The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-19
t@IN@ 
.lst Moment
s. yh, s,,lst Moment YEITT .%U 4owled Justify as it s.sp. h-ooaA the Mariontown

z swept '.TnH&H the Mariohto"n freigh ,1gj- not only scraps of Da per but bits oi ,,ood, empty cans and scraps oC ,.uhl,ish tt swirled along with !t, A stray shincle torn from bat tered roof, a d.sreputable old hat, newspaper iH'art IS snatched from the arm of hara> ,I newsie.
 Out nf th, -uadow of the yard fence me figure of man darted after the papar. ester Gordon had seen it come dano.- z abound the corner; subcon- ,ciu .sly he had remembered that news papers might be used to keep out the cold, and he set out in pursuit, for he was chilled through, had no overcoat, and did not dare take a chance on even lodging house.
 Beneath street lamp he bounced on the fugitive paper and opened his coat to tuck it under his vest. But, respond ing to American second nature, first he glanced fleethgly at the headlines, glanced and then stared sharply, un- believingly. Closer to the flickering street lamp he moved and there read tensely each word of a front-page story.
 In a daze he finished the article and, mindful of his original intention for the paper, stuffed it into his coat pocket and moved off aimlessly into the dark ness-moved few yards away, then sank dejectedly upon a pile of lumber and buried his head in his hands, ob- liyious to wind and cold. His shoulders shook with sobs, for certainly fate had waited until this late moment to give him the unkindest cut of all.
 It was just on this corner that Cor don had bid dear Mariontown a pre- cipitate farewell two years before, on that most disastrous day of his life. On the morning of that awful day he had been happy, successful, looking on life with a grin and contmplating the future with joyful anticipation. His little real estate business was prosper ing nicely, several promising deals were maturing certainly, and the week before Martha Dalton had promised to share his success with him.
 That morning he had not had real trouble in the world; not even the strange behavior of Victor Barnes gave him more than a passing puzzlement True, several times Martha had told him of the medical students mad pas sion for her, of the objectionable way in which he acted, and of the wild threats he had made when she announced her engagement. But then, wouldn't he be upset to lose such a girl as Martha?
 That evening Martha had been wor' ried; Barnes conduct was becoming alarming. With her anxious good night kiss still warm on his lips and his anger hot aganst this young fool, who was causing her this senseless worry, Cor don started for home. He had not walked a block when the subject oi his wrath fell in step beside him. Theil argument was hot and heavy, Gordor upbraiding the younger man for his in decent conduct and warning him tt keep away from the girl; Barnes grow ing hysterical and insulting seemingly trying to pick a quarrel. At last Cor don could stand it no longer; loudly, st as to be heard over the others fumint and ranting, he gave Barnes definite warning to let Martha alone under pen alty of bodily harm. Even as the threa left his lips Gordon realized that the. were just passing a policeman wh' looked after them suspiciously.
 Still Barnes hung on, his tempe growing more nasty. Vainly Gordo1 tried to shake him. At last the tor mentor resorted to vile epithet-an Gordon's fist caught him squarely ol the point of the jaw. Down he wen onto the sidewalk, his head hitting wit hollow crack against the foot of
 lamp-post. He lay still. Suspicious ly, then frantically, Gordon investi gated. Blood-lots of blood-no breat no pulse-and the heart was obso lutely still. Barnes was dead. Eve as Gordon's trembling fingers cam away from the silent breast his eye spied the bluecoat rushing upon him the same one, he recognized, that the had passed a few minutes before Suspicious, the officer had followe them and had witnessed-murder!
 A perfect case against him. In
 panic Gordon fled, eating the shoutin policeman's bullet around a corner, div ing through alleys, over fences, acros back yards: somehow or other he al rived at the freight yard, grabbed hol and clung amateurishly, but desperate ly to an outgoing freight.
 Followed two years of nightmare wandering, always dreading polio recognition, always on the go He ha written to Martha, releasing her frol her engagement, but even the luxury ( reply from her he was denied; to great was his respect for detective e ficiency to dare a return address Through every day and hour of thos two years had burned that constant d sire to see her once more, to have al other word with her, just to see her fac
 Now at a New Orleans dock lay tf ship that would take him next wee to South America and new life chance to start all over. But betol going he had to come back-had to st her once more. Daring recognition an