The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-12-11
A Brave Man
Under a Cloud
By WARREN MILLER

| from a rich mans house. The burglars
escaped without being seen. The po-
lice got busy and tracked some of the
plunder to a pawnshop. The pawn
broker declared that 1t had been
brought in by a respectable looking
man who represented himself as man
of business who had been well to do
| and had met reverses. The pawn
broker was suspicious of him, but he
told so straight story that the pawn
broker was finally convinced and
bought several hundred dollars worth
Of articles from him. The next day thG
purchased goods were identified al
having been stolen.
That is as far as the police got in the
matter till one day the pawnbroker
| met a man on the street who resem- |
bled the broken down merchant who
had sold him the stolen goods. He
followed the suspect and on coming to
q policeman turned him over. The
! captive showed a great deal Of indig
nation at his arrest and threatened the
pawnbroker with suit for damages as
soon as he had been acquitted. He
said that he was not q merchant and
J had never been a merchant. He was
q seafaring man and had been ashore
| only q few weeks. He gave his name
a. Patrick Dugan and was native Of
Ireland.
When the trial came of the prisoner
claimed that on the date Of the theft
or. rather, the sale Of the plunder to
the pawnbroker he was not In America
at all. The prosecuting attorney asked
him where he was at that time. Be-
fore replying he asked the date and
was reminded that the pawnbr0ker's
entry In his cash book Of the payment
for the goods he had purchased was
Aug. Is. The prisoner scratched his
head thoughtfully. but could not re-
member where he was On the date
named. He thought he was at sea,
but was not sure. Asked If he kept no
record that would prove his case. LV
said that he didn't even know how to
write.
This statement threw doubt on his
accuser's statement that he had palm
ed himself off as a merchant In re-
duced circumstances and gained SYM
pathy from the jury. Even the prose-
cutting attorney tried to help the poor
man to get evidence to prove his alibi.
III the captain Of the Mark Hutchins
was here" said the prisoner, "he could
tell where l was on that day, for all
that summer was sartin with him."
"Where is the party?" asked the pris-
Oner's counsel
HE was here for two weeks till
yesterday. seen him in the street
and tried to speak to him, but l lost
him in the crowd. l seen by the pa
pers that his ship was to sail last night
when the tide served"
whats that yer sayin'r' said one of
the spectators. I'm cap'n Of the Mark
Hutchins, and haven't sailed neither
I sail tomorrow. One o. my crew told
me that an old messmate, Pat Dugan,
was to be tried today for sellin' stolen
goods. Dugan was a good man, and
I thought Id come round and see II
the man bein' tried was him. But that
feller isn't Pat Dugan. He's fraud"
"Cap'n," cried the prisoner, almost in
tears, don't say that. I'm Pat Du-
gan sure enough. I've cut my beard
since you saw me. Don't you remem-
Der that night when we was roundin'
Cape Cod with the wind blowin' gale
out O. the north and fo'castle covered
with ice and the main jib had to be
lowered?"
"Are you the man that went out on
the bOwsprit ut the risk of slldin, over
board and lowered that jib?"
"Why. sartin, cap'n. Don't 60 back
on me now. l stood by you and the
crew that awful night"
II reckon you did stand by me. That
was the bravest deed in my reckonin'.
1t was purity nigh sure death. There
was nothin' but slippery Ice to hold
on to-"
"Let the witness take the stand"
said the attorney for the defense. The
captain having been sworn the lawyer
proceeded to question him.
WAS the prisoner member Of your
crew in the summer Of 1917"
HE was"
"Where was your ship on the 18th
Of August of that yearT'
"Well, now. II you'd asked me where
! was on the list Of that month or the
last Of 1t l couldn't have told you with
out lOokin' over the log. But l can
never forget the middle of that month
Of that year. We run aground on the
coast of Africa and couldn't get OF. A
party Of cutthroat niggers came of in
boats to murder us and take the ship
before the tide rose and let us of. Pat
Dugan there suggested that we fight
'em with hot steam from the boilers.
He took one hose and the other. We
beat 'em Off, and If 1t hadn't been for
Pats suggestion we'd have all been
heaved overheard as dead men"
The prisoner was the center of the
, admiring vision of the court and spec
tators. He bore his honors modestly.
and no one would have taken him for
hero had 1t not been for the witness
: story The turv aouuittad bi,,, x,,;+ho,,.