Year: 1865




afternoon of that same day sack was found
with human remains in at the bottom of
hole and-on the evening of that same day
drink and excitement had rendered Stevens
incapable of taking care Of himself, and. at
my suggestion, he was conveyed to the lock-
up as drunk andsdisorderly. | toe, though
perfectly sober, affected to have peen put on
the spree, and was also locked up in the
same place with Stevens, and my name also
entered on the night-charge list as drunk and
disorderly.


. never saw such change in c man as
came over Stevens when he found / was
locked p..with him. The effects of the drink
were passing away, owing to the strong
mental excitement produced by the discovery
OF these remains and no sooner was the
lock turned on me, than he clasped me by
the band as the groom that had always
been SO friendly, and began to cry piteous-
iy like child. His thoughts were running
on the murder, and | resolved to use the
opportunity. To make this right, began
/ say, Stevens, do you know they have
found the old mans body. Itwas in a sack,
and the sack was weighted with stones
and one of the stones, they say, was Jour
lapstone. The skull is broken in two
places, so that it is plain he must have been
murdered. What made you talk about him
in your sleep just now? p Did II? What
did ! say You said if they would let
you off, you would show them where his
money was This he had said in his
sleep Upon this. be gave convulsive
shrek, fell back upon the straw. and ex-
claimed Yes, killed old ,Jeffrey-but
don't peach on me they can only bring me
up for being drunk and disorderly, and I'll
give you half the money. l say, groom, you
won't peach VIII you | viii leave these
parts. have had too much whisky. Let
me sleep; I'll tell you everything tomor-
row =; but don't peach, and I'll MAKE a clean
breast Of it, Before the morning broke, he
had confessed everything to me. | had
always been a good fellow. and he didn't
mind telling Mr.. L. s groom everything.


lie had entered the old mans hut at mid
night, beat in his skull, put the body in q
sack, and, fool that he was put in his own
lapstone along with other stones to make it
sink and had hid his money beneath the
mud floor of his cottage. The next morning
we wera both brought before the magistrate
of the district, charged as aforesaid. On being
asked what had to say, handed the mag
istrate nv authority to act as detective, and





| had charge of murder to bring against
Stevens, who was there on the minor charge.
In less time than it takes to tell this, [ had
left the room, and greatly to the bewilder-
ment Of every one, especially of the local
police, the well known groom at H was
in his uniform, bringing his charge against
Stevens. founded on his own confession, for
numbering the old hermit jeffrey.


- Tho caounI 10 cOoD fold NV avI0nnpn
hung Stevens, who again and again, previous
to his execution, confessed not only this MUIR
der, but the murder Of mate in the bush
some years back, with whom he was working
on a station, making stake ard rail fence. +"


This was the story Delavan, the detective,
told me- When he finished, | looked ont
upon the night stiffness of the scene below
and around me here and there a solitary
light glimmered through the latticed window
of bark hut; now and then; dog sent up
his dismal howl as he bayed the moon in
vain the nightar and the little ''morepork"
whizzed past with their melancholy and
almost ominous cries; the river rolled be-
low, and as its rapid waters rushed beneath
the bridge their gurgling sounds were sug-
gestiye Of the death-cry of murdered man;
above, the deep blue sky was encircling the
silent earth as if to proclaim the Eternal ten
derness that ever bends over man the gen
tie Pleiades and the brilliant belted Orion
looked serenely down from their empyrean
nights on the quiet night scene while in the
south the Cross, with its unequaled beauty,
symbolzed the deeper, tenderer love Of Him
who may have had mercy even on the mur-
derer at the eleventh hour. Everything
said:


How strikingly tha course OF nature tells,


BY its light heed of human suffering,


That it was fashioned for happier world.


So thinking. retired to rest, and fell
asleep, to dream of this episode in my life
experience gathered from the true story of
an Australian detective.