The Northern Guardian. — 1897-09-16 (Hartlepool, Cleveland, England)

THE FATAL REQUEST.  CHAPTER XLI V. —Continued.  "I was almOst demented, and tore atb p e rea woodwork which made his prison, with flfringers • but only to increase his agony, without freeing him: from his horrible position. And already the atmosphere was like that of a furnsce, and hell itself seemed to be orb. I could not save him, but I might save myself. L knew the door on the other side was unlocked, so that I might attempt to escape that „way.  "It Was useless to sacrifice another life. " I prepared for flight, but before I had taken the first sfhp I was stared by my friend's voice— " ' James,' he cried—and the roaring of the flames almost drowned his voice, which was sharp and shrill with horror—' put me out of my misery. Save yourself, but shoot me through the brain first? Quick! quick! . . .  "It was the most merciful death, and, without pausing a secone—which on that awful day might have meant a human life—l drew the revolver, placed it to his temple "—(" My God" from the reader)—" and pulled the trigger. Even as I heard the report a thin tongue of flame curled upward through the splintered flooring, and without even looking back—without even a glance at the face of my friend, I forced open the door and sprang from the now burning carriage with the smoking weapon still grasped in my right hand. In doing so I trod upon some smouldering timber and wrenched my ankle severely, so that for a long time I was lame.  " But I was saved! All along the line the scene resembled a Pandemonium. No one had heard the shot, nor if they had, would have paid the slightest regard to it. I thrust the revolver out of sight, and made my way to a place of safety. As soon as I had begun to recover myself and think calmly of what I had done, I was able to realise the full effect of my late action. I was tormented by the horrible thought that, after all, he might have been saved, and, in that case, I must be looked upon as, neither more nor less than, his murderer. On the other hand, I had probably saved him from an awful eteabh, unless the flames had been miraculously quenched before they reached him. "I have no recollection of being spoken to by the guard, but there is nothing remarkable in that,under the circumstances.  "A few hours later and I was conveyed to town. together with a company of the other survivors, and as soon as I reached my destination my strength forsook me and I was prostrated for days by a nervous illness, the result of my late terrible experience. "When I recovered, it was to find that there was hue and cry already after me—that the partially consumed corpse of a first class passenger had been discovered shot through the head, and that all the evidence pointed to the crime having been committed by a fellow traveller who had made his escape during the terror and confusion of the catastrophe and who was eagerly sought for. "I had not thought of this. I had looked for no other accuser than my own conscience with respect to this rash act of mine. It had not occurred to me to consider how it might appear in the eyes of others, nor even to reflect that traces of it might escape the general conflagration. Now I woke to the full horror of my situation—to find my own life in jeopardy—for it was too late now to come forward with the true story. The only thing to do, so it appeared to me, was to remain quiet and trust to time, or chance and the slenderness of the clue which thO  authorities possessed. " Siuce then, I have had to submit to the ordeal of seeing myself confronted by the reward of one hundred pounds offered for my detection; and have lived in daily and hourly fear of being charged with the eemmittalut this crime—if crime it can be called —of wb I was guiltless, in thought, if not in deesl,.. It is this which i.B killing me, and I do not It. " Sometimes I regret nothing; not even the shot which took my best friend's life and branded me with the brand of Cain !" . ,  4.0 CHAPtER