The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-08-10


be hard to carry out his plan.
He peered into the car at Wilbra-
ham. The president, still holding the
telegram, was bending forward. chew
ing an unlit cigar, evidently in a
brown study. A blind anger surged
through the boys heart as he thought
of the injustice and persecution that
made his life a hell.
Then he remembered that the train
was actually speeding toward his old
home, which he had not seen for six
years. His mother and old Stevens
lived near Leeds. His mother wrote
occasionally, and once year he sent
her few lines. She never complained,
but he knew that Stevens made his
mothers life unbearable. Then new
thought came to the boy. Why should
he be content with rifiing the safe?
Why not ns-Wilbraham-
all who had prosecuted him. He had
tried hard on his mothers account
to atone for the boyish error. The
world was against him; he would be
against the world.
AS he stood there, with q roar the
train plunged into the tunnel.
When 1t emerged it was nearly dark.
The boy, lingering his cheap revolver
in indecision, looked through the glass
front of the door of the express car.
Old Saunders was still reading his
newspaper. With a resolute gesture
Rolfe took the revolver from the peck
ct into which he had thrust it and
moved forward.
III.
Suddenly he heard shouts from the
engine, and then the train began to
slow down. He heard revolver shot,
another shout; the train stopped sud
denly, the wheels biting into the met
ais, as if the brakes had been jammed
down hard. The engine snorted and
pulled to a standstill.
The next moment two men clam
bered aboard the platform of the ex-
press car, so hastily that they did
not see Rolfe on the platform of the
car behind them. They carried re-
volvers, and pushed open the door.
Rolfe saw old Saunders start up. He
grabbed his carbine. The next in
slant, before he could aim it, one of
the men brought down the butt of his
revolver with sickening thud upon
the old veterans head. Saunders
pitched forward insensible upon the
floor of the car.
One of the men raised the limp
body in his arms and cast Q into the
ditch at the bottom of the embank-
ment beside the line. Old Saunders
groaned feebly in the darkness.
The other man snatched at the safe
and. raising it on high, staggered
toward the platform with it. Then it
was that Rolfe realized he had been
forestalled. And the evil thoughts died
out of his heart.
He held the revolver in his right
hand and aimed steadily. He fired.
The man who was carrying the safe
dropped 1t with crash and toppled
forward. He sat up, looking with lu-
| dicrous surprise at stain of blood
upon his trousers. The other man
spun round and fred wildly in Rolfe's
direction. Rolfe heard the bullet whiz
past his head into the air.
Then he had leaped upon the ex-
press car platform and engaged in a
furious fight with the second bandit.
The man thrust his revolver into his
face: Rolfe lodged Just in time to
| avoid the bullet, and closed with his
opponent. He knocked the revolver
from his hand, and 1t went spinning
!. across the floor of the car
The bandit released himself and
). snatched up Saunders carbine. He
aimed stunning blow at the boys
head. Rolfe ducked; it caught him on
: the shoulder, and his arm dropped as
the collarbone fractured. With his
J left hand Rolfe seized the carbine
The bandit wrested 1t from him and
= sent him staggering back upon the
platform. He saw the man coming
for him again, was conscious of q
+ shower of sparks before his eyes, and
tainted.
J, w.
!. He was in the little room that he
had occupied years before in his moth.
er's home. He saw her face bent over
his, and looked at her without under.
J standing. 1t all seemed like dream
/ "Mother!" he cried. What has
happened?"
She laid her cool hand on his fore
. head flush, dear!" she said, as II
he were little boy again.
81 can't stay in this house, with
, him."
= He died three weeks ago, Kenny
! she answered. And the thought OF
. that long martyrdom, and of her new
happiness filled her eyes with tears
They wept together.
It was not until a week later that
e he learned the truth. The president