The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-08-28

border than I am at this moment. No.
no; you see, / have passed my word
The Sheriff gave me week among
my own friends to settle my WoridIy
affairs and bid my wife ana DalrnS
good-by. So I said to the sherIL:
I'm your man whenever you are
ready for the hanging.
I've heard many q strange tale
said the King, but this beats any
thing in my experience"
"Oh. there's a great deal TO be
picked up by tramping the roads, re-
piled Hutchinson sagely
What is your crime?" inquired his
Majesty.
"Oh, the crimes neither here nor
there. II they want to hang a man,
they'll hang him, crime or no crime
"But why should they want to hang
q man with so many friends"
well, you see, man may have
many friends and yet two or three
powerful enemies. Ny crime, as you
call II, is that I'm related to the Doug
lasses. That's the real crime. But
that's not what I'm to be hanged for
oh, no, It's all done according to the
legal satisfaction of the lawyers I'm
hanged for treason to the King.
But surely" exclaimed the begGar,
"they will not hang a man in Scot
land for merely saying a hasty word
against the King?"
There's more happens In this realm
than the King kenS of, and all done
In his name, too. But, to speak truth,
there was a bit extra against me as
we'll. A wheen Of the daft bodies in
Stirling made up a slip of a plot to
trap the King and put him in hiding
for a while until he listened to what
they called reason. There we're two
weavers among them, and weavers are
always plotting; a cobbler and such
like people, and they sent word would
I come and help them. I was fool
enough to write them a note and in
trusted 1t to their messenger. 1 told
them to leave the King alone until I
came to Stirling, and then L would
Just nab him myself. put him under
my oXter and walk down toward the
border with him, for I knew that If
they went on they'd but lose their silly
heads. And so wishing no harm to
the King, 1 made my way to Stirling,
but did not get within a mile of it,
for they tripped me up at st. Ninians.
having captured my letter. So L was
sentenced, and it seems the King found
out all about their plot, as I knew
he would, and pardOned the men who
were going to kidnap him, while the
man who wanted to stop such fool
ishness is to be hanged in his name"
That seems villainously unfair" said
the beggar. Didn't the eleven try to
do anything for your"
How do you know there were
eleven?" cried Hutchinson, turning
around upon him.
Il thought you said eleven"
well, maybe l did; maybe / did. Yes,
there were eleven of them. They never
got my letter. Their messenger was a
traitor, as is usually the case, and
merely told them 1 would have nothing
to do with their foolish venture: and
that brings me to the point have been
coming to. The moment they set me
at liberty, a week since, l got a mes
senger 1 could trust and sent him to the
cobbIer, FIemming by name. 1 told
Flemming / was to be hanged, but he
had still a week to get me reprieve.
] asked him to go to the King and tell
him the whole truth about the matter,
so I'm thinking that a pardon will be
on the scaffold there before me. Still.
the disappointment of the hundreds
waiting to see the hanging will be
great"
Good Cod" cried the beggar,
aghast, stopping dead in the middle
of the road and regarding his COM
rade with horror.
What's wrong with your" asked the
big man, stopping also.
Has it never occurred to you that
the King may be away from the palace
and no one in the place able to find
him."
mo one able to find the King OF Scot
land? That's an unheard of thing"
Listen to me. Hutchinson. Let us
avoid st. Ninians and go direct to Stirl-