Year: 1875

ana the muSh ana m0laSSeS pfOVlQeO Dy the county for poor Mick The keeper who brought the viands disappeared, and locked and bolted the door. His coming had aroused Mick. Up to that time nota word had passed between us. ''My, friend" said I, s'you see they have sent me better supper than yours. ! It won't pay to insist upon knowing way. They do it, you see, and perhaps they will l do 1t again and again, Now 1t happens that am fond of mush and molasses. When was a little boy, used to wonder why other people couldn't have mush and molasses every day as we'll as prisoners. If it will suit you, propose that we make mess of whatever they send us, and take our meals together so long as we both 1 stay here."

 Saving your presence, sir" said Mick, scratching his head with the peculiar air of handcuffed man, but with puzzled air nevertheless, "saving your presence, | sir, find it heard. to believe that you or any other gentleman should like mush and molasses; the devil fly away with 'em. I say. But your offer is handsome one, and I'll not be so ill-mannered as to refuse it"

 "Do you smoke?" said I, after we had finished our supper.

 "Faith, I'd like to give up half my meat for the free use of my old pipe," said Mick. "But the hlackguards took it from me when they put me in here."

 "I have box of cigars" said I. eff yon can console yourself for the loss of your pipe with one of these, you are well come"

 Mick took a cigar, and managed to place it between his lips and light it with his iron-clad hands so deftly that began to doubt whether handcuffs amounted to 8 serious inconvenience or not. Before we had finished our cigars, we heard the keeper undoing the numerous fastenings of the cell door. With motions quick and noisless as a cats, Mick placed his mush plate and spoon on his own side of the cell, so fhat it might appear that each had supped by himself, and stretch ed himself on his mattress. When the keeper came in to remove the supper things, my fellow-prisoner was apparently in the midst of @ story concerning the breaking of colt.

 When he was gone Mick resumed and finished his cigar with great apparent rel ish.

 ''I suppose" said he, after a long si- fence, ''you know I am in here for horse stealing, with a fine prospect of being set up in the tailoring business in the big stone house beyond"

 '1 have heard something of it"

 ''It may be impolite of me. but I can't help being half dead with trying to guess how you came to be in here, with your cigars and your matbhes, your pens and your paper, your beefsteak and mashed potatoes, your pickles and plum pie, and never taste of cold iron about your clothes. I never saw the like in any jail I I in kc or,ki

 I gave my fellow prisoner Q. brief ac- count of the murder of my aunt and the subsequent facts which led to my impris. onment. Mick unused long tune over i my story, At last he ssid,-

 ':Faith, it's time you were getting ready to get out of this."

 "What do you mean?"

 "1 mean this. When the grand jury come together, they will find bill against you for murder in tho first degree; then the petit jury-bad luck to the blockheads l-they will find you guilty, and your friend Charley will have to hang you if you don't get away from here. That's what l mean"

 ''But am innocent. No jury can find me guilty"

 Cant they though? What ails them that they can't? I've been tried for horse A ted; was guilty both times. And once I was convicted of stealing horse had never seen. Many an honest man has been hanged with far less evidence against him nor there is against you. If your neck is any convenience to you, you just take 1t away from here If you leave 1t here long, it will be ruined"

 ''But the real murderer may be found, you know"

 ''True; and that's just the only chance you've got if you stay here. And that same is almost no chance at all. I know l who shot your aunt almost as we'll as if had seen him do it. But there's blamed little show for catching him, and no evil dence against him, that can see, if he should be caught"

 l "Who was it?'

 "I've no doubt it was Johnny Grant. The three Grants are great scoundrels, none too good to rob your aunt's house, | of 1t as they did. Johnny is feeble crea- ture and great coward I think it was he that shot the old lady. Either of the others would have got away from her with out shooting. They are clumsy thieves. the Grants, but they are good at hiding. they know every acre of country for scores | of miles Increment. l warrant you they haven't been out of the woods Tn the day time since the murder. But at night they haven't let the grass grow under their feet. They're far enough from here this time'

 "But. my dear fellow. you talk of my leaving here as though had only to put on my hat and walk away. Don't you know that am duly committed as we'll | as yourself? Indeed, am faster bound than you, for my case is not bailable and yours is."

 "One thing at time. The necessity of l leaving here is what we are talking of now. The means of getting away will require | our undivided attention when they come up for consideration, as they say in Con- gress JonnDy Grant is most likely the man, partly because the Grants are the only men in this region bad enough for such job, and partly because they have disappeared and nothing can be heard of them in any direction. Charlie hopes to get on their track yet, but can't see that he has the ghost of chance, though he has sent to the city and got regular de- tective to hunt for them and work up the case generally. You see he feels mighty big after catching and caging me. l sing small enough in here just now, but among horse thieves and their good friends, the sherifs' officers, am a man of mark. You see, I'm known far and wide as Mick Mul- len, the Irish Horse-t thief, and yet have been running at large where everybody knows me, g long time, because proof enough to hold me to bail couldn't be mus tered against me"

 "How, then, did you get the name of horse-thief?'

 s'Oh, thought told you before that had been three times tried for horse steal. ing, and once found guilty. The time 1 was convicted was innocent, and the missing horse was found dead in the own- er's back lot about week after the trial. Meantime had made hole in the iail the night before the day l. was to have started for the State prison. Afterwards I went back into the same nelghborhood as bold as a lion. The people owned that they had been too fast. and did nothing