The Falls City tribune., 1911-02-17

THAT killed the man In your story
"killed the man in my story | re
peated, my eyes hulging with astonish-
ment. | had been writing of an imag-
mary lunatic. and my first impression
was that | had a real one before me.
you called him C%hcsterton.'
"Wellg"
"Oh, my God! lie was Middleton.
You might MS well have given the real
name as II SO like it."
l stood staring at the man for awhile,
then said TO him:
My friend, you must pardon me for
exeusing myself, but | have no time to
devote 10 franks. | am putting the
finishing touches to the serial You
speak Of, and the copy must be ready
this afternoon. The hero has been "
ecuted, the girl who loved him has
gone mad, and
didn't finish the sentence. for the
fellow fell in Il fit true enough. | pick
ed him up and laid him ON the lounge.
As soon as he quoted down a bit he
started up and began to talk in n
hoarse whisper just rs people on the
dramatic stage do when they have
something narrowing to communicate.
Pm a drug clerk. One day a pre-
scrlption came in and l put it up.
Hours after 1t had gone out | found n
small vial of deadly poison standing
on the board where | had mixed the
medicine. | had taken it up by mis-
take and put enough TO kill any one
into the mixture. | darted out to stop
the patient from taking 1t. A boy
rushed past me selling newspapers
and crying, Sudden death of Banker
Middleton That vas the name Civ
Ell when the medicine WAS called for.
II went back to the store. told my
employer that my mother was dying
and left town within an hour. My
secret has preyed on me, but | never
dreamed it would involve another
life"
The MAJ had given the key to the
circumstances that had convicted an
innocent man as | had concocted it
for my novel. | saw ut once that it
was fate and not | who had been writ
ing a detective story, the parts of
which fate had evolved in its way,
not mine.
In a distant town the drug clerk
had picked up a copy of our paper
containing hat installment of my sto-
ry which gave my c%oncocted key. 1t
being identical with his own act.
Later his eye met Il newspaper item
that the man who had poisoned Mid
dleton for his money would be exc
cuted in three weeks. He had come
to me as the author of the story, sup
posing that | had his secret.
In this sequel to the product of my
brain | saw what the story itself
would not produce. / am a newspaper
man, and my newspaper instincts
came 10 the front.
you come with me-" / said. Put
yourself in the hands of our paper,
and we'll give you the best outcome
TO your fatal mistake one can secure
for you"
lie assented. and. taking him to the
office. | told the story to Heaton.
shaker he said. thrusting out his
hand and grasping mine in an iron
grip. The papers nader!
Then | called the drug clerk in and
introduced him to the managing editor.
Heaton gave him what money he
wanted and told him to go where he
liked-leaving his address, of course
and keep his mouth shut. The next
morning out came scare heads an
nouncing that q remarkable combina-
ton detective-fiction exploit had led TO
the discovery that George Barton, the
man who had been convicted of the
murder of Banker Middleton, was in
nocent. This set everybody agog for
the next issue.
In the morning we announced that
the paper had produced a drug clerk
| whose mistake had caused the poison
ing of Middleton. A hint was thrown
out that an author-deteetive who wrote
exclusively for the paper had built a
theory of his own as TO the cause of
Middleton's death and had written the
story with the intent of bringing out
the real culprit.
And so If came about that an inno-
cent man WAS saved from a hanging
because people like to read about such
tragedies and because l vas instruc-
ed to hang an imaginary character.
But, after ali, did Il not come about on
The principal of an adj
We got the drug clerk off with light
punishment and had Barton up in our
editorial rooms. where | was intro
duced to him as the man who had
saved him from "A fclon's death. He
asked me if | had really written the
story on the theory that Middleton had
been poisoned by the mistake of a
drug clerk. The look of ~noncommittal
wisdom | put on was a stroke Of
genius. 1t claimed nothing for me, but
helped the paper.
There was another coincidence which
I have left to the last. for it is the
touching part. Barton was engaged to
a very lovely girl. She had stood by