The Ordway new era., 1908-12-04

The bars OF the cell-door loomed in.
eXorably between them, but the old
man advanced, strengthened perhaps
by thought OF the gray old mother
and wife at home. and stoutly thrust
ing his arm to the elbow between the
cold iron rods wrung his boys hand.
You needn't open the door,
OLeary," said DR.. Furnivall to the
turnkey" AT any rate not yet Re-
main here and remember what passes.
Britt, II that is your name, come for
ward where we can see. you. There!
Now tell us when you first saw Capt.
Colter?"
Il saw him Tuesday night. the first
time-and then again Friday night.
That was when We done it,"
How did your brother come TO
strike him."
From the moment when his eyes
first became settled in those OF Dr.
Furnivall the expression OF his face
began to change-from self.conscious-
ness to nervousness. to Perplexity, to
surprise. to earnestness, and finally,
as he interrupted himself to ask the
question, TO deep and absorbed though.
And almost instantly he continued,
in the inhcctionloss tones OF a long
deaf man:
Il never saw Cap'n Golfer in my
life."
The father uttered an exclamation
of eagcrncss mingled with amaze
ment, but DR.. Furnivall motioned for
silence.
Tell me-" he said to the prisoner
why you said you and your brother
had done this thing"
II don't know"
Did you ever do violence to any
body. you or your brother either?"
mo sir-we never hurt anybody"
you like to read about people being
hurt. in the accident Ct.:iimns. and in
stories. don't you? ~ such things
distasteful to you?'
Il read all | can ce, about them"
do you ever feel queer IN the head
depressed or confused. or as il you
wanted to get away from yourself?"
I'm whirly-headeI often. and
can't think sometimes. My head
aches a coed deal go out in the
night and run it of
That's all. Come. Mr.. Greedy. we'll
have them out of here sooner or later.
There's a large ball Of red tape to
unwind and we'll begin at once"
But" faltered the u, vildered old
man, his mind torn be W. N relief and
puzzlement, ''if they never done nothin'
of the kind how in natur'-how-
what did he say so for?"
DR.. Furnivall did not wish just yet
to inform this loyal old father that his
son was afflicted with insane errabund
tendencies, of class to which self.
inculpative confessions, wholly false,
are so common that Quintilain held a
suspicion of insanity to be inherent in
all confessions. He wished to see the
boy again and decide what would best
be done with him. He had suspected
from the first that this brother and
not the other was the afflicted one, II
either of them were, the fit of Jim in
the police station being merely a
natural faint induced by the horror Of
his position.
Two nights later Ann Tull was
startled out of her sleep in the back
parlor by a sound in the room over
head, the cabin of mystery. Her feet
struck the floor with the suddenness OF
thought, and goaded by the multitudin-
GUS superstitions honestly inherited
from generations of wild-headed an
cestry, she plunged into her clothes
and flew around the corner to the
police station. Two officers heard her
news and hastily accompanied her
back. They crept softly up the stairs,
the door of the cabin" was wide open
and the captain stood shaving before
the mirror.
The captain looked at the policemen.
He showed no surprise. On the con-
trary he began to address them at
once as If he had been expecting this
visit, explaining in short, vigorous and
forceful phrases that his daughter
wished him to live on the farm with
her and her husband, while he wished
to continue going to sea little longer.
A compromise had been effected by
his taking this room near the water
where he could get sight of it when
he liked, and inhale its odors, and
nevertheless might be whirled In a
half hour by train to his daughter in
the country. That was where he had
just been.
The next morning DR.. Funivall called
on the captain and accompanied him
to the district attorneys office. The
result was that before night the Greedy
boys were released. Britt, however,
only exchanged the jail for an insane
hospital, where he remains to-day.
Copyright, 1908, by W. G. Chapman.)
Copyright in Great Britain.l