Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-11-18

against him at the Assizcs."
Il am glad to hear you say SO"
said Holmes, gravcly.
81 would have spoken before had It
not been for my dear girl. 1t would
break her hcart-it will break her heart
when she hears that | am arrested"
at may not come to that" said
Holmes.
WHAT
IL am no official agent. under
stand that it was your daughter who
required my presence here, and am
acting in her interests. Young Me
Carthy must he got off, however"
II am dying man, said old Turner.
81 have had diabetes for years. My
doctor says it is a question whether |
shall live month. Yet | would rather
| die under my own roof than in jail.
Holmes rose and sat down Mt the
! table with his pen III his ha nj and
bundle of paper before him. Just
| tell us the TRUTH he said. 81 shall
jot down the facts. You will sign IT, and
| Watson here can witness #. Then |
| could produce your confession at tho last
extremity Ia save Young Mccarthy. |
| promise YOU that | shall not use It
| unless it is absolutely needed y
ITS ms well" said the old man;
| cts question whether | shall live
| To the Assizcs. so it matters little
to me. but should wish to spare Alice
| the shock And now | will make the
thing clear to YOU; II had been n long
tune in the acting, but will not take me
long 10 tell.
You didn't know this dead man,
| Mccarthy. lie was devil incar
nate. ! tell YOU that God keep YOU
out of the clutches of such n man
AS he. Ills grip has been upon me
these twcuty years. and he has blasted
my life. III tell YOU first how | came to
he in the his power.
"It was in the early sixties at the
diggings | was a Young chap then,
hot-hoodcd and reckless, ready to
turn my hand mt anything; got among
bad companions took to drink, had no
luck with my claim, took tO the bush,
and in word became what Won would
call over here n highway rOhbCr There we
were sin of us. and we had n Wild free
life of it. sticking up station from
time to time, or stopping the wagons
on the road to the dIgsngs. Black
Jack of Ballarat, was the name went
under. and our party IS still remembered
in the colony as the Ballarat Gang.
Cone dav a gold CONVOY came down
from Ballarat 10 Melbourne. and we
Law in wait for it and attacked IT, There
were six troopers and six ot rs. So II was
a close thing. hut we emptled four ot
thrr saddles ut the first volcv. Three
of our bows were killed, however, before
we got the swag put my pistol to the
head Of the wagon driver. who was this
very man Mccarthy ! wish to the Lord
that | had shot him then, hut | spared
him, though ] saw his wicked little
ewes fixed on my face, as though to
remember every feature. We got
away with the gold. became wealthy
men, and made our way over to England
without being suspected. There
parted from my old pals, and deter
mined To settle down TO a quiet and re-
spectacle life bought this estate
which chanccd to be in the market, and
set myself to do little good with my
money, TO make up for the way in which
| had earned It. | married, too, anc
though my wife died young, she left
me my dear little Alice. Even wher
she was lust a baby her wee hand seemed
TO lead me down the right path asnothins
else had ever done. In word, ! turned
over n new leaf, and did my hest {,
make ND for the past. All was goinl
well when Mccarthy laid his grip upol
me.
Il had gone up to town about ~
investment, and ! met him in Regen
Street with hardly coat TO his bacl
or boot to his foot
Here we are, Jack, SAYS he touch
ing me on the arm: we'll be ms gooC
as family to YOU. There's two of us
me and my son. and YOU can have tn
e Keeping of MS. If YOU dOn't--it's tinC
Z law-ahiding country is England, an'
= there's always a policeman within hail
5 well, down they came 10 the wcs
q country, there was no shaking them of
$ and there they have lived rent free on m
y best land ever since. There was no res
for me. no peace, no forgetiulness; tur
2 where I would. there was his cunnin
j griuning face at my elbow. II gre
, worse as Alice grew up for he soon sa
;, | was more afraid of her knowing m
IS past than of the police Whatever !
u wanted he must have and whatever
c was | gave him without question. LAM
y money, houses, until at last he asked
thing which could not give, He askc
d for Alice.
His son. YOU see, had grown M
I and so had my girl, and as was know
o to be in weak health, il seemed fiji
, stroke to him that his lad should ste
into the whole property But there | W;
-. firm. would not have his cursed stoC
mixed with mine: not that ] had an
n dislike to the lad, but his blood was
Il him. and that was enough. | stood firm
Mccarthy threatened. | braVed to hn
9 do his worst We were to meet at I'll
S Pool midway between our houses I
talk it. over.
S when | went down there ] fom
1 him talking with his son, so | smoke
n a cigar. and waited behind tree unit
he should bc alone But rs | listcne
TO hrs talk all that was black and bite
in me seemed to come uppermost. Ii
was urging his son to marry my daughte
with aS little regard for what she NIGH
think rs if she were a slut from tn
streets. II drove me mad TO think
! that | and all that / held, most dea
| should he in the power of such man a
this Could not snap the bond? | wa
! already diving and n desperate mar
Though clear of mind and fairly stron
| of limb. ! knew that my own fate wa
I Sc led. But my memory and my girl
/ Bo h could bc saved, il ! could but sllenc
! III II foul tongue, | did it, Mr. Holmes
! would do II gam. Deeply as | have
sinne1, | have led life of martyrdon