Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1907-04-04

CONSERVATION on meeting him In the
| garden of the cottage.
II am not surprised" said Philip.
that you should have been upset at
| seeing me. The body you took from
! the river was that of my brother.
whom | never knew in my life. He
was, have every reason to believe,
murdered; at all events, found him
lying dead on the river bank. i took
his belongings, took his place, and.
| by heaven, captain, I've taken his sins,
! too I've been chased and hunted like
| dog for his sins; I've had the best
woman in the world turn from me, as
from leper, for his sins; and I've
been in goal for his sins. l put on
| this hideous disguise at the whim OF
| a moment, and now cannot shake it
off,"
"But there's them as would swear
to you If need be-" urged the captain.
''Not yet" replied Philip, hurriedly.
There may come time when l shall
be glad to declare who l really am;
| for the present it is impossible. Mean.
while-what of the body you found in
| the river?"
well, I've KEEP a eye on the pa
pers,' replied the captain; "an' I've
| read accounts of the inquest. They set
it forth clear and reg'lar as 'ow the
body 'ah bin left on the river bank
nv fu0 n1yiipntlv
afraid of 'ayin' their names mixed UP
in the business; of 'ow there was
! nothing on the body to show who it
was; an'the injury to the cad might
have bin caused by barges, or any
thing of that kind. Verdict, in conse'
quence, Unknown man-tound
drowned And, l suppose, buried ac
cordin'."
Yes, it merely leaves me in worse
position than before. So far as all the
world knows-all of the world believes
Dandy Chatter is alive, and must
stand his trial for the sins he has COM
| mitted. | have taken his place, his
papers, his keys; l should be bound to
confess that | saw his body on the
shore. If they did not swear that
murdered him, they might laugh at tho
story and refuse to recognize any mass
of corruption dug up out of the grave
as the real Dandy Chatter"
Then, wot are you a-goin' to do?"
asked the captain, in perplexity.
There is but one chance for me"
said Philip, thoughtfully. II have a
suspicion that | know who the real
murderer of Dandy Chatter was; if
can once see him, and force from him
any confession, my way is clear. For
that purpose l escaped to-night-that
purpose and another. And in that
want you to help me-"
There's my and on it," said the
captain, quickly. But l don't think
you'll want much 'elp, Phil" he added,
with fought. "Any man as can go
a-breakin' goal like you ought to be a
match for most people. 'Ow did yer
manage it, Phil?"
Philip laughed softly to himself.
ut was rather tough business" he
said. cit all had to be done in few
minutes. I was left alone in wait.
ing room for moment in going from
one part Of the prison to another.
There was sort of skylight high up,
with hardly too much room for cat
to wriggle through. But there were
ropes to it to open and shut it-and
you know what l can do when there's
a rope handy, Quist."
The captain nodded, and rubbed his
hands, contemplated his friend with
admiration, and begged him to pro.
coed.
"I nearly tore my clothes off my
back in getting through; but once
through, there was only roof to slide
down, a yard to cross, and a wall.
Luckily l found a builders pole lying
against it, and scrambled up that
dropped over and found that dear girl
in the street, She brought me here.
The more they discussed it the more
evident it became that Philip must be
got away before daylight. For long
time the captain ruminated over the
matter, wondering what to do He
suggested, from time to time, the most
absurd and impracticable DISCUSSES.
even offering to lend his precious top,
boots for the occasion. But at last a
really brilliant idea suggested itself
to him.
ITO Be Continued.)
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