The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-05-19

L Il
he was more blasphemous than any
man In the gang: when in a good one
he was more foul.
HE Is OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES .
said the eocksure major .'Only it's
the old story-the farther they have to
fall. the lower they sink Poor devil,
poor devil" And old Honeybone sigh
| ed, for be had sunk little, too. and If
his conscience was clear OF crime It
was more or less saturated with sin.
| of which the perfume YVES not a little
stale and sickiy. Whether from that
cause or another. the fat major found
himself taking more human interest
in this prisoner than in most $50
that's the most profane tongue in the
stockade." he would think whenever
| he looked at Tom. so that's the foul
est mouth
It was not, but Tom was educated
and had an educated mans sense Of
| emphasis and of selection. His bad
things stuck-that was all.
But If those superlatives were not
literally justified others were. and be-
fore Tom had been six weeks In chains
he had shown a temper as insubordi-
nate, an audacity as brazen and cal
lousness as shocking as anything of
the sort which the major had yet en-
countered in his present capacity. II
was the reaction from the sulky spirit
In which the convict had begun his
term. For two whole weeks he broke
no rules, but in the next four he was
three times fiogged.
On the first occasion he knocked
down the scourger when 1t was all
over and so brought it all over again.
On the last the ma or addressed him
from his chair as the convict positively
staggered from the triangies. with
MS retters clanklng ana MS SHOES
squelching at every step.
''You want to try Norfolk island"
said the major, "but you shan't.'
Tom shook his head, with an ugly
sneer
1.-The gallows, them" said the major,
sis your game. But you're not going
to get there either. / can 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 |
greet was for palpably fine young fell |
low gone SO utterly to the bad. For the I
rest, he found poor Tom as stimulating |
for some. weeks as Nat Sullivan had
proved on the occasion described. Nat
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'Brieu, 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 matter of fact, the bones Of the
italian had also been discovered, but
as there were no clothes upon them
and the rctive dogs had left little else
they were never 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
Town the scourger. The man was \
convict himself who received ] shilling .
pence day for his unnatural serv- .
ces. 1t was the butcher over again,
,nly this caitiff had eighty others al
ways there to loathe him. and every
land could have shaken Toms for that ,
veil aimed blow, but the very next day I
hey discovered he would as soon turn
N them as on their common enemy
The incident brought to light an In
eresting fact, and it happened on
'om's third Sunday in the stockade
bout half the gang were incarcerated
4 the common mess shed, idling. yarn
1g, cursing and proceeding as fast as
ossible with that mutual corruption
5hich was the chief fruit of this par
Icular branch of secondary punish
lent. Tom was OF the number, a con-
picuous unit. 1t was the dawn of his
He was I'm one of those
God tempers alluded to already II
was listening. Those who
ould laugh still laughed now, and if
2 had a guardian angel. surely, surely
ic uHuSt nave Deen weeping IDen more |
Utterly than when he fought for the
at Castle Sullivan and |
1T a bullet through a troopers arm.
Suddenly something, an association. /
Renaissance, forgotten picture,
ade him want to weep himself. He
as past that, however, and went
lex into the sulAs instead. A new dl- II
,rsion being required, one was pro-
ded by the discovery of a young con- =
CT, mere lad, writing a letter in a :.
lrk corner on the floor. On being u
tected the lad first blushed and then
fered to read them what he had writ
q, whereupon he opened his lips and
ribald stream poured forth, but me-
dered. siackened, faltered and was
on cut short.
He's making it up Is he goes along"
led several. HE never wrote that at
-
Wen see what he did write" said LV
e who was at hand, cutting the lad Nv
n Spafphinp the unfinished Ieftar L9