The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1912-08-29

tangled skein. sThen do you mean 70
assert that your son-Paul Baker
went about the world calling himself
Philip de Mountford?"
That must ave been 1t, sir, I thinks
.Deceiving people?"
Aye! e was ever a bit o. no good"
You think he imposed upon his lord
ship. the Earl Of Radclyffe?"
"E must ave done. sir, mustn't e.
nova? SEEM as 'ow is lordship must
ave been too in"
You helped him in the deception, I
supposeg"
Me. sir? Lor' bless We, no! Me an.
IS mother amt clever enough for such
things! We knew nothin' of Paul's
doin's. and . allus went lis own way,
sir"
But at least o knew that this
fraud was going on?"
Not exactly. sir
How do you mean, not exactly?"
retorted the coroner sharply. You
seem to be unconscious of the fact
thai this story which you are telling
the jury is a very serious matter in
deed. II 1t is true. you are not only
making a grave accusation against
your dead son, but with this accusa-
ton you may be involving yourself or
some other member OF your family in
an exceedingly serious charge of fraud
the penalty for which, if proved, would
be very severe indeed. On the other
hand, If the story you tell is nothing
but a cock and bull tale. which fur
their evidence would presently demol-
lsh, then you lay yourself open to a
charge of perjury and of conspiracy to
defeat h ends of justice. I nave
thought best to give you this word OF
warning-the last which you will get
from me-because really, you do not
4 seem 10 ha fI1l1u anracciN,yC re tho az
IRENE gravity of your position"
The bricklayer from Chaplain had
listened to this admonition, delivered
with solemn emphasis and no small
measure Of severity, with a kind of
stolid Indifference. He retained his
humble, a%pologetic attitude, but clearly
the %coroner's threats did not affect his
simple equanimity.
II thank you. sir. kindly he said
when the coroner had ceased speaking,
. / can 'elp 1t. Paul would go on
IS own way. Ask is mother there. n
never would be spoken to, wouldn't
Paul, And me and is mother allus
SAID ed come to mischief some day"
DID you know anything at all of this
fraud?"
No. sir. We knew nothin' of it real
ly. You see Paul left 'ome nearly two
year ago come Christmas. e didn't
tell us nothin'.''
Then you last saw your son alive
w years
Yes. sir. That's the last me and lis
mother seed of i'm. Christmas day,
sir. twas two year ago nearly. Paul
e said then ed lad enough of knock
in about in London. e was goin'
abroad. e was. that's what e said. And
e left 'ome. sir. the next day. Bank
'oloday 'twere. and that's the last me
n is mother seed of i'm"
He had told this with all the simple
fatalis,n peculiar to his class. The
son went abroad" and abroad to a
tlapham laborer is a very vague term
indeed 1t means so many things; geo.
graphically 1T means any place beyond
a l2-rnile radius from home; the Anti
podes are abroad" but so is York
shire. Domestically it. means that the
traveller passes out of the existence of
those that are left behind as surely as
II he mad stepped into the grave. FL
financially. it means a mouth less to
feed, seeing that the intending traveller
is nearly always a wastrel at home.
In n event the proposed journey
abroad" is taken with quiet philos-
ophy by family and friends. The trav-
eler starts for abroad as easily, us
simply. as he would for the nearest
public house He has no impedimenta,
nothing to burden him or to cause him
regret. Strangely enough, no one aver
has any idea where the money comes
from that pay for the journey
abroad" The traveller being a wastrel
never has any himself, and the family
is invariably too Door to provide it.
But the wastrel goes. nevertheless.
And life within the narrowed pre-
cincts of the family circle goes on lust
rs 1T had done before. Sometimes news
comes from the traveler-a picture post
card from abroad" usually a request
Tor pecun1ary assistance. Seldom ices
good news arrive; still more seldom
does the traveller come back home.
| Ear If 10 all Nn,u siy,rla NTN%Is-~ -
make a fuss about.
Then" said the coroner. "he didn't
tell you Where he meant to go?"
NO. SIR replied Jim Baker ''he
Just was going abroad"
ID you know where he went?"
mo. sir"
Did you ever try to find out?"
No. sir. Where 'ad been the use? ?"
there indeed? The world is SO large!
and the Baker family so insignificant.
didn't write to you"
mo SIR
Nor communicate with you in any
way?"
NO. sir"
You had no idea what had become
of him."
Not until last summer. sir"
What happened them"
His sister. sir, our Emily. she was
out waikiki with Harry S~mith-young
Smith from neXt door to us, strand
she was down in the west end O. Lon
don with i'm one day, and 90 should
they meet sir. but Paul"