The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1921-12-28


| low the surface. A silken pown M,
NOT after the currents Of a shoddy
SOUL and while externally the spurious
heir was all F. F. ", internally he was
negro. After few years. never Inv.
ing discovered the deception practiced
upon him by Roxana, Percy Driscoll
died. penniless, but his brother tho
Judge. his prayer for children of his
own denied, adopted the supposititious
Tom. and made the boy his heir. He
sent MIN to college. He gave him ey.
cry advantage that an affectionote
father could have given a bow Of h,s
own, but the raw material which was
the real Tom was poor, and the soil
uhrrultful. The boy acquired q taste
Tor dissipation for which the smple
life of Dawson's Landing offered no
Arrangements. He plunged into tbe
gay whlrl OF st. Louis, garnering MOTH
Ing but disgraceful gambling debts.
Worst OF all he was at heart a snob
abused the real heir now become hi.
slave. and acquired a profound detes-
tatiOn for his ancient nurse Roxana.
OF whose real relation to him he was
unaware. until goaded to intense re-
sentiment by his contemptuous and
brutal treatment, she acquainted him
with the terrible facts Of his birth
and ancestry, and demanded that he
treat her as a mother on penalty Of
exposure.
The revelation Frustrated the i'm.
postOr for brief period but failed to
spur him on to better behavior. He
went from bad to worse, stopping even
to HOUSEKEEPING In order to obtain
funds to pay his gambling debts In
his mothers power and she not at all
dlsinclined to blackmail, he was driv-
en- to all sorts Of expedients to satisfy
his own and her demands But through
1t all he managed to maintain an out
ward appearance Of superiority that
enabled him to dazzle his inferior,
and deceive his equals. The judges
love for the boy blinded him to the
lads evil character but once he near
ly disinherited him on the score of
cowardice. A pair Of mysterious Ital
ian twins settled at Dawson's Land
ing, and at a public meeting Tom
having provoked him to action by his
insolence. Luigi, the stronger of the
two. had kicked the scion Of the
House of Driscoll off the stage into the
audience. the stain of which insult q
real F. F. V. would have wiped out
upon the field Of honor, but for which
the cOwardice Of Tom found ample
satisfaction in the police court, which
proceeding so outraged the good judge
that for the honor Of his family he
> personally fought duel with the of
Tending italian, wounding him, ant
thus laying the foundations for much
future trouble.
Came now the supreme touches II
the career Of the spurious Tom. Fol
: the payment of newly acquired gam
bling debts. with RoXana's consent
Tom sold his own mother back into
the slavery from which at Driscolr:
death she had been freed, but in VIC
Iation Of his promises he sold he'
"down the river" crime that reacted
> upon his unfiial head when the re
sOurceful Roxana escaped, and unde
threat of exposure of his real status
In life, required him to indemnify he
J new master lest she be apprehendet
and returned to him. Having no othe
resources Tom resolved upon the rob
berry of his benefactor the Judge, II
: the fulfillment of which venture HI
murdered him. his weapon being al
oriental knife Of unusual design. which
!" he had stolen from Luigi, the Italian
in one Of his theft-raids.
. The murder Of Judge Driscol
, brought great excitement to Dawson
? Landing, and the italian twins narrow
8 " escaped lynching for the crime
The whole community adtudged then
cuilty-ali but Puddnhead Wilson
who volunteered to defend then
o in court, a poor reliance since the
were his first and only clients. Blu
Puddnhead was unafraid. The evl
dence against them was most convinc
ing, but
> There were finger-prints upon TN
knife handle, and they were not I'M
!, finger-prints Of the accused!
Whose finger-prints were they'
Tom, secure In his sense OF safet!
because of the overwhelming evidence
against the TWINS, ventured 70 taun
, Pudd'nhead upon his confidence IL
winning his case. He entered M
study, and seating himself at Puool
, heads side while ne studied the prints
in his collection, he picked up one O
the records.
"why here's Old Roxy's label nj
said contemptuously. "Nigger,paws
, oh? There's line across her tiuiip
prlnt. Now how comes THAR
Pudti'nhead taking the glass IRON
, Toms hand held 1t up to the l"n'p
The blood sank suddenly out OF M
, face. He gazed at the polisheo sur
face with the CLASSY stare OF a corpse
, The mystery was solved!
Toms thumb-print standing ciea' !!