The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1921-12-23


unfruitful. The boy acquired a tasta
for dissipation for which the simple
life of Dawson's Landing offered no
Arrangements. He plunged into the
gay whlrl of st. Louis, garnering noth'
ing but dlsgraceful gambling debts.
Worst of all he was at heart sn0b
abused the real heir now become his
slave, and acquired a profound detes-
tatiSn for his ancient nurse, Roxana,
of whose real relation to him he was
unaware, until goaded to intense re-
sentiment by his contemptgOus 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 oil
dislncllned to blackmall, he was driv-
en- to all sorts of expedlents to satisfy
his own and her demands. But through
II all he managed to maintain an out.
ward appearance Of superiority that
enabled him to dazzle his interiors
and deceive his equals. The judges
love for the boy blinded him to the
lads evil character, but once he near
" dlslnherited him on the score OK
cowardlce. 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 of the stage into the
audience, the stain Of which insult a
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 ne
, personally fought duel with the Of
Tending Italian, wounding him, and
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 int
: the slavery from which at Driscolr'
death she had been freed, but In VIC
lation Of his promises he sold he
I "down the river" a crime that reacted
l. upon his unfilial head when the re
II sourceful Roxana escaped, and unde
e threat of exposure Of his real statu
i In life, required him to indemnify ne
0 new master lest she be apprehende'
l. and returned to him. Having no othe
resources Tom resolved upon the rob
!, berry of his benefactor, the Judge. i
l. the fnlfllment of which venture n
murdered him, his weapon being q
oriental knife Of unusual design, whic
/" he had stolen from Luigi, the italian
In one of his theft-raids,
N The murder Of Judge Drisco
n brought great excitement to Dawson
}? Landing. and the italian twins marrow
Is " escaped lynching for the crime
The whole community adjudged thei
guilty-all but Pudd'nhead Wilson
who volunteered to defend thel
10 in court, a poor reliance since the
were his first and only clients. B'
: Pudd'nhead was unafraid. The ev
dence against them was most convin
ing, but
- There were finger-prints upon II
a knife handle, and they were not Il
- finger-prints of tine accusedl
: Whose Gnger-prints were theyP
- Tom, secure in his sense of safei
- because of the overwhelming eviden'
!. against the twins, ventured to tau
- Puddnhead upon his confidence
: winning his case. He entered h
: study, and seating himself at Pudd
n heads side while he studied the prin
T. in his collection, he picked up one
.r- the records.
&c "why here's old Roxy's label"
"a said ccntemptuously. "Nigger-pav
a Ell? There's a line across her thum
n print. Now how comes thati"
no Pudd'nhead taking the glass fro
70 Toms hand held it up to the Ian
The blood sank suddenly out OF !
no face. He gazed at the polished 81
ne face with the CLASSY stare OF a corps
nm The mystery was solved!
a Toms thumb-print standing cieai
Ia outlined before him on the glass a
10. that on the handle of the Diot
ho stained knife were identical'
,os ITO the mlnutest detail" said I
,ot foreman Of the jury, as he returned
r, verdict Of murder against the unhap
m, lad.
~ The twins were acquitted, the
-, frauded heir lifted up out OF slave
no and restored to his inheritance a
y, Tom forever branded as an impos'
=. xros ssold down the river Tor |