Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-12-05
6he .. s.
E.W. HORNUNG.
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Etc. Il
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"is your game. But you're not going
to get there either. l car show you as
good sport as you'll show me, and We'll
see who wins the game"
1t was nothing else to the combata-
tive major. He was growing younger
for the exercise. He began to get
about again on his legs. His only re-
greet was for a palpably fine young fell
low gone SO utterly to the bad. For the
rest, he found poor Tom as stimulating
for some weeks as Nat Sullivan had
by the way, had returned to Castle
Sullivan, ignobly crestfallen, but not so
intoxicated as to ride by the stockade
again in daylight. The majors SUI
periors had confirmed that officers
opinion, and Peggy O'Brien, examined
on her oath in Parramatta factory, had
perjured herself for Tom in the most
Elusive and convincing manner. The
principal superintendent had made a
note of the affair, but there was no
case, as Nat was pretty plainly told,
and Major Honeybone heard no more
Of him for some time.
AS a matter Of fact, the bones of the
italian had also been discovered, but
as there were no clothes upon them
and the native dogs had left little else
they We're eve identified. So Tom
was safer for the moment than he
supposed. Meanwhile he had become
a sort of hero among his degraded fell
lows. Not the most popular sort, how
ever, for enthusiasm is difficult in
heavy letters. Besides, he never tried
to be popular.
He might have been after knocking
down the scourger. The man was a
convict himself, who received / shilling
8 pence a day for his unnatural serv-
ices. 1t was the butcher over again,
only this caitiff had eighty others al
ways there to loathe him, and every
hand could have shaken Toms for that
we'll aimed blow, but the very next day
they discovered he would as soon turn
on them as on their common enemy.
The incident brought to light an in
teresting fact, and it happened on
Toms third Sunday in the stockade.
About half the gang were incarcerated
IN the common mess shed, idling, yarn
ing, cursing and proceeding as fast as
possible with that mutual corruption
which was the chief fruit of this par
ticular branch of secondary punish
ment. Tom was of the number, a con
spicuous unit. 1t was the dawn of his
prominence. He was in one Of those
good tempers alluded to already.
Everybody was listening. Those who
could laugh still laughed now, and if
he had a guardian angel, surely, surely
she must have been weeping then more
bitterly thar when he fought for the
b%ushrangers at Castle Sullivan and
put a bullet through a troopers arm.
Suddenly something, an association.
q "reminiscences, a forgotten picture,
made him want to weep himself. He
"a past that, however, and went
back into the sulks instead. A new di-
version being required, one was pro
vided by the discovery Of a young con.
Wet, a mere lad, writing a letter in a
dark corner Oh the floor. On being
detected the lad first blushed and then
offered to read them what he had writ
ten, %whereupon he opened his lips and
a ribald stream poured forth, but me-
andered, slackened, faltered and was
soon cut short.
"He's making it up as he goes along
cried several. Gle never wrote that at
ALL"
well see what he did write" said
one who was at hand, cutting the lad
and snatching the unfinished letter.
With a cry and an uncouth chime
from his irons, the young convict at
tempted to retain his property. 1t tore
in his hand, and a dozen more held
him down while the possessor dragged
his chains Oh to one of the long, rude
tables and stood up to read the letter
in a silence broken only by the pro-
tests Of the wretched writer.
"'My eve dear mother and father"
the brute brawled out, "I received
your kind and welcome letter on the
31st of January, and happy was l to
read the delightful letter which l re-
ceived from you that day. Ahem!
Can't he pitch it in? oh, how 'appy
I am to ear that you are so comfort
able and we'll. Oh, my dear mother
and father, l 'ope my brothers and
sisters will mind what you say to them
better than ever I done, for you see
what it is to be 'eadstrong.' Fad
strong, eh? Stop a bit; now we're
coming to 1t! oh, my dears, 1 'ope
you will make yourselves as comfort
able as you can, for perhaps I never
may see you again in this world, but
I 'ope / shall in the next, where l 'ope
to be a comfort to you all, so God bless
you all, my dears, forever =
He got 10 further, nor had many at
tended to the last sentences. The lads
unavailing protests had ended in YER
table wailing and crashing of teeth.
1t was this that had aroused Tom
from his lethargy, and he also was
now upon the table, clanking down
the length of it to where the reader
stood.
One or two mistook his intentions.
tThat's it-you read it." said thew. but