Pittston Gazette

              jb^RSI A WBsk y locsi and Family Journal. I'1 advIwS BirABLISIIKDlKSU. t .OL. X1.VV1. DiO. lO. f Oldest Newspaper in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTON, LUZERNE CO., PA., FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 20. 1S96. known to her, -actuated by a linger!rig tlo later, :®hi I was about to take my departure, when Jeiry Simpson, who had lost ai'. arm a year before and who lived in a cabin across the river, speaks up and says: At that moment, and while the man with ino sooner than ho had hoped to. opening and closing the fingers of his right l-aml an if feeling for the knife I hurt taken away, footsteps were heard outside, and next instant three' police officers entered the bar. Johnson made a rutd» for the door as they appeared, and h»d he possessed the knife it would have gone hard with ono or ail of thi' trio as they piled on to him and struggled with him on the floor. Btit as he was unarmed and still weak, they had him fast in a minute, and then one of tin in eriei out ,!' -' ■' (ail„ C-DHJLA\Wf. '('* ~ 7 cof*»to»r IB9S 8* rv, pp:irk of low f wicked th he man instead of his room regarded her nine-tenths of t] pi op Jo in the court- ing on*, and so we'll pull upstuKes anc the more guilty of go, shutters ti.l uii lijl \ it, bnt whoi Hbe learned CHAPTER III. AMI "NOT Ot'ILTT tho two. Then came the defense and the reaction. Lord Dudley himself testified to her lout; and loyal services. He said the key of the safe happened to be i in his own pocket that night and for three days and nights previously, as he had taken the necklace to a jeweler for : repairs and was waiti/ig for its return. ' There was no money in the safe, and indeed but little jewelry. There was no gas in the room, as her ladyship objected to it. There wen* marks on the Hash to I prove that the catch hi d been sprung j from tho ontside. There was no chloro- ] form abont the house, nor could Mary When Lord Dudley heard of this re solve, ho call* d upon Farmer Williamt and paid him a lair price for bis lane and stock, and its my belief "that ht also paid the passage of the three out tc Australia besides. They had ouly de cided on going when I returned to Liverpool and thought I had seen the las: of them, though the thought upset m« more than I dared admit t-o myself. T( be hottest with you, I had fallen in lovC with Alary Williams. Perhaps thethinj would have come about just the sani« had I met her at church or on the high way, but maybe the circumstance of oui being arrested and tried together anc of our interests and dangers being thC same pushed matters along at a fastei pace. Be that as it may, I realized tba' I loved her. She was under a cloud you see, and one couldn't reasonably ex poet her to permit of any advances. He) love for Ben Johnson had turned U gall, sure enough, but that was no helj to me under the circumstances. I realiz ed that 1 was foolish to entertain cer tain hopes, and yet I could not drivt them out of my mimj^ forward, each shutter having a porthole for musketry firing and 1/k'wiae iron plates which could be cJampui on beneath the skylight if the emergency arose. Then the bulkhead between cage No. 8 and the passengers' quarters w.is provided with portholes and made bullet proof as well. For the cabin defense we bought four double barreled shotguns and two rifles. This would give us, in case of a row, six good arms, to say nothing of the officers' pistols and what firearms the passengers might bring. You will observe that 1 have left the seven guards entirely out in my that Lady Dudley wus dead *ht) con ' 'guilty fcmed to tbc maUCT that her own ac iuiowledgcti lover was the midnight in The. first thing the police of any lonntry do when a murder has been jommitted is to find a prisoner, and "Come, now, but who is to take one of the tikifis at the landing and set me across at my door?" J I '] "It's me that'll be glad to set you over," I replies to his words. And presently wo went down and got aboard of one of the small craft drawn up on the they always assume that whoever they happen to lay hands on must lw guilty because they have got him. The officers were not so far out of the way in holding her ladyship's maid for examination, for all circumstances were against her, but in my ease one hour'/i intelligent work by a detective ought to have sCH me at liberty. My mother, Uncle John Hampton, Jerry Simpson and others could account for every minute of my time since landing in Dudley. At the hour the murder was committed I was in tho company of five or six men, all of whom were law abiding and housst.%J _Jo s ] ! I l I Lg I bank. The Severn is but a small stream at that point, and I soon had old Jerry safo on the far shore. It was a quiet night, with never a soul aboard, and as I pulled ont after bidding my old friend good night and seeing him disappear in tho darkness I rowed up the stream a few rods and then let the boat drift back. I can't say why I did this, except that the solemn stiTlness of the night gave me a rather serious turn, and I felt that I wanted to be by myself for a bit before going homo. "It's the greatest stroke of luck we ever had. I thought he was five miles away by this hour. What's the meaning of all this blood, Uncle John, and what's been going on hereabouts?" ie author have got any at the drug store without an order. The servants at once denied What they had said regarding Mary, and she was promptly discharged from custody. The police evinced their disappointment and chagrin at the outcome of the case, but wtro probably solaced by the fact that I bad no lord to testify in my behalf. figuring. CHAPTER I. THE CASTLE AT DUDLEY. a chair behind him, so that tbe flood of light foil full upon the door. It also full upon his head and fare a® ho worked. "My God, Ben Johnson, but have you conie to tbiel" When the Hindu was ready to receive "Is the man charged?" cautionsly asked the landlord. "Aye. the worst sort of a charge— .he convicts, a government inspector came aboard to see that everything relating to the prisoners was shipshape. There was nothing to find fault with, and he named the date when the gang would be sent aboard. Our passengers came first—exactly 20 of them. Whom do you suppose the first three were? When I first clapped eyes on them, I was so taken aback that I stood open mouthed and could not utter a word. Iftey were Mr. and Airs. WHliadis and * tin, daughter,'Mary. It had been six weeks since I left Dudley, and I had received no news of them whatever, though I was every day trying to pluck up the courage to write direct to Mary herself. Tbe village bells at Dudley have just •truck the midnight hour. It is an English village on the Severn river, about 80 miles .southwest of Birmingham, founded, and one night say owned, by Lord Dudley. It is a quiet place, with little business and uever any bustle. Many of tbe wealthy manufacturers of Birmingham have their homes here, and in summer time there aro many strangers, although it is far from the sea. It was the voice of a woman. She had knelt beside him and uttered the words before he could obey the impulse to spring up. The voice was familiar to him, aud tho face of the woman, half brought out by the. bullseye, was not strange to him. No, not the face of a woman, but tiiat of a girl not over 18 years old. It was very pale as he found it witligju twf-ajaet of his own, aud tbe big blue eyes had a look of horror in thein as thej gazed into his black ones. He had been so suddenly and so com pletely surprised that he was rendered stupid for a moment. murder!" Bless my blooming soul, but he's killed a man, has lie?" I say that it would have been easy enough for the police to satisfy themselves that I was an innocent man, but they never work to clear a man. On the contrary, they bend their energies to prove or to try to prove the guilt, of the one arrested. Uncle John was repii- "No, a woman—Lady Dudley." Crash! Bump! Smash! A boat bad rnn into me as I was drifting and musing. It was being pulled so fast that it stove a great hole in the port bow of my skiff, and the water rushed iu on me as I lay sprawling on the bottom boards. However, I Was up like a monkey, and as my skiflf filled I leaped into the craft which had brought about the collision. Everything happened inside of 10 or 15 seconds. When the man who was rowing, and so had his back to me, looked over his shoulder, I was seated in the bow of his boat, and mine was water logged. "It's a lie!" shouted the prisoner. "It's simply another move to drivo me You havo guessed my lino of defense, and you know that I had half a dozen witnesses. It shouldn't have been a surprise to the police, but it certainly was. This was due to tho bold faced lying of the villain Johnson. The story he told when put into the witness box against me made me pinch my legs to see if I was awake or dreaming, and his manner of telling it almost satisfied mo that [ was an accessory. Such calm, cold nerve was never seen before. He began by stating that he had met me in Liverpool a fortnight before and told me of the "job" and that I had readily agreed to join him. Ho olainied that I had been in Dudley three days; that he was the one who entered the castle while I kept watch outside; that as we were making our escape by boat I charged him with playing me false and struck him down before he could defend himself—all this and much more, and a man telling the solemn truth could not have assumed a more honest demeanor. Tie y cariicd him off to tho police station without further ado, but saying they would return to gather additional particulars. If it hadn't been for Uncle John's advice, I should have put my foot in it by making a bolt for Liverpool wit boat loss of time. If murder had been done, I had practically captured the innrderer and would be held as a witness and put to 110 end of bother. Indeed I would be lucky to get hack to the Hindu and ont to sea in a long six months. I had a sailor's horror of the law, and my fir;t impulse was to up anchor and scud for it. It was the cool headed old man who forced mo to nee out of the country. " "If you ijive uif n/i to the law I'll haw tour life mauded for expressing his astonishment. and his offers of assistance to help provo my innocence were promptly refused. I was pretty well satisfied that Lord Dudley himself doubted my complicity, but the police had the case, and it was not for him to interfere. . For an boar or more a skiff bas been lying at anchor in the bend of the river just above where tbe northern wall inclosing Lord Dudley's grounds reaches the bank. There are three walls shutting in the ten acres of ground, whilo the river itself answers for thn fourth. The castle stands in the center of the plat, and the space not covered by it and tbe conservatory, stables, etc., is given up to lawns, walks, flower beds, fountains and tbe like. A grand old place this, though the 10 acres should have been 20 or 30. trader. She had cftiversed with him. She had restrained his hand. She would have flung herself lietween him and her lady, but she did not know that he menaced the latter. The girl deserved all praise. She had been more than loyal. CHAPTER IV. tuk convict ship. An unpleasant surprise awaited m« on my arrival at Liverpool. The Hindi had been thoroughly refitted for sea, bai was in the hands of a gang of carpen tors and blacksmiths as she lay in hei berth. ! Do you know whom yon re—wliat you arc doing?" whimpered lien! Bimi It was not until after the funeral of Lady Dudley that I was takes to court for examination. Being only a sailor man, and never having had to do with law before except to make affidavit, I own that I was badly upset and could not plan what to do. Undo John and mother fixed it, however. They sent me in a lawyer, telegraphed to Liverpool for Captain Clark and got all my witnesses together. I est in e very near having a row with the lawyer befoie he had been in my cell five minutes. As soon as he had introduced himself he led off with: '.'Well, Ra'pb, it's this way," said the father as I expressed my astonishment. "Everybody knows the gal ia innocent as a babe, but she can't abide notoriety. We'll go out to Australia and have a look around, and if things don't suit we can return after a couple of years. I'd forgotten the name of your craft, and it's pleased I am to find that we are to sail with you." "It's this way, ray lord," said the police Migrant who was Fummoned from the town station as soon as possible. "The girl is accessory. No doubt of the pair putting op the job together, bat they were disturbed by her ladyship. Then, to save herself, the girl cries out for help and makes a great ado, thinking the man can get away without bnog recognized." in jrirl an t-In laid a band on the arm tifs:r»';cht 'i to pull the door open. "What's the meaning of all this?' repeated Captain Clark as I found hin overseeing the workmen in the bold "Well, Ralph, to be short about it, we've got a government charter to, Botany Bay." "Curse you for an idiot, but why did you run into my craft?" he gasped at me as he slewed himself around on tho thwart. "Ays yCu minx. It's yon, is it?" he 'fowled as l,e drew a breath of relief. "Of cocrpe I know what I'm doing. I could have pot tilling without you had you been asleep, but as yon are here I'll make use of you. I suppose the old gal is asleep in her bedroom? If she's got anything wfirth taking iu there, I want you to fetch it to me. " "But it was you who ran into me, sir," I replied, feeling no anger what- "What! The Hindu to go out to Aus tralia with convicts!" It is a starlight Juno night, with something of a mist rising from the water. Had any boatman been passing np or down he might have rowed within 20 feet of thorough and unpaiuted skiff without noticing it. lie might have passed within 5 feet of it without seeing its occupant, who was lying on the broad of his back and watching the faint stan above him in an absent manner. He seemed 011 the point of going to sleep when the three bells in different portions of the rambling village began to slowly and solemnly strike the hour which marks the death of the old and the birth of a new day. Then he sat up and looked about und whispt red to himself : ever. CV iiV "Exactly. Don't fire np about*it, man, until you learn full particulars. Things are very dull just now in thi carrying trade, arid if we hadn't mad« this charter we might have been force* to lie here for weeks. We didn't jumj D*■ I assure von. but vet we look udoi iu a» a luvky MuuKe, auu mere are a wore of crafts in port which would be willing to pay us a premium." I can't say that Mary seemed overpleased to find me there. Indeed, she acted as if considerably put ont about it. While I may not have been distasteful to her personally, yet the sight of me kept all the past in mind, and she had taken her troubles very much to heart. She shook hands and made an effort to be friendly, however, and that was all I conld expect. Of the other 17 passengers there were four married conpies, two young women servants, one single man and six children. They were all middle class people, tidy and respectable, and we could not have asked : for a better lot. "But *ho lias been in my service for years—nver sinco she was 10 tttottMted Lord Dudley. "It's a li«! I'm a mind to give you a taste of this steel! Come, now, as you came aboard of your own accord, you can leave on the same terms. Out you x rFl_ "'If L.,..,} manv "Ben Johnson turned burglarl" gasped the girl. "Bon Johnson here in lior ladyship s private rooms to rob ljor! Oh, Bon, I can't fce awake and in my senses! You surely haven't become so desperate all at once." yoars oh! Wo showed, of course, that the Hindu was still at sea on the date he gave aud iu all other ways upset his yarn, but be was taken to jail declaring that every word he spoken was gospel truth. No sane man could dispute my innocence, but I presently found that the public looked at me askance. I have been told that there is always a bit of feeling against, the man who proves that he had nothing to do with the crime for which he was arrested, particularly if it is a heiii'us one and the public has made up mind that he is Ruiltv. They somehow ean't quite forgive hini for disappointing them. In my case the chief of police even had the impudence to say to me: "She has had charge of hrr ladyship's jewels for the past your, and oven now has the fci y of the safe." go!" J //. i A ■' J ;_7 -V vr V, i (/ "I am glad to bo abln to tell you that it wat» not a murder nut of hand, but that Lady Dudley came to her death by a Hboek. There is no evidence that Beii Johnson laid a huge; on her." "Don't be so fast, my friend " I replied, astonished and nettled that he should be so peppery at the outset. "Doubtless the blame should bo shared by both. I'll have to pay for that craft, while yours seems to lie all right Don't talk of knifing a man or driving him overboard becauso of a bit of accident " "Yes, my lord, but those things don't liolp her much now," observed the seigiant. "She is in love with that scamp of a Ben Johnson. She could not resist his argr ments. They were going to make a big haul and (hen skip the country for America or Australia. It's all as plain as day to iue, sir, and I feel it my duly to look her ap." "Keep quiet, yon fool!" he hissed as he dropped his arm to take hold of her wrist with savage grip. "1 told yon last .Sunday that nobody would give me a show and that I intended to do for myself. Because I've been man enough to take what belonged to me I've been sent to the jail and outlawed. This very Lord Dudley, who has 110 more right to wealth than I have, has had me watched and hounded and marked down for a bad man. " A "But it will give the ship a bad name," I protested. "But. what have I to do with that?' I asked by way of reply. "It is necessary, if I take your case, that we have an understanding," he said after giving me a searching look. "Not in this case, I hope, though we must take onr chances. Yon see, the government has been in the habit of chartering any old tub which conld be got hold of cheap. There's a public outcry against sending out convict ships which are so unseaworthy that a topsail breeze is bound to do for them. There's also a' great ado about crowding the men as if they were blacks from the African coast. Certain papers and public men have been raising a great row on this subject while you've been in drydock at Dudley, and the upshot of the matter is that the government is going to try an experiment." "Out yon got" he hissed after a long look at me, and what did the villain do but fla«h his knifo and begin to advance npon U- ! "I am agreeable to that. I hope you didn't come here believing me a guilty The passengers came aboard in the morning. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon our prisoners came alongside under a heavy puard, and I received another shock, and a far more disagreeable ona The first convict to step aboard was Ben Johnson, the villain who was to blame for what I had gone through. We were face to face before we recognized each other. He was handcuffed and also had on leg chains, for he had become so desperate that everybody feared him. His face was full of curiosity as he stepped on deck, but the instant his eyes lighted on me he raised his manacled hands to strike and shouted at the top of his voice: "That's what I've boon waiting for, and here I go! Wish I'd brought along a partner, thoi.;Ji that would have meant a divide of the swag." "Why did-she tell me it was her lover whon none of us bad soon or suspected him?" asked his lordship. man?" "Johnson persists in his declarations, and the police evidently believe they have a good case against you." "Emotion, sir—overcome with sudden emotion on hearing of her ladyship's neatli, and the words came out before she realized what she was saying. I've seen it in 20 different eases. By touight she'll take a different tack and declare that the man was a perfect It would have onlv been a wrt jacketto have none overboard, but he had taken me wrong, you w e. All men have a pride about these tilings. Argument is all right, but to attempt to drive them is a different matter. However, as he was armed with a knife and I had nothing, I expect I should have taken to the water but for the luck ot finding a broken oar at my feet. I had a firm grasp of it quicker than I can tell you, and I warned the man, whose face I could only outline in the darkness, near as be was, to advance at his peril. He was more reckless than brave. Steadying himself for a few seconds, with his feet wide apart, he was about to make a dash at me when I brought the oar down npon his head, and he fell like a log. He lifted the stcne by which the boat had been anchored and let the craft drift down past tho wall. Then by a careful use cf the paddle he worked it inehore until the bow rested on the bank. He was now within the grounds, but quite a distance froui the house. Stepping ashore, he pulled tho skiff half its length out of the wator, and for a minute or two stood peering into the darkness. "But you turned poacher, Ben," she replied, "and you refused to work like other young men." "Johnson unfl the. police be hanged, and you on top of them. If you haven't more sense than the men who locked me up here, I want nothing to do with " Well, my man, it seems that somehow you have slipped the halter off your neck, but let me warn you that I shall have an eye npon your future movements. I presume yon will leave town very soon?" " Yon played me a trick ttmight." that such a step would bring me into serious trouble, and I havo thanked God a thousand times that I had the sense to listen and obey. Yon will presently see that it was bad enough even with my staying. "Poacher! Aye, that's the law of the country as made by these bigwigs. If a poor man wants a bit of game now and then, he mufd risk the jail to get it But what are you doing jiere?" "Her ladyship is ill toriight, and I am sitting up with her. She is asleep just new, but may awake at any moment. Ben, listen to me. Go away. Go the way you came, and none but ns shall ever know that you entered the castle." you.'' stranger." "What will be our lino of defense?" he calmly asked, paying no attention to "Well, 1 am very sorry, for we have always looked upon Mary sis the most faithful of servants. She may have been argued into this by that villain, as you say, and perhaps it is best to lock her "I shall leave when I get ready to," was my blunt and perhaps impudent "At the loss of our reputation. Why, sir, a craft which has ever made the trip to Botany Bay goes to the boneyard or into the coal trade on her tetnrn. All shippers seem to look upon her with distrust and disgust after that" Two of the policemen returned in about half an hour to pump us for details. I told my story as straight and truthful as any honr st man could, keeping nothing back, and-a part of it was of course corroborated by Uncle John. I have no doubt (be police believed all our statements, as there was nothing requiring a stretch of the imagination, but when I had been pumped out the sergeant dryly observed: my temper. "Why, that I had no more to do with it than tho chief of police himself." "Wo shall havo witnesses to prove an alibi, then?" rep]," "So talking back, air! I have tht power to warn auspicious characters tc leave towii and to Jock them up if the} hC=«itate to go." "Losingyour nerve, eh!" he muttered, as a shiver passed over him. "It's your first big job, and you are a bit timid. Burglary is a bit different from poaching, but you'll get used to it, Ben Johnson I Take a drink to brace your nerves!" up." "You here, Ralph Tompkins! Ah, you cowardly cur, but I conld ask for no better luck! When we take the ship, it will bo my pleasure to flay yon alive." "It was a great temptation.no doubt," said the sergeant, "and it may be that wo can find extenuating circumstances, as they calls 'eni. We have ,the whole force out after Ben Johnson, and no doubt we'll have him fast and sure before morning. And now, sir, if you'll bring the girl down I'll walk her to the "Of course we shall. Wo will prove the boar I loft Liverpool and my whereabouts during every honr afterward." However, I came to look upon the charter with more favor after a bit The price paid us was very high, and we had the privilege of fitting up accommodations to carry 20 passengers as well. You will understand that I am now writing of a matter roally belonging to the last generation. It is a good many years since the penal colony at Botany Bay was abolished and since England ceased to send her convicts out of the country. The idea of transportation was, first, to remove bad men as far away as possible, and, second, to make convicts the nucleus of new colonies. After two or three years of proper behavior a convict got a ticket of leave and conld settle outside the camp. If his record continued good for two or t hree years more, ho was discharged and could settle anywhere in Australia. It is a matter of history that three-fourths of the sheep growers and a good share of thp business men of the big island today can trace their ancestry back to the convict camp at Botany Bay. "Well, sir, go ahead on any coursC that suits you. I know how greatly you ore disappointed, but it is all owing to four lack ot sense in handling the cast.' ut the start." "Are you a fool, Mary!" he savagely exclaimed. "I came for the swag, and I'll not go without it!" I gave him my story, nnd when I had [ finished bo rubbed his bands and smiled and said: I knew, of course, that he had been sentenced to transportation for life, but it had never occurred to me that he might bo among the gang of 60. The guards seized him and were hustling him along when he caught sight cit- Mary and her parents. He realized in an inscant that they were passengers, and there was a look cf devilish ferocity on his face as he cried out: He pulled a bottle from his pocket, drained it of its contents and tossed it away. A full pint of liquor had gone down his throat since 10 o'clock, and but for the adventure ho had on hand Tie would have been sleeping the stupid sleep of intoxication. The effect of the last drink was to make him desperately reckless—the condition he hoped for. Keeping clear of the graveled paths, that the sound of his footsteps might not betray him, he slowly and cautiously advanced to the house. Not a light was to be seen, not a sound came to alarm bim. I was a bit upset by ™hat had occurred, as stands to reason, but I presently figured that the best way was to take the oars and pull up to the inn and see bow badly the fellow was hurt. Old John Hampton, who had kept the plaeo since I whs a boy in knee pants, win just turning out the lights whm I entered and told him what had happeued. "And we love each other—have passed our words and are to be married in the fall!" she n*oauod as she put out both hands to seiee the arm he had extended "Really, now, but this does mo good. I was prepared for a hard struggle bofore the courts, and here our case is already won. iialf a day's work will get He fumed and blustered; but, having burned his fingers once, he did not pro- " Yon can, no doubt, manage to prove all yon say, but I shall have .to lock you up as a witness until you can find bail. It looks as if you were to bo the main witness in the case, which is one to create a great sensation.'' station and see what a few hours in a cell may do toward helping her to tell the truth." coed to extreme measures. Some one spread the leport that I had been twice arresv-d in Liverpool, and I had a pVetty clear idea as to where the gossip started from. Lord Dudley, as soon as sending for the police, had offered a reward of £1,000 for the arrest and Gonviction of the murderer. I had certainly been the, means of his arrest, aud bC tween Mary Williams and myself thC prosecutor had all the evidence necessary to convict. After I had been discharged from custody bis lordship sent for mo. Ho received mo very kindly, expressed his gratification that I had come out of the case with flying color* and referred to the matter of the reward. I refused to accept a penny of it, to his great astonishment, but later on I could not well refuse the gold watch, telescope, chronometer and *Dther giftt he sent me by bis chief steward, together with his best wishes for my future welfare.again. our case in proper shape." "More's the reason why I should make the haul. 1 haven't had enough money the past three months to pay the wedding fee. Hands off you idiot!" My stoveu skiff hail floated away down stream, but was recovered. The CHAPTER II. I protected aud argued, but he rut mo Bbort- with u curt "I'unio along, sir," and some timo between 1 aud 2 o'clock in the-morning I found myself in a prison coll for the first time in my )ife As I sat- on the hard bench to figure a Lit on tiu- situation I was unable to glean much consolation. Being a sailor man and without any fixed habitation, heavy hqnds would be required for my appearance when wanted. Who* was to furnish them? All my old chums put top ther could not have qualified for £500. There was only the hope that ihD y might have so many other wiimsses that my testimony would not be required. The sergeant: had told us that Lady Dudley had been murdered by a burglar whom she discovered in her room about midnight, but had given fC w details. However, things cannot lie bettered by worriment, and by and by 1 laid down on tbe bench and fell asleep, aud foi four hours I slept .as well as I ever did on shipboard. Then I was awakened by an ofliecr, who ordered me to follow him into a room in which half a dozen people were waiting fc.r us. I may tell you here that one was Lord Dudley, a second Uncle John Hampton. ami a third, fourth and fifth were menservuiita from the castle. It was the chief of police who took me in hand and begun: one which had run into me was care; fully lifted aside. The spot where Johnson's bend bad rested on the inn floor had been stained with his blood, and Uncle John would not allow it to be washed away. It seemed like turning your band over to establish an alibi and prove my iunooi nee to the satisfaction of everybody. Indeed, Uncle Ji.hu and others declared with much feeling tbat if Lord DudiC y did not present mo with at least £50 for catching the murderer be was not the man to retain their re *pec,t. Some even went so far as to promise that the chief of police would apologize to me in public. ° MATE OF THE I1IND0. "What! And Mary tool Why, satan himself seems bound to play into my hands on this trip. Threecheersfor Ben Johnson'8 Inck!" 'Ben, do vi'U love mo?" Sailors and land as en—good people all—permit me to introduce myself as Ralph Tompkins, a sailor man by profession and mate of the merchantman Hindu. Whatever has gone before this is from the pen of a good friend of mine who has to do with books and newspapers. After be had heard my story he says to me, rays he: "Bless my blooming soul, but who can it be!" exclaimed the old man as he walked down to the skiff with me. "I didn't know we had such a peppery fellow in tho country hereabouts. You served him right, Ralph, but I hope you didn't strike too hard, you know. Not that any of us would blame you evCin if you laid*him dead, but because the coroner and police would make you no end of bother. Here we are, and there lies your man liet as a mouse. We'll catch him crop ujd heels and up to the inn with him." "Hush! This is no time for lion•w'nse! (to fetch any stray jewels from the old gal's room while I clean out The girl and her people were as badly knocked oat as I was, and had we not been all ready to weigh anchor they would have quit the brig and forfeited their passage money. Mary had to be led below, while the father declared to me that nothing on earth could have induced him to go with the Hindu had he known that Ben Johnson was to be one of the gang. The situation was a bad one for all four of us, but tho only way left us was to put on a bold face and make the best of it. Ben Johnson was perhaps the most desperate man in the lot, but the gang as a whole was one of the worst ever embarked. When they had been divided and caged, the officer of the guard felt it his duty to say: his box." "Second story—above the portico— three windows," he whispered to himself. "One window in her ladyship's bedroom, two iu her sitting room. She has her own safe, and it's in that sitting room. Key to be found lying about somewhere—jewels—money—out again and nobody the wiser. No need of any violence unless the old gal has the impudence to wake up and discover me. No, I won't hurt anybody unless I'm cornered. Come, now! Upyougol" "You shall not touch it! You shall go away! Go now—at once—or I will all for help!" "D'ye we tins'?" he whispered as he irew a long, keen knife from its sheath uid flashed it before her eves. "Tompkins, that would make a full cargo for a book, and I warrant you it would be read with interest. Why not' put it in that form?" Aye. I see it Ben Johnson, and jld to God you had driven it to my One cannot reach the position of mate of a craft sailing to all ports without a fair education, but even out of a hundred college bred men not more than one in a hundred ever attempts a book, I'm told. Oi.e must have a gift that way, they say. I m sure that nature did not give it to me, but after thinking the matter over for a fortniKht—getting my latitude and longitude, us it were—I answered my friend af'er this fashion: There were no steamers running to Australia in those days. Aside from the regular packet ships, there •were craft fitted out to carry emigrants, a thousand at u time, but there was a class of people which preferred to go by convict ship. The fare was about half what tbe packets charged, and yet higher than by an emigrant craft, but only a few were taken, and the accommodations were very good, me mnuu naa only a main hold, which had a depth of about nine feet. Our contract called for the carrying of 60 male convicts. To keep these mjett s i'ure the hold of the ship was converted into three cages, as it were, each cage to hold 20 men. The entrance to them was by way of the hatches. Tho cages were of iron, of course, and made as strong as in a pris- .rt It lore 1 lcarpcd how base and unorthy and wicked you had become! He was a stoutly built chap, and its his body was dead weight we had a good pulJ for it to get him np to the house and stretched out oil his back. Then Uncle John brought a candle and knelt do*.; to have a look at hiiu. It wasn't five seconds before be lifted his hands and called to me: aihev and mother were right, and I l.ave been hi,wl.strong und obstinate. Both of them have always distrusted you—have said that you were bad at Perhaps 1 should have stated in the preceding chapt. r that the full name of her ladyship s maid Was Mary Williams, and that. 8he was the daughter of a small fanner a few milts away. She had been in the family so long and bad been found so faithful that I um sure- Lord Dudley would never have doubted her innocence but for the police. Neither do I think the police altogether at-tray. Had it boon any other man than Ben Johnson, her le ver, they would not have reasoned as thjy did. In the goodness of her heart the girl had insisted on attending fi»r ladyship that night, and in the light of subsequent events that was u point against her. Some ol the servants ulso confidently remembered of having heard her talk about America and wish for a life of ease, and that was put down as evidence. He advanced up the steps leading to -a private entrance and kicked off his shoes and placed his hat and jacket beside them. Then lifting himself up to the railing be grasped a column supporting the portico and noiselessly ascended to its roof. The sills of two windows were only two feet above him. Not the slightest ray of light had been reflected from either, but from his new position he made a discovery which was impossible from the ground. As Ben Johnson was held to the assizes, the girl and I must be detained as witnesses; so the chief of police could not have driven me away if he had set about it. We had to give bonds, and it was Lord Dudley himself who furnished them. It so happened, however, that tbe term was close at hand, and the case would be disposed of by tho time the Hindu had been overhauled. This would let me out of a bad scrape, but nevertheless Captain Clark felt it his duty to growl at me: iteait "I don't care a curse what they have thought nor for your own opinion either. I am here for the swag, and I'll have it and your 'life as well if you trouble me further. Hauds off! Get away, wench!" "Why, Ralph, ther© is a curious bit of business. Upon my word, but I knows him as well as my own doorpfK-t. It's a young man named Ben Johnson, and he's living with a widowed sister at the upper side of the town." "I have handled at least 50 gangs of convicts in my time, and I tell you that no ship ever had a worse one under hatches. There are plenty of men afloat and shore who are willing to bet two to one that you never get as far as the "I'm but a pliiin sailer man, as you know, and I ean only write in a plain sailor fashion. If yon think the readers of books will overlook my slips of grammar and not be too particular about my language as I talk to them, and if you yourself will agree to write .the first Had it lDeeu another man in the place of Ben Johnson, the girl would have screamed out at sight of him. She bad barely restrained herself as it was, and "That's all right as to who he is, but how bad is he hurt?" I asks. The curtains at the window of her ladyship's bedroom were down, but a glimmer of light escaped from the side next to him. She was a woman 60 years of age, in failing health, and perhaps she was ill and n nurse was sitting up with her. It might be only a night lamp, however. The man remained crouched on the roof for ten minutes without motion. He beard no movement—no voices—and finally decided that it was safo to go ahead. He ex pec ted to find the windows locked, and he lost no time in trying them. Pulling himself carefully up to the north window of the sitting room, he stood up, drew a long, thin piece of steel from his breast and in 80 seconds had turned the catch by inserting the implement between the sashes. There was a dull «lick, and he crouched down and waited five or six minutes to see if any one had been aroused. * ' 'So far so good!" ho whispered when satisfied that no alarm had been created. "I'd feel better if I had a pal on the watch below, but I've gone too far to back out now. Only that window between me and £5,000 of swag!" •inly because she had instantly recognised her lover's face as the light fell upon it. She had softly opened the door Df the bedroom and entered on tiptoe in chapter and get me under weigh und well off the const, so to say, I will try my hand at print. " "I'm no doctor, and I can't say. Here's a gash in bid sealp and plenty of blood flowing, and I take that as a sign ho isn't dead yet. Ab, see him shiver! He's oooiing to, but a sipof whisky will make it easier for him." "Now, Ralph, you see tho consequences of a sailor man idling about on land, and I hope it will lD4:» warning tc you for the rest of your life." on. There were, bunks for the prisoners, and jiortholtjs gave them light and ventilation. In the rear of the thild cage was fitted up what is known as a "brig," or dark cell, for the confinement of refractory prisoners. The remainder of the hold was taken up by storage rooms, staterooms and cabins. "Now, prisoner, we will hear your story as you told it last night. It is my duty to warn yod that anythiug you may let drop tending to criminate yourself will be used against you on trial." ■arch of u fan. Had another man meniced her with a knife, she might have ainttd. Ben was savage and desperate «®d might- murder her, but she did not He instantly replied that it was a bargain, and as he has stuck to his promise I must stick to mine. However, after the shock of the affair had worn off a bit tho girl made a rally and showed her spirit Feeling herself to bo perfectly innocent gave her great strength. I have always believed that it svas Lord Dudley himself who engaged a lawyer to defend her and hunted out the points in her favor, ami it was something greatly to his credit. Ben Johnson was furious with the girl be- "But one must see his old mother now and then," I protested. The Hindu was a fine new hark hailing from tie port of Liverpool. One-half of her was owned by Mr. Abernethy, the well known trader, and Captain Clark ami I each owned a quarter interest. The captain was my own brother-in-law. and, though i held a master's certificate and was competent to command a ship, circumstances made me glad to take the lerth of mate for a few voyages. We had come home with a full targo from Smyrna, hut had met with disastt r on the. way, and the Hindu hud to go to the dockyard for repairs as soon as unloaded. When the last of the cargo was out of her, I said to the So fiercely had tho man clutched the handle of his knife that the weapon was still in his hand. While Uncle John was after the liquor I priid the fingers open and released the knife and laid it on a shelf. About a minute, after the liquor had run down his throat the fellow opened his eyes and glared about. In auother 60 seconds ho sat up, stared hard at mo aud fiercely muttered : "But what am 1 to be tried for, sir?" I promptly demanded, being greatly amazed at his language. "Aye, if she be living within stone's throw of tho sea, but otherwise she must not expect it. The land, Ralph, was created for corn and trees and hedges and villains, and no true sailor who fears God and wants to live an honest life has any business outside of a seaport. I hope I shall get no wickedness through this trip up here, but 1 feel shaky. I wouldn't have had it happen for a £10 note." tieeiiat Hisitig suddenly to h«r fret., lie flung her arms arnnnd his neck and In tho days of which I write a convict ship sometimes carried out as many as 850 men and women. The law laid its hand heavily upon eveiy wrongdoer. Offenders who would not get more than three months in jail today were then sent away for five or ten years. The embezzler and the murderer were treated alike until they arrived at tbe Bay. Then some little difference was made in the favor of the former, though the place was a hell on earth for ail, according to'every man's testimony. Where a big batch was taken, the government sent along from 8 to 13 marines and an officer to take entire charge of the prisoners. In our case the oontract oniy bound the government to furnish a doctor. We must ship hands enough to guard the convicts and land them safely at Botany Bay, and the ship most provide its own outfit of firearms.lulled him backward and shouted 'Hcbkn!" "Murder!" "Help!" at the i'P nf her voice. As C=he prilled him over 'h«' struck the chair and kicked the Ian m c,ff, and the ■ -was at once ill if*ht darkness. "You are charged with being an accessory to the murder of Lady Dudley. Here is the warrant for your arrest Go on with your story, or perhaps you'll decide not to talk. " "Ho helping to murder Lady Dud- Rrouut d Uncle John, whiJo I stood a man turned to stone. "Why, I hope that none of you have How could he have been a in that horrid crime when he house troin soon alter 8 midnight without cause slio liRti !milled him and furiou* w ltli nit' because I had brought about, his capture. He was not au educated man, but he was gifted with po'werfu.' uic:i Y vc «p( ;it Ci my game, bnt I'll ur life to pay for it!" nhouted i a« bo tore; her arms loose and nggtad up. "Yes, I remember now. Some one ran into me on the river and then tried to kill ine." ley! like "You here, Ralph Tompkins!" hi* m "Look here, Ben Johnson, and I Ik lieve that's the name you answer to, " said Uncle John, "what sort of fish do you call this? Seems to me you are a bit too ready with your knife for this locality. Is it your play to knife a man first and then inquire about what's happened?"gents. On his*trial in the higher court Ben Johnson was impudent and defiant and perfectly reckless as to consequences. Ho threatened my life in open court, and he made a determined effort to assault his old sweetheart with his fists. Had ho been a different man, the jury would have dealt more leniently with him, 110 doubt. There were thoso who said that he would only have been punished for attempted robbery. As it was, he made everybody around him realizt that he was a despeiate and revengeful cape of Good Hope. You must watch these fellows day and night If you get eareless for a day, they'll capture the Chip and cut the throats of officers, passengers and crew at the first rush." gone crazy HC- moved here and there in warrh of !(■ girl, and for 15 «econ rls no alarm harer was 111 my o'clock till leaving his chair wsnrance and natural cunning, and bC) joniplt tiiv deceived his lawyer and the rKilioc «ml pC ni'ral public Ho admitted tiieati Larty Dudley with the knife. mi Red her death. ollowed her loud crios for h« lp. Then he door C f the bedroom opened- to let after captuin "Tom, I think I'll take it run up country and him a bit of u visit with mother. It's go» g on three year- now since I bad a night of hCT blessed face, and if 1 don't take advantage of this We had a sailing crow of 14 men. Each h;id signed for the round trip and knew what the cargo would be, and yet when they saw what n villainous gang had come aboard at least half the sailors would haTe deserted if there had been opportunity. If there was one single person abovo decks who was satisfied with the situation, he most have kept his thoughts to himself. We were off, however, and it was useless to growl or lament. Just as the tow boat had got our cable a wherry dropped alongside, and a letter was handed up for the captain. It was badly written and spelled, and its contents were another dose for us. It read: ill a id of 1 mid Lady Dudley " You art uot~hC rC: to ask questions or »1 tht) chief, flar- While t tood on tlie threshold to look in. g»vC . t iio doubt it hit , my lady, it's a rubber—a mur!" screamed Mary an sin* dashed "Who are you?" blnntly Johnwm as ho turned to inc. inquired »Dk up in his tempt r ut tho word "Bless my blooming heart, of course not, but you'll only cover yourselves with confusion if you go on this way." ■Dflf ivitb 15 or 2C luwyi r hoped to get him His accessories lsport' d for Socarefully did he raise the Bash that had any oue been sitting in the room and wide awake they would not have heard a sound. His entrance into the room was just as cautiously made. It was not until he hnd closed the sash behind him, rearranged the curtains to hide the light and then listened in vain for the heavy breathing of a person in sleep that he took the dark lantern from the bag in which he carried it and threw its light around the room. It was an apartment perhaps SO feet long by tO wide, with a door leading into a hall at. the back end, and midway on the north side a door which the burglar at onoe decided communicated with her ladyship's bedroom. The man had no eyes for the elegant surroundings, but flashed his lantern here and there until the light fell upon the door of an iron safe built into the south wall, He had heard of that safe and its contents. That was the magnet which had drawn him to the castle that June night— which had made him turn burglar— which was to change the current of his life. f-rtr wa the roon tsu th«DT» you are, and I'll urn' yon shouted the man as he sprung breeze it mav be three yi "By all in (a dm, Ralph— by all means," was bis ready ri ply, "and I'll scud her a in \v orewa and my love along with you. You can have a couple of weeks on firm ground, and, if th«- Lord sparCD« your life to get back, you'll like- h more.' "Ralph Tompkins,. sir, whether it pleases yon or no. You keep saying that some oue ran into you. It was exactly the other way. My boat was drifting while jou must have been in a great huiry to have smashed into her as you did." might escape with jorti r period, this!" "Do you recognize the man, my lord?" a-ked the chief of the great man. We had el eted, as whs our right, to be tried separately. I don't mean tried for onr lives, but examined to decide if ght to be put away for lift after her. ' 'I have never seen him before, to my mail who ui iuid that was his sentence —t ransporta We went about these things in good faith and with an eye as to what might happen on thi* voyage unless we were fully prepared for trouble. There were hundreds of men looking for an opportunity to work their passage out. We bargained with seven very decent looking fellows to pay their way by acting The girl dodged past Lady Dudley. Hen stopped (-hurt within ariu's length ttf the invalid, who had as yet uttered no sound. Rendered furiously desperate by his defeat, he raised the knife as if to slab her, and probably meaning to do it, hut while he held his arm poised she ottered n feeble, choking cry and sank down in a heap on the floor. At the same instant doors were heart! ojtening and clotting—footsteps souwhd in the halls—and it was evident that the castle was aroused. Standing over the unconscious form of Lady Dudley, Ben called to the girl, whom he could not knowledge we should be held 10 th It wa: lion to the penal colony in Australia for the term of his natural life. The same question was asked of the servants, but hen* a singular trait of human uature showed itself. They felt that it would be a great consolation to his lordship and the police it' the guilty parties were caught and punished, ami so the whole three hesitated and stamuiC red anii finally concluded that they had se( n ine in the company of lien wonderful what a story the villain lohtison Peeled off to tlv bench. Having ly be the better for it. ti known of plenty of cawn where even a week in the country wan the spoiling of a good saiinr BUB." (ill" I've "I Ray you are a liar!" he shouted. "Come, man. that's going beyond You'll never tet me half wav :onfessed his crime, 1 ,s held, as a there!" he shouted when the judge pr nouueed sentence I warn you, judge, reason, jDut In Uncle John. "If you wi re on your feet, I wouldn't take tbut from you myself, old an I am. Let me wash off the blood, bind up your head, and do you po home and recover your good nature." natti r C,f cour wo of u: Johnson eworo Illso Used The jury, lawyers, wimivsvs and all, thai tor overy we»-k 1 ui u prisoner I'll turn »s a \vifill's girl vm a M That's the war, may it please the reader, I happened to arrive at the town of Dudley on the day before the event? recorded in the chapter that has g* nti before. My old mother had Ji-ied there for nigh tipon 20 years, wife and w idow, and you'll excuse me for saying I am proud to dee la re that it was my money, earned by hard Jtinx'ks ut sea, which gave her the little home and kept tl pot boiling. If it she r ■e than iv life! us guartK The odd man had been a "I think it my duty as an honest man to tell you that at least one of your guards is a friend of Ben Johnson's and will stop at nothing to help him take the ship. Be on your guard." and that ft They had given him the full extent sergeant of infantry and was to command the guard. Wo bought a dozen muski ts and plenty D f ammunition, and one day, when almost ready to receive the prisoners aboard, the c aptain said to me: • Johphoti sever months hIio h td rid and count do no felt relieved when it wan known that be was handcuffed and shackled and chained to the wall of hiH cell. ore, and everybodv The man was still weak and dazed, bnt I never t-aw an uglier face even on a Malay pirate. He got up af»er a hit, waving us away when we would have assisted him, and hacking up to one of the barroom tables to get a support he looked «t uie as if he would stamp uiy face on his memory forever and finally said: fortnight. UnC Jotui saw I chief his conscience cried out Loving ting such a crimt did, he hud finally b* i n won ov bad Helcclcd ih iiinstconuiiit'ht us In sht private necretary taking down t'Wri [TO BE CONTINUED.] thing just i»«viuni to which thoy linrd D Bide-at tii ey'ssister had come to pre ■ustle, and both were per If Women Had Control. If all the men were women und all the women gave, mo a wink whi to t«»ll my Hlo'rv over should fleC\ port they v sistrd in fi and itD naiuC it C^tu is th( fectly willing tako hnr old nl»Cm ro bark, howrvcr. of I lie country iouikI to have Mary William! TlD« uir! wonld not With all the K0ssi{ iut, and with thi Kalph, there's uCD knowing what WTwirMta vi I "I'm going, you hussy. Atid let me warn yon that if you give me np to the law I'll have your lift- a ad that of every one of your family." "Who rays this mii.i o Fail fi h Larly Dnfiley hud per maV (innrw'11 to »» linns aiDo.u . * .» it til inezi. How very the popular that no Bail- tliut there njn t hand that riiL-1 .t lie I not t prison s* and t »vl j i very different would life seem to us then belief, which is all wror a dollar as the chief wanted to know if I to talk. iDd in hi* oper half of thn r lif I an Imagim girls with flowing beards and men with trailing gowns, Ho was on the roof of the portico an Lord Dudley burst into the room. He was safe on the ground and sheltered by the tree* as the latter arrived at the window and looked out. It was ten minutes before the servants eonld bo roused to search the grounds, and by that time Ben Johnson was floating down the Severn in his skiff. Lady Dudley was dead when lifted up and placed on the bed—dead from tho shock she had received at. sight of the burglar and his knife. Mary was so upset that it was some time before she eould give her account of the affair. At first she declared that the man was tut- or man ever ma I shouldn't have made the abC good-t "Tompkins or Thompson, I never saw yon lielore, but I'll take good earn not to lose sight of you from this time 011. You played mo a trick tonight which shall cost you your life." window uisf, v of tl ted in the newspa id wn o ai 1 aug o a fort if nn-essary.' in; main cabin so thai The hubby made unhappy by wifie's savage rneut "His pal has confessed and given hii safe in the jo.k e had also taken t 1X10U8 get out of tlie country. Hei Ktuerd for we eaii t urn it ' • j • that you have never been When alio uC i.ied his plea for cash and sullenly declared fruwun In those days no house safe was protected by a combination. They were locked or unlocked by a key, and the lock eould be readily attacked by a burglar's tools and implements. Kneeling before the door, the man took a lock pick from his bag and began work. He was a bit nervous, but nevertheless he worked with caution and patience. Inside of ten minutes he bad shot the bolt, and he was just pulling the door open when a hand w«s laid on his shoulder. He had placed the dark lantern «n I ar ved in Diu y in iwny." that nil h« jnore especu it £:UL'|I1D same way, and one daj down to Uncle Johr uboarc timing f a sailing craf I make bold Along about word came to "Do yon mean that Ben Jot Rnlph Tompkins v i it with him?' necklace, hat i to toll you that our quarters comprised a main cabin, a (lining room and thra staterooms. Forward of it and reached by tho name entrance or companionway were the quarters 'lifted up for the pas sengerH. The roof of the cabin was elevated about two fret above the deck and was lighted in part by a skylight in tht That he micht wear his present clothes, by gum, fur all she cared. friends bad gathered at not far away and mi tD drink a and I \DC rDt C mo t t sou Dudley "Why, man, what's come over your blooming character all at once?" exclaimed the landlord as ho advanced a step or two. "I've heard of your being jailed for poaching, and there is them as has pointed you out for an idler and a mischief maker, but I never suspected you had the bloody temper of a Kaffir. If that's your little game, then it will be wall to drop a hint to the police to have au eve on vou." "I do. He says this man actcd as his lookout on the outside, and that he is The cold ID1C run wei still Hampton s inn t nqmriet Imagine women trading with distant foreign lands. blicr. gas jet lin He dix 1 for his convi i that she had let' f me regarding o that, conntry and ri ia. I had madC Seven t ii and havo it chat ■eally the one who put up the job." that slit had s turee voyages up a smart bit o! The j&exi attending smokers, with sewing in their hands. with in V ance, ind T "Well, of all the biting,- blooming, dossiiiuing stories I ever heard this do Lady Dudli y information. V I could, he said n 1 had told him al The women fcriaering mildly, intending to de- Joti Wakcfi Deat 'em all!" exclaimed Uncle John as ae struck his on a table. He even dC red that The pi lying contempt they had for men who wished uD vute. And then imagine women complaining through the town note and two or I and souk- of th liUUl him to kill the wC live it herself t Mui might stay oil and would gri'ivt up to si a V ith ohat and cup and Ben Johnson had made a clean breast )f it and had declared that Mary, the uaid, and your humble servant were as roiltv no himself. He w»» netting even Those who heard Ben Johnson's testimony said that he looked the judge straight in the eye and never hesitated i»r blundered. When he was through, from hi r bod vend death a bit to i as in cent Each stateroom had a smuli window looking out on deck, and the dining room had three or fonr. The entrance to the cabin was in front. story tl time t!t (i r lly away, and How men. to nDt employment, would cut tba wages tlDwn. —Fi iULk i'uiujuu in Chicago Times-Herald. the first which * : ban koiio fonr bellft, Vclock. It was a lit- be pointed,ont. for yea to coiiu that certain iteonlo will ahvavs be tling Well, what we diii was to secure iron