The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-09-08
The Missing
Witness.
Tgv
By william PlgOtt.

.|rN 4.kS - " III g.. &C. '
was travelling by the night ex-
press from London to Liverpool,
where l proposed to embark the next
day upon a steamer bound for VAL
paraiso. My compartment had no
other occupant, and I was glad 1t
was SO; for.I was restless and I'M
easy, moving from seat to seat, and
peerfng contfnually-for no reason
that ! knew ot-out OF the carriage
window into the darkness. In such a
state OF N I'D, indeed. was | that the
constraint engendered by the pres
ence Of a fellow traveller would have
been well-nigh u%nbearable!
We had been on the way a little
more than an hour, and were pass
ing a waysIde station, when there
was a crash upon the window OF my
carriage, the glass was shivcred to
atoms, and something fell upon the
floor of the compartment. My nerves
were strung at so high a tension
that / believe I thought that | had
been shot at, and sat rigid, lest by
moving l should realize a hurt.
Presently, recovering somewhat. l
looked upon the floor, and saw that
the object which had been thrown
there was a small note weighted
with a stone. With n feeling be-
tween curiosity and apprehension, ]
picked 1t up. The Endorsement, in a
scholarly hand, did little to allay the
first OF these.
For the perusal OF the person
or persons into whose carriage this
note may be thrown"
1 opened 1t, and the contents were
OF such an astonishing character that
lido not think 1t Is likely. that | shall
Z eve forget them. At present, at any
! rate, ! can. give them verbatim
1 S.'There is a prisoner lying in the
I jaII3 iat, Nation, sentenced to be
: hanged tomorrow morning lat s
o'clock. He has always protested his
innocence and said that there vas a
man who could prove II. Though
nothing was left undone to discover
that man, he was not found. | am
he. Through illness and other causes
I.have only at this moment learned
the clrcumstances--too late to tele-
graph, too late 10 communicate with
the authorities at Nation in any
way save this. Beyond the shadow
of a doubt | can prove that the ac-
cused was many miles from the
scene OF the murder at the time It
took place. You who read this-as
you value the life Of a fellowman-
leave the train at Nation, go to the
governor Of the prison, show him
this note, and say that I am coming
lin the morning by the earliest train.
Do not fail. 1t Is a matter Of life
and death. James Castleremy.'"
l laid down this extraordinary
document and took up the evening
paper. l had read what was said
about the Nation case before, but l
read 1t again now with an added in
terest. After recapitnlating the chief
features Of the murder and %announc-
ing the execution on the morrow, the
report went on as,follows:-
1T viii be remembered that the
prisoner, has all along vehemently
1pfotester his innocence and main
tained that there exists a man, could
he be found, who is able to clear
him. He states that at the time OF
the murder he vas a spectator at a
football match at Clayden, where he
fell into conversation with the man
next to him, which eliminated In a
somewhat heated argument on the
subject Of professionalism. The pris-
oner's solicitors have, of course,
used their best endeavors to find this
person, but without success, and he
is by most people regarded as a
myth. The accused himself, however,
does not waver from his original
declaration, and 1t is stated that he
still clings to the hope that the miss
Ing witness will appear in time to
save him." =! .s..
.Si.y So it came about that I held this
). mans life In my hands. | threw the
paper and the note into a corner Of
the carriage. and did a strange
thing. / laughed. Perhaps 1t was
the strain upon my nerves; perhaps
who knows? ! state the fact.
After a time, when | became more
used to the situation, | began 10 re-
feet. / was asked to leave the train.
at Nation, arouse the sleeping COVER
nor Of the prison with an extraordi-
nary story, and thereby to a certain
ty miss my boat to Liverpool. 1t was
more than l was prepared to under
take: Above all things, 1t was i'm
perative that l should be on board
the steamer which started In the
morning for Valparaiso.
Besides, there was another reason
which made the performance on my
part Of the request contained in the
note a thing not to be thought of.
Without doubt, It was the easiest
plah to let things take their course;
Could l reasonably be expected to
put myself out on account Of a COM
munieation which reached me in so
eccentric a manner, and the authel-
ITCHY Of which l had no possible
means Of gauging? It Wearied me