The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1912-07-05

81 showed it to yoa that da. aon,n
town merely to create the impression
in your mind that l had Bruce under
Suspicion and had not thought Of Won
in connection with the uo+tor uo
probably threw it there tboupht,cssIv
in his trouble as he entered the housp
on the morning we were all tbaro r.
sether' NOW am satisfied that YOU
druggea the poor devil, and | know
that you had the cabman send him to
that resort. That was bad enough in
ITSELF but when l remember also
that you tried to fasten susDicion
upon MN l am inclined to lose all
sympathy for you which MIGHT
otherwise have. To my mind your
treachery in that respect is by far the
worst element of your offense. | can
understand how mans infatuatiou
LOT a woman may sometimes lead him
10 oisnonesty or even bloodshed, and
under those circumstances | am liable
to have lot of charity for him. But
when ne attempts to put a friend
whom ne knows is innocent into a
felon's cell and thus DESTROY him and
the happiness Of sweet woman, he
does an act unworthy of any one who
Possesses the semblance of humanity
." decency."
LeDuc,' cried brokenly, what.
ever else / say you may believe or
not as you see fit, but when tell YOU
TINS l want you to believe me i'm
pllcitly. l had absolutely no idea of
trying to fasten 1t on Bruce. told
you and everybody else from the be.
ginning In the strongest language
that l could command that did not
for an instant believe that he could
be guilty. Neither would l have per.
mitted him to be punished for the
crime. If he had been tried and con-
victed should have confessed, come
what might. But knew he would not
be convicted, because I was certain
II ne had no other alternative he
would tell where he spent the night.
| did not know how he came in pos.
session Of the key, and simply told you
OF having seen him have it, because
l wished to appear as telling you all
that l knew, and having no idea but
that Bruce would Immediately account
for 1t. l admit that l dropped a drug
in his cocktail, and that l was the
one who told the cabman where to
take him after he fell unconscious
upon the seat, but that was for an
entirely different purpose than to try
to incrim'nate him. l made him un.
conscious merely out of fear that he
would return to my uncle's house in
another attempt to borrow money and
possibly roll into my bed for the
night as he has sometimes done, thus
interfering with my plans. And / had
him conveyed to the place he was
taken to instead Of to where he
was known for the reason that l did
not wish his friends to see him in
that condition and think he was in.
toxicated. I had no idea that he would
be suspected of this affair, for l did
not know he would be so obstinate
abo refusing to tell where he had
been, nor did l know that he would
deny having had the key; while as for
the cigarette l had nothing to do with
it. Therefore l supposed he would
awake In the morning, come away,
and that no harm would have been
done.I And when l feared that by
reason of several accidents he was in
danger Of being suspected. I said
everything l could to clear him ex-
cept to acknowledge my own guilt"
Il am glad that you have explained
that the way you have. l like you, a
whole lot the better for it. But how
about your mentioning the fact of the
money to Mrs. Dace, and why did
you cough as you choked your uncle?
Was shat an attempt to implicate
Mackay?"
You may look at 1t in that light If
you choose. l utterly despised the
man; knew that he would do me all
the harm that he could by fair means
or foul, and did not care what hap
pened to him. l did 1t with the idea
that i might possibly furnish a false
clue for you to tire yourself out on"
Anything more?" he urged as l
paused. Utterly within his power l
made this last appeal.
Only this. Knowing that l am a
criminal and by all law should go to
prison for many years, probably to
die there, l have this to say in justi-
fication of myself. Until l COM
mitted this crime I had always been
an honest man with no thought of be-
ing otherwise and with no desire to
harm a living thing. But because
Of my love for woman for whom l
would this moment gladly give my
life, and because could see no other
way Of gaining her except by spccu-
lation, fell into temptation as many
a better man has done. Driven on.
ward by a love at whose command !
would have faced hades itself, l used
my own money first, losing $1,000
upon the race in the. attempt to win
large sum, and the rest in the first
break in that stock. In my despera-
ton | committed this crime as the
only means of getting more funds
with which IN min thot for which |