
Marks was warned to leave the city
py special edict, and he turned his
talent to new achievements We all
went West-Marks. Soule and land
we established banks in new growing
communities, forging our charters and
NIcllmlzng great many people Mrs.
Marks was dead, and / was told by
her previous to her death such facts
as she knew regarding my abduction,
ana that my true name was Victor
Hamilton. My mother and twin broth
er' she told me, were living in Grove
rale. n. II.
About this time I met Lenora Davis.
me daughter of a disreputable couple
known to Marks and Soule. She was
peautiful and virtuOus, tainted by her
vicious surroundings though not more
thah /; but, indeed we both knew no
olner life than that which we lived
we mad never met in familiar inter-
course any but such people as her par
thts and the Marks family We never
went 10 church, we never read a good
uook we knew nothing of all of the
moral ethics upon which more fortu-
Ldte young people are nurtured. I'm
uerhand methods of acquiring means
10 I'VE were in our circle accounted
necessary, owing to the grasping ma
lure or the rich and mighty. We were
an natural communists, and while we
we're never guilty of small robberies or
PERSONAL assaults, we looked with pity
ing liberation on those who were com
relied to resort to such methods by
tAe limited range of their faculties. We
NH@W nothing of legitimate employ
IHsht, Tor we had been brought up out
side its limits.
But for all this Lenora was beauti-
iuL and true to me, and she gave me
ner hand with all the graciousness and
sweetness of the most high bred and
cultured lady She was very beautiful.
as nave said, and she owed much
uI her loveliness TO the unique color of
uer halr. which was of an emerald
mt the color OF the sea. She was al
ways beside mo, and she bore well
yer part In the society OF mushroom
Owns whore we established our bank
,Is institutions. / was far more popu-
-. 1T than either Marks or Soule.
.hough they We're more clever and sub
lie than l. Nv fraa- bandad 80. v,o,.,