The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-08-20

despsts Tne,r prCEestauonsY Would
he himself ever ceasetO doubt Ehemse-
eret1y94
Katherine Thaxhsr p
lie had heard nothing Of or from
her since bis conviction: before that,
little enough; q note or two Of halt
ing sympathy, ttnctured by q con-
straint he had been afraid to anaIyze.
Whether It had been due to belief In
his guilt or 70 q thing more dreadful
IN his understanding. he had never
found the courage TO debate, not even
in the longest watches Of the hope
less nights when be had lain in wa
king torment In his cell, listening to
some miserable condemned wretch
moaning IN his sleep q door or two
down the row.
His thoughts had swung ne fun
circle. He ceased TO think coherentty.
In time Waxburton touched Coasts
arm with gentle hand ~LunchT he
Querted. almost plainttVe.
To see Coast smile once more was q
keen delight
When they had finished, Coast. re-
freshed and strengthened. diverted
and enliVened. boldly grasped the net
tlA
~wer-a" he asked with q steady
glance Of courage.
waxburton bounced ntmbty upon his
chanca. tits exoneratton," he began,
and unconsciously hit upon the word
so squarely that he caught himself up
WITH gasp az Coasts reception OF It
"whyf" no cried. alarmed. 'you're
white as q sheet. mani ! said exon
eration-fun and cleari"
Coast treasured him with o gesture.
TITS Just JOY" he explained simply.
He put his head back against the
cushions, closed his eyes and drew q
long breath How was I TO guess
how all this had been brought about?
I was afraid 70 ask, afraid to surmtses
sTen. Tel ma. please"
eft came--lihe thunder out Of q
clear sky, Garrett; none more amazed
than I" Waxburton reverted to the
habit Of clipped phrases that charac-
berined his moments Of excitement
II suppose yCu knOw-you've seen the
papers2"
"Only infreQuenffys was
BIT cowardly about them, pre-
sumo"
Then you hadn't heard about
Blackstock7" Coast shook his head.
We'll, his eyes went back on him
were failing during the trial. II you'll
remember. / heard he'd injured them
somohow-with his wireless expert
ments. you know. He went nearly
blind and took himself out OF the
country-to Germany, the papers said,
to consult Berlin specialist, perhaps
70 undergo an operation"
-one moment" Coast took . deep
breath. did he go alonef'
$50 far as know. Why7s
mo matter. Call It idle curiosity
We'll, so much for Blackstock-
until the police get wind Of him. at al
events. They're trying to locate hin
by cable now; haven't heard Of any
success that way, however. Naturally
f. But few days ago DundAs
came to the surface"
Coast started violently. "Dundasi'
"um-mm; full confession, exculpat
ing You, discriminating Blackstock
Corroborative details: letters from
Blackstock-all that sort of thing
Furthermore, Dundas told us VIII
BlacksGock feared Van Tuyi: Var
knew something-some dirty business
Blackstock had cooked up in the west
Immaterial now; tell you later. Alst
Dundas took Us to the shop wher'
Blackstock bought that gun-sales
man recalled the transaction. You re
member how we failed to prove ths
gun his?"
"Of course. Go On about Dundas."
We'll It was Truax's do
ing; nailed Dundas on the street ont
day, somewhere east Of Third avenue
The man had been IN hiding evel
since Blackstock cleared out; he wa
In q pretty bad way, broke and seedy
claimed Blackstock hadn't sent him {
dollar since he disappeared. So Dun
das, thrown back upon his pen for {
means of livelihood. went all b
pieces; couldn't work-had forgotter
the trick--or wouldn't; drank up al
he could raise By pawning things
/. Truax gtaked him to a mea
and drinks, plenty of drinks; and al
that on an empty stomach made hin
maudlin. Confessed he was keeping 9
conscience-remorse gnawing az bis