"HAND AND RING."

By Anna .[Catherine Green, Author o£ " Tho Leavenworth Murder," " Tho Sword o£ Damodos," " The Defence tho Prutto," otc.

«. Chapter xxix. THE OPENING OK THK DEFENCE. Excellent! I smell a device -—Twelfth Night. L.vtk that afternoon tho prosecution rested. It had made out a case of great strength and seeming impregnability. Favourably as every one was disposed to regard tho prisoner, the evidence against him was such that to quote an.an who was pretty free with his opinions in the lobby of the court room, " Orcutt will have to wake up if ho is going to cloai his man in tho faoo of facts like theso " Tho moment, therefore, when this famous lawyer and distinguished advocate rose to opon tho defence was ono of great interest to more than the immediate actors in tho scone. It was felt that hitherto he had father idled with his case, and curiosity was awake as to his future course. Indeed, in the minds of many the counsel for the prisoner was on trial as well as his client. Ho roso with more of solf-pos*cssion, quiet and reserved strength, than could be hoped lor, and his look toward the Court and then to the jury tendgd to gain for him the con fidence which up to this moment ho scorned to bo losing. Never a handsome man or even an imposing one, ho had tho advantage tif always rising to the oocasion, whothor pleading with a jury or arguing with oppos ing counsel, flashed with that unmistakable glitter of keen and ready intellect which, once observed in a man, marks him oil'from his less gifted follows and makes him tho cynosure of all eyes, however insignificant his hoight, features, or ordinary expression. To-day ho was oven cooler, more brilliant, and more confident in his bearing than usual. Feelings, if feelings ho possessed— and wo who have seen him at his hearth can havo no doubt on this subject—had been sot asido when he rose to his feet and turned his face upon tho oxpeetant crowd before him. To savo his client seemed the ono predominating impulse of his soul, and, as lio drew himself up to speak, Mr Byrd, who was watching him with the utmost eager ness and anticipation, felt that, despite ap pearances, despite evidence, despite proba bility itseif, this man was going to win his case.

" May it please your Honor and Gentle men of the Jury," he began, and those who Jooked at him could notbut notice how the prisoner at his side lifted his head at this address, till it seemed as if the words issued from his lips instead of from those of his "counsel, "I stand before you to-day not to argue with my learned opponent in refer ence to the evidenco which he has brought out with so much ingenuity. I have a ■simpler duty than that to perform. I have to show you how, in spite of this evidence, Sn face of all this accumulated testimony showing the prisoner to have boen in pos session of both motive nnd opportunities for committing this crime, he is guiltless of it; that a physical impossibility stands in the way of his being the assailant of the Widow Clemmens, and that to whomever or whatsoever her death may be due, it neither was nor could have been the result of any blow struck by the prisoner's hand. In other words, we dispute, not the facts which have led the Prosecuting Attorney of this district, and perhaps others also, to infer guilt on the part of the prisoner,"— horo Mr Orcutt cast a significant glance at the bench where the witnesses sat, —"but tho inference itself. Something besides proof of motive and opportunity must bo urged agpinst this man in order to convict him ol guilt. Nor is it suflisient to show he was on the scene of murder some time during the fatal morning when Mrs Clem mens was attacked ; you must prove he was there at the time the deadly blow was struck; for it is not with him as with so many against -whom circumstantial evidence of guilt is brought This man, gentlemen, has an answer for thoso who accuse him of crime—an answer, too, before which all the circumstantial evidence in tho world can not stand. Do you want to know what it Is? Give me but a moment's attention and you Bb.allhea\" Expectation which had been rising through this exordium, now stood at fever point. Byrd and Hickory held their breaths, and even Miss Dare showed feeling through tho icy restraint which had hither to governed her secret anguish and sus pense. Mr Orcutt went on : ** First, however, as I have already said, the prisoner desires it to be understood that he has no intention of disputing the various facts which have been presented before you at this trial. He does not deny that he was in great need of money at the time of his aunt's death ; that he came to Sibley to en treat her to advance to him certain sums he deemed necessary to tho furtherance of his plans ; that he came secretly and in the roundabout way yon describe. Neither does ho refuse to allow that his errand was also ono of lovo, that he s»ught and obtained a private, interview with the woman he wished to make his wife, in the place and at the time testified to ; that the scraps of conversation which have been sworn to as having passed between them at this inter view are true in as far as they go, and that he did place upon the finger of Miss Dare a diamond ring. Also, he admits that she took the ring off immediately upon receiv ing it, saying she could not accept it, at least not then, and that she entreated him to take it back, which he declined to do, though he cannot say she did not restore it in the manner she declares, for he remembers nothing of the ring after the moment he put her hand aside as she was offering it back to him, The prisoner also allows that he slept in the hut and remained in that especial region of the woods until near noon the next day; but, your Honor and gentle men of the jury, what the prisoner does not allow and will not admit is that he struck the blow which eventually robbed Mrs Clemmens of her life, and the proof which I propose to bring forward in support of this assertion is this: " Mrs Clemmens received the blow which led to her death at some time previously to three minutes post twelve o'clock on Tues day, September 26tb. This the prosecu tion has already proved. Now, what I pro mse to show is, that Mrs Clemmens, how ever or whenever assailed, was still living and unhurt up to ten minutes before twelve on that same day. A witness, whom you must believe, saw her at that time and con versed with her, proving that the blow by which she came to her death must have oc curred after that hour, that is, after ten minutes before noon. But, your Honor and eontlemen of the jury, tho prosecution has already shown that the pnsonor stepped on to the train at Monteith Quarry Station at twenty minutes past ono of that same day and has produced witnesses whose testimony positively proves that the road he took there from Mrs Clemmens s house was the same he had traversed m his secret approach to it the day before-viz., the path through tho woods; the only path, I may hero state, that connects those two points with anything like directness. "But, sirs, what the prosecution has not shown you, and what it now devolves upon me to show, is that this path which the prisoner is allowed to have taken is one which no man could traverse without en countering great difficulties and many hind rances to speed. It is not only a narrow path filled with various encumberances in the way of brambles and rolling stones, but it is so flanked by an impenetrable under growth in some places, and by low, swampy ground in others, that no deviation from its course is possible, while to keep within it and follow its many turns and windings till it finally emerges upon the highway that leads to the Quarry Station would re quire many more minutes than those which elapsed between the time of the murder and the hour the prisoner made his appear ance at the Quarry Station. In other words, I propose to introduce before you as witnesses two gentlemen from New York, both of whom are experts in all feats of pedestrianism, and w:.o, having been over the road themselves, are in position to testily that the time necessary for a man to pass by means of this path from Mrs Uemmene s house to the Quarry Station is, by a definite number of minutes, greater than that al lowed to the prisoner by the evidence laid before you. If, therefore, you accept the testimony for the prosecution as true, and believe that the prisoner took the train tor Buffalo, which he has been said to do, it follows, as a physical impossibility, for him to have been at Mrs Clommons's cottage, or anywhere else except on the road to the station, at the moment when the fatal blow was dealt. , "Your Honor, this is our answer to the terrible charge which has been made against the prisoner; it is simple, but it is effective, and upon it, as upon a rock, we found our defence."

And with a bow, Mr Orcutt sot down, and, it being late in tho day, the court ad journed.

CHAPTER XXX.

BYRD USES HIS PENCIL AGAIN. Ay, Bir, you shall llnd mo reasonable; if it bo sc I shall do that that is reason. —Mniurir "Wives op Windsor. "Bvrd, you look dazed." "I am." Hickory paused till thoy were well clear of the crowd that was pouring from tho court-room ; then ho said : " Well, what do you think of this as a de fence ?" " I am beginning to think it is good," was tho slow, almost hesitating, reply, "Beginning to think?" " Yos. At first it seemed puerile. I had such a steadfast belief in Mansoll's guilt, I could not give much credit to any argument tending to shako me looso from my convic tions. But the longer I think of it the more vividly I remember tho difficulties of the road ho had to tako in his flight. I have travollod it myself, you remombcr, and I don't see how ho could have got over tho ground in ninety minutes." Hickory's faco assumed a somewhat quizzical expression. "Byrd," said he, "whom were you look ing at during the time Mr Orcutt was making his speech?" "At the speaker, of course." " Bah !" " Whom wero yon looking at ?" " At tho person who would be likely to give me some return for my pains." "Tho prisoner?" " _No." " Whom then ?" " Miss Dare." " Byrd shifted uneasily to the other side of his companion. "And what did you discover from her, Hickory ?" ho asked. "Two things. First, that she know no more than the rest of us what the defence was going to be. Secondly, that she re garded it as a piece of groat clci^rnoss on tho part of Orcutt, but that she aidn't be liove in it any more—well, any moro than I do." "Hickory I" " Yes, sir ■' Miss Daro is a smart woman, and a resolute one, and could havo batlled tho penetration of all coucorncd if she had only rotnelhbored to try. But she forgot that others might be moro interested in making out what was going on in her mind at this critical moment than in watching tho speaker or noting tho effect of his words upon tho court. In fact, sho was too eager herself to hear what he had to say to ro membor her role, I fancy." " But, I dou't sco "began Byrd. " Wait," interrupted tho other. " You believe Miss Dare loves Craik Mansell ?"

" Most cortainly," was the gloomy re sponse. " Very well, then. If she had known what thodefonco was going to be slio would have been acutely nlivo to tho effoct it was going to have upon tho jury. That would nave been her hrst thought and her only thought all the time Mr Orcutt was speak ing, and eho would have sat with her eyes fixed upon the mon upon whoso acceptance or nnn-acceptanco of the truth of this argu ment her lover's life ultimately depended. But no; her gaze, like yours, remained fixed upon Mr Orcutt, and she scarcely breathed or stirred till he had fully revealed whnt his argument was going to bo. Then —"

" Well, then ?" " Instead of flashing with tho joy and re lief which any devoted woman would experi ence who sees in this, argument a proof of her lover's innocence, she merely dropped her eyes and resumed her old mask of im passiveness." " From all of which you gather " "That her feelings wero not those of relief, but doubt. In other words, that the knowledge she possesses is of a character which laughs to scorn any snch subterfug* of defenco as Orcutt advances."

" Hickory," ventured Byrd, after a long silence, "it is time we understood each other. What is your secret thought in rela tion to Miss Dare?"

"My secret thought? Well," drawled the other, looking away, "I think she knows more about this crime than she has yet chosen to reveal." "Moro than she evinced to-day in her testimony ?"

" Yes."

" I should like to know why you think so. What special reasons have you for drawing any such conclusions?" " Well, one reason is, that she was no more shaken by the plausible argument ad vanced by Mr Orcutt. If hor knowlodge of the crimo was limited to what she ac knowledged in her testimony, and hor con clusions as to Msnsell's guilt were really founded upon such facts as she gave us in Court to-day, why didn't sho grasp at the possibility of her lover's innocence which was held out to her by his counsel ? No facts that she had testified to, not oven the fact of his ring having beon found on the scene of murder, could stand before the proof that he left the region of Mrs Clem mens's house before tho momont of assault; yet, while evincing interest in the argument, and some confidence in it, too, as one that would be likely to satisfy tho jury, she gave no tokens of being surprised by it into a reconsideration of her own conclusions, as must have happened if she told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, when she was on the stand to-day."

"I see," remarked Byrd, "that you are presuming to understand Miss Dare after all."

Hickory smiled. " You call this woman a mystery," pro ceeded Byrd ; "hintat great^ possibilities of acting on her part, and yet in a moment, as it were, profess yourself the reader of her inmost thoughts, and the interpreter of looks and expressions she has manifestly as sumed to hide those thoughts." Hickory's smile broadened into a laugh. "Just so," he cried. "One's imbecility has to stop somewhere." Then, as he saw Byrd look grave, added: "I haven't a single fact at my command that isn't shared by you. My conclusions are different, that is all."

Horace Byrd did not answer. Perhaps if Hickory could have sounded his thoughts he would have discovered that their con clusions were not so far apart as he imagined. "Hickory," Byrd at last demanded, '" what do you propose to do with your con clusions ?"

" I propose to wait and see if Mr Orcutt proves his caso. If he don't, I have no thing more to say ; but if he does, 1 think I Bhall call the attention of Mr Ferris to one question he has omitted to ask Miss Dare." "And what is that?" " Where she was on the morning of Mrs Clemmens's murder. ~i ou remember you took some interest in that question your self a while-ago." " But " " Not that I think anything will come of it, only my conscience will be set at rest." " Hickory"—Byrd's face had quite altered now—"where do you think Miss Dare was at that time?" • "Where do I think she was?" repeated Hickory. " Well, I will tell you. I think she was not in Professor Darling's ob servatory." " Do you think sho was in the glade buck of Widow Clemmens's house ?" " Now you ask me conundrums." "Hickory!" Byrd spoke almost vio lently, "Mr Orcutt shall not prove his case."

"No?" "I will make the run over the ground supposed to have been taken by Mnnsell in his flight, and show in my own proper per son that it can be done in the time speci- Hickory's eye, which had taken a rapid survey of his companion's form during the utterance of the above, darkened, then he slowly shook his head. " You couldn't," he rejoined laconically. "Too little staying power ; you'd give up before you got clear of the woods. Better delegate the job to me." "To you?" "Yes. I'm of tho make to stand long runs; besides lam no novico at athletic sports of any kind. More than one race has owed its interest to the efforts of your humble servant. 'Tis my pet amusement, you see, as off-hand drawing is yours, and is likely to bo of as much use to me, eh ?" " Hickory, you are chaffing me." " Think so ? Do you see that five-barred gate over there ? Well, now keep your eye on the top rail, and see if 1 clear it without a graze or not." "Stop!" exclaimed Mr Byrd, "dont make a fool of yourself in the public street. I'll believo you if you say you understand such things." "Well, I do, and what is more, Im an adept at them. If I can't make that run in the time requisite to show that Maneell could have committed the murder, and yet arrived at the station the moment he did, I don't know a chap who can." "Hickory, do you mean to say you will make this run ?" "Yes." "With a conscientious effort to prove that Orcutt's scheme of defence is false ?" "Yes." "When?" "To-morrow." "While we are in court J"

"Yes." Byrd turned square around, gave Hick ory a look and offered his hand. " You are a good fellow," he declared. "May lic'.c go with you." Hickory suddenly became unusually thoughtful. " A little while ago," he reflected, " this fellow's sympathies were all with Mansoll; now ho would risk my limbs and neck to havo the man proved guilty. He does not wish Miss Dare to be questioned again, I see."

'' Hickory," resumed Byrd, a few minutes later, " Orcutt has not rested the defence upon this one point without being very sure of its boing unassailable." "I know that." "Ho has had moro than ono expert make that run during the weeks that have elapsed since tho murder. It has been tested to tho uttermost."

"I know that." " If you succeed then in doing what none of those others have, it must boTjy dint of a better understanding of the route you have to take and the difficulties you will havo to overcome. Now, do you understand the route ?"

" I think so." " You will have to start from the widow s door, you know ?" " Certain." " Cross the bog, enter tho woods, skirt tho hut—but I won't go into details. The best way to prove you know exactly what you have to do is to soo if you can describe the route yourself. Como into my rOom, old follow, and let us sco if you can give me a sufficiently exact account of the ground you will havo to pass over, for me to draw up a chart by it. An hour spent with paper and pencil to-night may save you from an uncertainty to-morrow that would loso you a good ten minutes." "Good ! that's an idea ; let's try it, re joined Hickory. And boing by this time at the hotel, they went in. In another moment they wore shut up in Mr Byrd's room, with a large sheet of foolscap before them. "Now," cried Horace, taking up a poncil, "begin with your description, and I will follow with my drawing." " Very well," replied Hickory, setting himself forward in a way to watch his col loaguo's pencil. "I leave the widow's houso by tho dining-room door—a square for the houso, Byrd, well down in tho left hand corner of tho paper, and a dotted lino for tho path I tako—run down tho yard to the fonco, leap it, cross the bog, and make straight for the woods." " Very good," commented Byrd, sketch ing rapidly as tho other spoko. " Having taken caro to enter where the trees aro thinnest, I find a path along which I rush in a bee-lino till I como to tho glade —an ollipso for the glade, Byrd, with a dot in it for the hut. Merely stopping to dash into tho hut and out again " " Wait I" put in Byrd, pausing with his pencil in mid-air ; " what did you want to go into the hub for?" •• To get the bag which I propose to leave there to-night."

"Bag?" " Yes ; Mansoll carried a bag, didn't ho ? Don't you remember what the station master said about tho curious portmanteau the fellow had in his hand when ho came to the station ?"

"Yes, but— " "Byrd, if I run that follow to his death it must be fairly. A man with an awkward bag in his hand cannot run like a man with out ono. So I handicap myself in the same way he did, do you sco ?"

" Yes."

"Very well, then; I rush into the hut, pick up the bag, carry it out, and dash im mediately into tho woods at the opening bo hind the hut.—What are you doing ?"

"Just putting in a few landmarks," ex plained Byrd, wdio had run his pencil in an opposite direction. "Sco, that is tho path to West Side which I followed in my first expedition through tho woods—tho path, too, which Miss Daro took when sho camo to tho hut at tho time of the fearful thunder storm, And wait, lot mo put in Professor Darling's house, too, and fie ildge from which you can see Mrs Clommons's cottogo. It will help us to understand " " What ?' cried Hickory with quick sus piciousness, as the other paused. But Byrd, impationtly shaking his hoad, answered:

" Tho whole situation, of course." Then pointing hastily back to the hut, exclaimed : " So you have entered tho woods again at this place ? Very well; what then ?" "Well, then," resumod Hickory, "I make my way along the path I find there—run it at right angles to tho ono loading up to tho glado—till I come to a stony ledge covered with blackberry bushes. (A very cleverly drawn blackberry patch that, Byrd.) Here I fear I shall havo to pause."

" Why ?" " Because, deuce take me if I can re member where the path runs after that." " But I can. A big hemlock-tree stands just nt the point where tho woods opon again. Mako for that and you will bo all right." " Good enough ; but it's mighty rough travelling over that ledge, and I shall havo to go at a foot's pace The stones are slippery as glass, and a fall would scarcely be conducive to the final success of my scheme."

"I will make the path serpentine." "That will be highly expressive." " And now, what next ? "The Foresters' Road, Byrd, upon which I ought to come about this timo. Run it due east and west —not that I have surveyed the ground, but it looks more natural so—ond lot tho dotted lino traverso it toward the right, for that is tho direction in which I shall go." "It's done," said Byrd. "Well, description fails me now. All 1 know is, I come out on a hillside running straight down to the river-bank, and that the highway is visible beyond, leading di rectly to the station ; but the way to get to it " "I will show you," Interposed Byrd, mapping out the station and the intervening river with a few quick strokes of his dexterous pencil. " You see this point where you issue from the woods? Very goOd; it is, as you say, on a hillside over looking the river. Well, it seems unfortun ate, but there is no way of crossing that river at this point. The falls above and below mako it no place for boats, and you will have to go back along its banks for some little distance before you come to a bridge. But there is no use in hesitating or looking about for a shorter path. The woods ju»t here are encumbered with a mass of tangled undergrowth which make them simply impassable except as you keep in the road, whilo the liver curves so frequently and with so much abruptness—see, I will endeavour to give you some notion of it here—that you would only waste time in at tempting to make any short cuts. But, once over the bridge "

"I have only to foot it," burst in Hick ory, taking up the sketch which the other had now completed, and glancing at it with a dubious eye. "Do you know, Byrd," he remarked in another moment, " that it strikes me Mansell did not take this round about road to the station ?"

"Why?" " Because it is so roundabout, and he is such a clear-headed fellow. Couldn't he have got thore by some shorter cut?" "No. Don't you remember how Orcutt cross-examined the station-maßter about the appearance which Mansell presented when he came upon the platform, and how that person was forced to acknowledge that al though tho prisoner looked heated and ex hausted, his clothes were neither muddled nor torn ? Now, I did not think of it at the time, but this was done by Orcutt to prove that Msnsell did take tho road I have jotted down here, sinco any other would have carried him through swamps knee deep with mud, or amongst stones and briers which would have put him in a state of disorder totally unfitting him for travel." " That is so," acquiesced Hickory, after a moment's thought. " Mansell must be kept in the path. Well, well, we will see to-morrow if wit and a swift foot can make anything out of this problem." " Wit ? Hickory, it will be wit and not a swift foot. Or luck, maybe I should coll it, or rather providence. If a waggon should be going along the highway, now " " Let me alone for availing myself of it," laughed Hickory. "Waggon! I would jump on the back of a mule sooner than lose the chance of gaining a minute on those ex perts whose testimony we are to hear to morrow. Don't lose confidence in old Hick ory'yet. He's the boy for this job if he isn't for any other."

And so the matter was settled,

CHAPTER XXXI. THE CHIEF WITNESS FOR THE DEFENCE. Your If is the only peacemaker: much virtue in //. —As You Like It. The crowd that congregated at the court house the next'morning was even greater than at any previous time. The opening speech of Mr Orcutt had been telegraphed all over the country, and many who had not been specially interested in the case be fore feltan anxiety to hear how he would substantiate the defence he hod so boldly and confidently put forth. To the general eye, however, the appear ance of the court-room was much the same as on the previous day. Only to the close

observer was it evident that the counten ances of the several actors in this exciting drama woro a different expression,. Mr Bjrd, who by dint of the most energetic effort had succeeded in procuring his old seat, was one of these, and as he noted the significant change, wished that Hickory had been at his sido to note it with him.

The first person he observed was, naturally, the Judge. Judge Evans, who has been but barely introduced to the reader, was a man of great moral force and discretion. Ho had occupied his present position for many years, and possessed not only the confidence but the affections of all who came within the sphere of his jurisdiction. Tho reason for this undoubtedly lay in his sympathetic nature. While novor accused of weakness, he so unmistakably retained tho feeling heart under tho official crmino that it was by no means an uncommon tiling for him to display more emotion in uttering a sentence than the man he condemned did in listen ing to it. His expression, then, upon this momentous morning was of great signifi cance to Mr Byrd. In its hopefulness and cheer was written the oxtont of the effect made upon tho unprejudiced mind by tho promised dofenc-e.

As for Mr Orcutt himself, no advocate could display a more confident air or pre pare to introduce his witnesses with moro dignity or quiet assurance His self-pos session was so marked, indeed, that Mr Byrd, who felt a sympathetic interest in what he know to bo seething in this man's breast, was greatly surprised, and surveyed with a feeling almost akin to awo the lawyer who could so sink all personal con siderations in tho cause he was trying.

Miss Dare, on tho contrary, was in a state of nervous agitation. Though no movement hotrayed this, the very force of tho restraint she put upon herself showed the oxtont of her inner excitement.

The prisoner alone remained unchanged. Nothing could shako his steady soul from its composure, not tho possibility of death or tho prospect of rolcoso. Ho was ab solutely imposing in his quiet presence, nnd Mr Byrd could not but admire the power of tho man even while recoiling from his aHpposed guilt. The opening of tho dofenco carried tho minds of many back to tho inquest. The nice question of timo was gone into, and the moment when Mrs Clcmmons was found lyiutr blooding and insensihlo at tho foot of hor dining-room clock lixed at three or four minutes past nco i, Tho next point to be ascertained was whon she received the deadly blOw. And hero tho groat surprise of tho de fence occurred. Mr Orcutt rose, and in clear, firm tones said : "(iouvcrnour Hildroth, tako tho stand." Instantly, and before tho witness could comply, Mr Ferris was on his feet. " Who? what?" ho cried. "Oouverneur Hildroth," repeated Mr Orcutt. "Did you know this gontloman_has al ready beon in custody upon suspicion of having committed tho crime for which the prisoner is now being tried ?" "I do," returned Mr Orcutt, with im perturbablo sangfroid. " And is it your intention to save your cliont from tho gallows by putting the halter around tho neck of the man you now propose to call ns a witness ?" "No," retorted Mr Orcutt; "/do not propose to put the halter about any man's nock. That is tho proud privilege of my learned and respected opponent."

With an impatient frown Mr Ferris sat down, whilo Mr Hildreth, who had taken advantage of this short passage of arms be tween the lawyers to retain his place in tho remote corner where ho was more or less shielded from tho curiosity of the crowd, roso, ond, with a slow and painful move ment that at once attracted attention to his carefully bandaged throat and the gonoral air of debility which surrounded him, camo hesitatingly forward ond took his stand in facoof tho judge and jury. Necossarily a low murmur greeted him from the throng of interested spectators, who saw in this appearance before thorn of tho man who, by no more than a hair's broadth, had escapod occupying the posi tion of tho prisoner, anothor of those dramatic incidonte with which tho trial scorned fairly to bristle. It was hushed by ono look from the Judge, but not before it had awakened in Mr Hildreth's weak and sensitive nature thoso old emotions of shame and rage whoso token was a flush so dcop and profuso it unconsciously ropolled the gazo of all who boheld it. Immediately Mr Byrd, who sat with bated breath, as it wore, so intense was his excitement over tho unexpected turn of affairs, recognised tho full meaning of the situation, und awarded to Mr Orcutt all tho admiration which his skill in bring ing itaboutundoubtcdly deserved. Indeed, ai tho detective's quick glance (lashed first at tho witness, cringing in his old unfortun ate way bofore the gazo of tho crowd, and then at the prisoner sitting unmoved and quiotly disdainful in his dignity and pride, he felt that, whether Mr Orcutt succeoded in getting all ho wished from his witness, the mere conjunction of these two men be fore the jury, with the opportunity for com parison botween them which it inevitably offered, was the master-stroke of this eminent lawyer's logal career. Mr Ferris seemed to fool tho significance of tho moment also, for his oyos fell and his brow contracted with a sudden doubt that convinced Mr Byrd that, montally, he was en tho point of giving up his case.

The witness was at once sworn.

" Orcutt behoves Hildroth to bo tho murderer, or, at least, is willing that others should bo impressed with this belief," \>ns the commont of Byrd to himself at this juncture.

He had surprised a look which had passed between tho lawyer and Miss Dare—a look of such piercing sarcasm and Bcornful in quiry that it might well arrest the detec tive's attention and lead him to question tho intentions of the man who could allow such an expression of his feeling to escape him.

But whether tho detective was correct in his inferences, or whether Mr Orcutt's glance at Imogen© meant no more than tho natural emotion of a man who suddenly sees revealed to tho woman ho loves the face of him for whose welfare she has expressed the greatest- concern, and for whose sake, while unknown, she has consented to make tho heaviest of sacrifices, the wary lawyer was careful to show neither scorn nor pre judice when ho turned toward the witness and began interrogations.

On the contrary, his manner was highly respectful, if not considerate, and his ques tions, while put with Buch art as to keep the jury constantly alert to the anomalous posi tion which the witness undoubtedly held, were of a nature mainly to call forth the one fact for which his testimony was pre sumably desired. This was, his presence in the widow's house on the morning of the murder, nnd the fact that he saw her and conversed with her and could- swear to her being ali"e and unhurt up to a few minutes before noon. To be sure, the precise minute of his leaving her in this condition Mr Orcutt failed to gather from the wit ness, but, like tho coronor at the inquest, he succeeded in eliciting enough to show that tho visit had boon completed prior to the appearance of the tramp at the widow's kitchen door, as it had boen begun after the disappearance of the Danton children from the front of the widow's houso. This fact being established and impressed upon the jury, Mr Orcutt with admirable judgment cut short his own examination of the witness, and passed him over to the District Attorney, with a grim smile, sug gestive of his late taunt, that to this gentle man belonged the special privilege of weav ing halters for the necks of unhappy criminals. . Mr Ferris, who understood his adversary's tactics only too well, but who in his anxiety for tho truth could not afford to let such an opportunity for reaching it slip by, opened his cross-examination with great vigour. Tho result could not but bo favourable to the defence and damaging to tho prosecu tion. The position which Mr Hildreth must occupy if tho prisoner was acquitted was patent to all understandings, making each and every admission on his part tend ing to exculpate the latter of a manifest force and significance. Mr Ferris, however, was careful not to exceed his duty or press his inquiries be yond due bounds. The man they were try ing was not Gouverneur Hildreth but Craik Mansell, and to press the witnesstoo close was to urge him into open admissions seemingly so damaging to himself as, in the Dresent state of affairs, to incur the risk of distracting attention entirely from the prisoner. ... Mr Hildreth's examination being at an end, Mr Orcutt proceeded with his case, by furnishing proof calculated to fix the moment at which Mr Hildreth had made his call. This was done in much the same way as it was at tho inquest. Mrs Clem mens's next-door neighbour, Mrs Danton, was summoned to the stand, and after her her two children, the testimony of the three, taken with Mr Hildreth's own ac knowledgments, making it very evident to all who listened that he could not have gone into Mrs Clemmens's house before a quarter to twelve. The natural inference followed. Allow ing the least possible timo for his interview with Mrs Clemmens, the moment at which the witness swore to having teen her alive

and unhurt must have been as late as ten minutes before noon.

Taking pains to impress this timo upon the jury, Mr Orcutt next proceeded to fix the moment at which the prisoner arrived •at Monteith Quarry Station. As the fact of his having arrived in time to take the afternoon train to Buffalo had been already proved by the prosecution, it was mani festly necessary only to determine at what hour the train was due, and whether it had come in on time.

The hour was ascertained, by direct con sultation with the road's time-table, to bo just twenty minutes past ono, and tho station-master having been called to the stand, gave it as his best knowledge and belief that the train had been on timo.

This, however, not being deemed explicit enough for tho purposes of the defence, thore was submitted to the jury a telegram bearing the date of that same day, and dis tinctly stating that the train was on time. This was testified to by the conductor of the train as having been sent by him to the superintendent of the road who was await ing the cars at Monteith, and was received as evidence and considered as conclusively fixing the hour at which tho prisoner ar rived at the Quarry Station as twenty minutes past one. This settled, witnesses woro called to testify as to tho nature of the path by which he must havo travelled from the widow's house to tho station. A chart similar to that Mr Byrd had drawn, but moro explicit and nice in its details, was submitted to the jury by an actual surveyor of the ground ; after which, and the establishment of other minor details not necessary to enumerate here, a man of woll-known proficiency in running and other athletic sports was sum moned to the stand.

Mr Byrd, who up to this moment had shared in tho interest evorywhoro displayed in tho defence, now felt his attention wan dering. Tho fact is, ho had heard the whistle of the train on whic j Hickory had promised to return to Sibley, and interest ing as was tho testimony given by tho wit ness, he could not prevent his eyes from con tinually turning toward tho door by which he expected Hickory to enter. Strange to say, Air Orcutt seemed to take a like interest in that same door, and was moro than once detected by Byrd flushing a hurried glanco in its direction, as if he, too, woro on the look-out for some one.

Mcantimo tho expert in running was say

ing: "It took mo ono hundred and twonty minutes to go over the ground tho first time, nnd one hundred and fifteen minutes the next. I gained fivo minutes the second time, you sco," ho explained, " by knowing my ground better nnd by saving my strength where it was of no avail to attempt great speed. The last timo I made the effort, howevor, I lost threo minutes on my former time. The wood road which I had to take for some distanco was deep with mud, and my feet sank with every step. Tho shortest time, then, which I was able to make in threo attempts was one hundred and fifteen minutes."

Now, as the time between the striking of the fatal blow and the hour at which the prisoner urrived at the Quarry Station was only ninety minutes, a general murmur of satisfaction followed this announcement.

It was only momontnry, however, for Mr Ferris, rising to cross-examino the witness, curiosity prevailed over all lesser emotions, and an immediate silenco followed without tho intervention of the Court.

" Did you make theßß three runs from Mrs Clemmens's houso to Monteith Quarry Station entirely on foot ?" " I did, sir." " Was that necessary ?" "Yes, sir; as far as tho highway, at-1 least. Tho path through the woods is not wido enough for a horse, unless it bo for that short distance where the Foresters' Road intervenes," " And you ran there ?"' " Yes, sir, twico at full speed ; tho third time I had the experience 1 havo told you of." " And how long do you think It took you to go over that ospecial portion of i ground ?" " Five minutes, maybo." "And, supposing you had had ahorso?" " Well, Bir, if I had had a horse, and i/ ho had been waiting thore, all ready for me to jump on his back, and if ho had been a food runner and used to the road, I think could have gone over it in two minutes, if I had not first broken my neck on some of tho jagged stones that roughen the road."

"In othor words, you could have saved threo minutes if you had beon furnished with a horse at that particular spot ?"

" Yes, if." Mr Orcutt whose eye had been fixed on tho .door at.this particular juncture, now looked back at the witnesses and hurriedly rose t* his feet.

" Has my esteemed friend any testimony on hand to prove that tho prisonor had a horse at this place ? if ho has not I object to these questions." " What testimony I have to produce will como in at its proper timo," retorted Mr Ferris. "Meanwhile, I think I havo n right to put this or any othor kind of similar question to the witness." The Judge acquiescing with a nod, Mr Orcutt sat down. Mr Ferris went on.

" Did you meet anyone on the road during any of these three runs which you mado ?"

"No, sir. That is, I met no ono in tho woods. There were one or two porsons on the highway the last time I ran over it." " Were they riding or walking ?" «' Walking." Here Mr Orcutt interposed. " Did you say that in passing over tho highway you ran ?" "Yes, sir."

"Why did you do this? Had you not been told that the prisoner was soen to be walking when he came down the road to tho station?"

" Yes, sir. But I was in for time, you

see." "And you did not mako it evon with that advantage ?"

"No, sir."

The second expert had the same story to tell, with a few variations. He had made one of his runs in five minutes less than the other had done, but it was by a great exertion that left him completely exhausted when ho arrived at the station. It was during his cross-examination that Hickory at lost came in.

Horace Byrd, who had been growing very impatient during the last few minutes, happened to be looking at the door when it opened to admit this late comer. So was Mr Orcutt. : But Byrd did not notice this, or Hickory either. If they had, perhaps Hickory would'have been more careful to hide his feelings. As it was, he no sooner met his colleague's eye than ho gave a quick despondent shake of the head in intimation that he had failed, Mr Byrd, who had anticipated a different result, was greatly disappointed. His countenance fell, and he cast a glance of compassion at Misß Dare, now flushed with a secret but slowly growing hope. The defence, then, was good, and she ran the risk of being interrogated again. It was a prospect from which Mr Byrd recoiled. As soon as Hickory got the chance, ho made his way to the side of Byrd.

"No go," was his low but oxpressive salutation. " One hundred and fivo minutes is the shortest time in which I can get over the ground, and that by a deuced hard scramble of it too."

" But that's five minntes' gain on the ex perts," Byrd whispered. " Is it? Hope I could gain something on them, hut what's five minutes' gain in an affair like this ? Fifteen is what's wanted." "I know it."

"And fifteen I cannot make, nor ten either, unless a pair of wings should be given me to carry me over the river." "Sure?" "Sure I" Here there was some commotion in their vicinity, owing to the withdrawal of the last witness from the stand. Hickory took advantage of the bustle to lean over and whisper in Byrd's ear: "Do you know I think I have been watched to-day. There was a fellow con cealed in Mrs Clemmens's house, who saw me leave it, and who, I have no doubt, took express note of tho timo I started. And there was another chap hanging round the station at the quarries, whom I am almost sure had no business there unless it was to see at what moment I arrived. He came back to Sibley when I did, but he tele graphed first, and it is my opinion that rcutt "

Here he was greatly startled by hearing his name spoken in a loud and commanding tone of voice. Stopping short, he glanced up, encountered the eye of Mr Orcutt fixed upon him from the other side of the court room, and realised he was being summoned to the witness stand. " The deuce I" he murmured, with a look at Byrd to which none but an artist could do justice. (To be Continued.)

THE YARN OF THE NISERO.

A Romantic St>ry of Shipwreok and

Imprisonment,

British Seamen in Captivity,

(JFROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.)

London, May 31. Although many of us had heard something about the crow of a British steamer being detained in captivity by a certain Rajah of Tenom, few, I fancy, knew the true " Yarn of the Nisero," till it was related in tho " Echo " tho other day. The information came direct from Captain Woodhouse (the skipper of the unlucky vessel), and may be reliod upon as strictly correct. So far, the Govornmcnt seem to have been very apa thetic in tho matter, but they can scarcely remain so. It would, indeed, bo a sin and a shame if our unhappy countrymen were left to languish much longer in captivity, simply because they are " only sailors."

It was on November Bth of last year that the British steamship Nisoro, while making for Acheon for safety, ran ashore on the West coast of Sumatra, and heeled over on her port side, a prey to the heavy sea. She had been trading between Rangoon and Penang, and had loft Sourabaya, an im portant seaport of Java, with 1,800 tons of sugar, bound for Port Said for orders ; but, hindered by bad coals and stormy weather, changed her course 000 miles from Gallo, and made for Sumatra, 400 miles away. It was after 8 o'clock ut night when she struck. A terrific wind was blowing, and the rain was falling in torrents, while tremendous seas broke over the vessel, breaking up tho port boats and putting out the engine tiros. In this perilous condition the crew remained until 11 o'clock, when— thinking they could not save tho ship—they got Out a lifeboat and a starboard boat, and mado for the shore, a mile and a half away. By good fortune they reached it without losing a man, leap ing out as the boats rode in on the crests of the waves, and seizing them to drag them high and dry. In this they suc ceeded with the small boat, but the life boat broke away, and was driven ashore about half a milo along the coast. Hero, then, on that strange shore they gathered, twenty-eight men in all, half clftd, their only property some provisions and tho ship's papers; around them impenetrable darkness, before them a raging sea, behind them tho unknown and perilous bush.

Before long one oi tho crew mado out some figures moving in the bush, and after a time the Captain went up to where they were, and found five natives, heuvily armed. They refused to shake hands with him, so he called Ah Yeow, a Chinese-American cook, who told them in the Malay language that the crew wero English, and that their assistance would be rewarded by the English Government. Whilo the cook was speaking another native, who had crept up on his hands and knees, whispered something in the ear of one of them, and they all withdrew. Soon after this tho light of an approaching torch was seen through tho trees, and they then discovered that all tho timo natives had been concealed behind trees in the thicket, covering each man of them with a musket. On came the torch, until by tho light of it they could discern the presence of a chief, a noble-looking man, decked with a crown of long feathers like those of an ostrich, and followed by a band of fifty men, armed with swords and knives and muskots. This chief, who turned out to be the Rajah of Pnngah, bockoned to the captain, who went forward and received a gift of bananas, stripping one according to custom as a sign of peace, and offering it to the Bajah. Thoso formalities over, the Rajah asked them to go into tho bush, but tije captain ploaded that he had hurt his side, and that ho wanted to see the position of tho ship in the morning; and to this t'.io Rajah agreed, sonding some of his men with dried sticks to enable them to light a fire. This they did ; but heavy rain put it out, and the morning that disclosed their vessel being swept away by tho sea found them drenched to tho skin and wearied out by exposure and suspense. Soon after daybreak a band of armed mon arrived, and led them for a mile and a half through the bush to a village composed of bamboo huts. Here they wero taken before tho Rajah, who sat on tho mat in the principal hut, turbaned, and with_ a sword of state lying across his knee, its handle gleaming with diamonds and precious stones. Aided by the cook, the captain made his statement again, and then tho Rajah, having looked long at them, ordered tho captives to pass before him. Two light-haired Dutch sailors seemed to irouso Ids suspicion. " Are these English men?" ho asked. The captain said they were. "If I thought they wero Dutchmen," said the chief, "I would kill them now." Still further to sutisfyt heir captor, the Captain swore the men wero Englishmen, and the Chinese cook, with a word hold over his head, swore they were Englishmen also, for tho sight of a Dutch man inflames the passions of these tribes if Acheenese, nnd swift nnd cruel death is inevitable. At lost tho Rajah's lingering suspicions were removed by the sight of the Union Jack, which the Captain unfurled before him, and thereupon he left the hut, and tho captured crow saw nothing of him nr his men until next day. Here they re mained for nine days, with no dry clothes, and nothing but rice to eat. One night, at ton o'clock, tho Captain was called out of the hut with the inter preter, and taken before another Rajah, to whom the Chief of Pangah was subordinate. This was tho Rajah of Tenom, with whom tho Dutch "had beon at warfare for thirteen years, a man described as savago and 1 bloodthirsty. He was of low stature, but his shoulders wero twice as broad as an ordinary man's, and his teeth and nails, red with the use of the betel-nut, gave him a fierce appearance. His men were armed with musltots and swords, and wore the rnngong, or short dagger. This interview yielded no result, and the next morning the captain and his men got out of the hut and wont down towards the beach, where they found about two hundred fight ing mon. After some parleying, the chief officer was allowed to go on board the stranded steamer, rowed by four of the sailors, and accompanied by six of the Rajah's men, and ho came back with clothes, some of which wero given to the crew and some to the natives. The Rajah of Tenom took a box of two thousand cigars, giving ten to tho captain, but saying they were not for such men as the sailors. Next day the captain visited the ship again, and found her rifled. This was his last visit to theNisero, for tho Rajah of Tenom said it was his property, and that if the English men wore found wandering on the beach again they would be killed. That day, when they were in their hut, six hundred men from the mountains sur rounded it, declaring that they wero Dutch men, and calling on tho Rajah to turn them adrift, so that they might butcher them. This was an anxious timo for tho seamen. Not a-shutter was lifted, savo when tho Rajah of Pangah camo to see them, and then they could sco the dark-visaged moun taineers scowling at them through the win dow, longing to dip their daggers in their blood. This Rajah was more friendly than his superior, the Chief of Tenom. He would do little friendly acts by night, sometimes coming..with two chickens, which was hardly a feather apiece among twenty eight, but was still a great treat. Early on tho ninth day of their captivity the crow were called out of their bamboo hut, and found in the village evident pre parations for a march. About thirty fight ing men were there, in charge of the chief s brother, and without word of any sort they wero marched away, toiling for ten hours through the jungle. Once away from the little village, nestling among the cocoanut trees, they saw no hut and no new face until that weary day was over. Thoir progress was slow, for the vegetation of Acheen is luxuriant beyond description, and their movements were hampered by the dense undergrowth. Five times they had to cross rivers, sometimes up to the waist, once up to the chin. No time was given them to rest for food. They marched, through groves of reain producing trees, while around them rose stately palms, casting their shade on the flowering plants and shrubs that carpeted the fores tpath. Late at night they suddenly emerged from the forest, and found themselves in another village, a large one, close to a river. This they found to be the village of Tenom, five miles from the sea, and only twelve miles from Pangah, where they were last held captive, so that they must have beon led by roundabout paths, to mislead them as to distance. There were many huts in this village, built on posts, and they were led into the largest of them a hut with a double floor. Hero they reZned eight days. On the fourth day word came that a Dutch hawker was in the village, selling goods. The hawker td out to be a spy, carrying letters tthe Cap tain from the Assistant Resident at Olohleh, and from the commander of a Dutch mm o"-war. The tenour of thsie letters was that they were in the hands of a ferocious

Bavoge, who was dead to all sense of honour, and that they must not be obstinate in anything, lest additional difficulties should be put in the way of their release. . On the morning of the eight day they were again called out, and had to pre pare for another march, and after a ten hours' journey they come to a place where five huts bad been built by tho river-side. Three centre ones, fifty yards apart, hod evidently been pre pared for their reception, while the remain ing huts were evidently to be used as guardhouses. No Booner had the prisoners j been placed in these huts than their gaolers commenced to run up bamboo stockades, making each hut a gaol by itself. Here, for the remainder of his term of capture, the Captain was confined, and here, so far as we know, the rest of the crew remain. The time hung heavily on their hands. No labour was givon to them, but absolute inaction was almost intolerable, and semi starvation added to their miseries. At .light they heard tho cries of tigers, and knew that if they did escape from tho huts, it would be to meet death in the jungle in a worse form than that which was hanging over them every day. The only chance was the river; but they did not know its name nor where it led. As a matter of fact, it was the Tenom River, and if they had con structed a raft and got on to it, an hour or two would have taken them past Tenom, the village in which they had last been con fined. Escape there would have been al most impossible, and if they had escaped that danger the raft would have been broken by the surf that lashes the bar at the mouth of the treacherous stream. Only practised boatmen can pass this bar, and the sharks, knowing this, are never absent. After another period of captivity, extend ing over thirty-ono days, tho Captain, Mr Kydd (the second engineer), and the Chinese cook were allowed to leave the huts to con fer with the English Consul, who was on board a Dutch man-of-war off the coast. Kydd was blind and almost dead at the time, and when tho Captain asked permis sion to tako him to sco the ship's doctor, the Rajah kicked him contemptuously as he lay, and said ho might as well go as lie there. Emboldened by his suc cess, the Captain asked for the chief officer ; but upon this the Rajah went into a passion, declaring that if another request wero made no one should go at all. So the three men went alone, leaving the other twenty-five behind them, in charge of Mr Crichton, the chief officer. What else there is of the narrative is well-known—how, when once on board of tho man-of war, the Consul would not lot Captain Woodhouso and his comrades re turn, how negotiations havo gone on with out intermission, how tho Rajah declares that the capture of tho crew was a special interposition of Providence in his favour against the rule of the Dutch, how ho would willingly givo up his country to England, but how a sudden delicacy on the part of the Foreign Office makes them consider English interference impossible ; with the result that the crew are still captives, and, for all the Foreign Office is inclined to do, may remain so for ever, 'or at any rate until the patience of the savage chief is exhausted and the word is given for the willing Achee nese to butcher them.

Prehistoric Man in Egypt and Syria.

At a meeting of the Victoria Philosophical Institute of London in the second week in May, Dr. Dawson, of Montreal, delivered an address on " Prehistoric Man in Egypt and Pyria." In dealing with his subject, Dr. Dawson remarked that, great interest attaches to any remains which, in countries historically so old, may indicate the resi dence of man before the dawn of history. I>i Egypt nodules of flint are very abundant in the Eocene limestones, and, where these have been wasted away, re main on the surface. In many places there is good evidence that the flint thus to be found everywhere has been, nnd still is, used for tho manufacture of flakes, knives, and other implements. These, as is well known, wero used for many purposes by the ancient Egyptians, and in modern times gun-flints and strike-lights still continue to be made. Tho debris of worked flints found on the surface is thus of little value as an indication of any flint-folk preceding the old Egyptians. It would be otherwise if flint implements could be found in the older gravels of the country. Some of these are of Pleistocene age, and belong to a period of partial submergence of tho Nile Valley. Flint implements had been alleged to be found in these gravels, but there seemed to be no good evidence to prove that they are other than the chips broken by mechanical violence in the removal of the gravel by torrential action. In the Lebanon numerous caverns exist. These wore divided into two classes, with reference to the origin ; some being water-caves or tunnels of subterranean rivers, others sea-caves, excavated by the waves when the country was at a lower level than at present. Both kinds have been occupied by man, and some of them undoubtedly nt a time anterior to the Phoenician occupation of the country, and even at a time when the animal inhabi tants and geographical features of the region were different from those of the pre sent day. They were thus of various ages, ranging from the post-Glacial or Antedilu vian period to the time of the Phoenician occupation. Dr. Dawson then remarked that many geologists in these days had an aversion to using the word "Antidiluvian," on account of tho nature of the work which, in years now gone by unlearned people had attributed to tho Flood described in Scripture, but as tho aversion to tho use of that word was, ho thought, not called for in thoso days, ho hoped it would pass away. Speaking as a geologist, from a purely geological point of view, and from a thorough examination of the country around, there was no doubt but that there was conclusive evidence that between the the time of the first occupation of these caves by men —and they were men of a splendid physique—and the appearance of the early Phoenician inhabitants of the land, there had been a vast submergence of land, and a great catastrophe, aye a stupen dous one, in which even the Mediterranean had been altered from a small sea to its present size. In illustration of this the caverns at the Pass of Nahr-el-Kelb and at Ant Elias were described in some detail, and also, in connection with these, the oc currence of flint implements on the surface of modern sandstones at the Cape or Ras near Beyrout; these last were probably of much less antiquity than those ot the more ancient caverns.

Brides for French Convicts.

A cargo of human freight left France! the other day. Each yeor one of the general inspectors of prisons visits the six central, penitentiaries where women con victs are serving their time to ask for volunteers to go to New Caledonia as wives for convicts Berving out sentences in that penal colony. 50 women who answered this appeal were shipped the other day from Bordeaux, and when thoy arrive at New Caledonia they will be divided be tween the two religions establishments, one at Noumea and tho other at Bourail. The convicts of the first class—that is, those who have distinguished themselves by good conduct, and who are accordingly to bo rewarded by land grants—are informed of the arrival of tho women. Thoso who are unmarried, or who are widowers, and desire to get, married, go to Noumea or to Bourail, where they are allowed to make their choice ■ among the women. Of course they are not forced to moke a choice, nor aro the women forced to marry if the mon who select them do not please them. The authorities introduce the men and women to each other and allow them to act as they please. During the last century a more rapid and more curious system was in force. When the women arrived they, with the men, were drawn up in lines facing each other. The name of a man was called and then the name of a woman, and when the list had been called over the couples thus paired were at once married.

Getting a Thrashing Instead of Giving tine

Arrived in Dinapore, Crawley began, of course, like all second lieutenants, by purchasing a horse—all the officers rode, and he must ride too. A horse necessitated a groom, and for a groom Crawley hired a big mountaineer, who happened then to be in Dinapore in want of service, and who had previously served the deputy-governor of Bengal.

I One day he had been out to dinner, and returned somewhat earlier than usual, vexed and annoyed at the jokes which had been passed upon him. When he arrived, there fore, at the'stables, it was in no pleasant mood,andasMarro,thegroom,didnothappen to bo there at the exact moment when he was wanted, the young officer was still more vexed at having to call for him two or three times. At length Marro came run ning to the spot j he had not expected his master home so soon, and was standing in the immediate neighbourhood chatting with a friend or two who had come into the cantonments to see him, when Crawley rode up. A few trees had prevented the swarthy groom from seeing his master, but he recognised the well - known voice at once, and sprang forward to seize the bridle.

"Why weren't you here, sir," asked Crawley, sternly, " when I rode up?" " Master came home plenty soon to-day," urged Marro, meekly. "I not see master come in."

" Well, sir, another time look sharper," said Crawley, who now stood on the ground, having dismounted, "nnd this, perhaps, will make you remember to do so." So saying, he brought his riding-whip down upon the bare shoulders of the groom with all his might. ■

" Master not hitme,"saidMarro,standiag erect, his fine form swelling with indignation, whilst the blood mantled deeply in his cheeks.

"What, sir, are you going to boinsolent?" asked Crawley, coming up again. "Take that, and that, and that." And so saying, he brought his whip again and again into contact with tho quivering flesh of the tall Hindoo.

Marro, however, offered no opposition ; he stood motionless and silent, not the less determined, however, to be revenged. His friends witnessed the assault from tho parade ground, and the colonel of Crawley's regiment—a humane man, bent«;i putting an end to such scenes—saw the wholo trans action from his window above.

Tho colonel sent for Marro next morning. " Go before the magistrate, my man," said ho to the groom, "and state your case. Don't be afraid. I'll getyou another place, and I'll be a witness." This was precisely what Marro had intended to do. He went to the magistrate; Crawley was duly sum mond,the witnesses attended, and the young officer was fined fifty rupees (£5) for the assault. He returned to nis quarters vow ing vengance against all Hindoos in general, and against Marro in particular.

" It's ashame —a thundering shame," said Captain Basin? whom Crawley nod met in the verandah, and to whom he detailed the transaction.

" It's a thundering shame; we shall be at the mercy of these niggers at this rate.' "It'sinfamous," saidLieutenantSpooner, joiningthepair; "I never heard of anything more disgraceful. Why, you didn't' get half the worth of your money." "I did not," said Crawley; "I certainly did not." " I should like to see any of my fellows hauling me over the coals—l should," con tinued Spooner. " Why, what would you do ?" asked Crawley eagerly, " What would Ido I" repeated Spooner; "why, I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd take him back into my service, and catch him some time when he had no witnesses, and I'd give him such a flogging that he shouldn't forget in a hurry—l would." "An excellent idea, 'pon my life," eaid Basin, taking a cigar out of his mouth, and examining it leisurely as he held it at arm's length between the two first fingers of his left hand.

" A capital idea," ejaculated Crawley, rubbing his hands together; " that's just what 111 do."

A servant was forthwith despatched for Marro, who came, unconscious of the trap that was laid for him.

"I am not at all offended with you, Marro,"said Crawley soothingly, "and I don't want you to leave my service on that account. You will stay with me, won't you ?" "If master like, I stop," said Marro, wondering, at the young officer's clemency, and making a profound salaam. "Oh yes, of course you will; you're a very excellent groom, aud I don't think a bit the worse of you for what you have done," said Crawley.

" There now, that'll do; go to the stable." Marro, thrown off the scent by this un expected kindness of manner, had no idea his master had determined that a notable ex ample should be made of him—an example all the more striking and impressive from his size and strength. The opportunity for this notable example was at length fouDd. Marro was .working in the stable; the other servants were o ,t of the way. Crawley resolved forthwith to have his revenge, whilst his two comrades were to assist by keeping everybody out of the way, and leaving the coast clear for their friend. Whip in hand, Crawley advanced into the stable, and shut thedoor behind vim

"Now-," said he, advancing in athrerten ing attitude to Marro, " now, you scouncrel, there are no witnesses, and I'll take the worth of my fifty rupees." He shook the riding-whip ominously as he spoke, bring ing it now and then into contact with his boot.

Marro joined his hands before him, after the manner of his class, and bent his body in a deprecating way to the wrathful Crawley. "Master, forgive all," urged Marro. "Masternot hit his slave now?" " Yes, I forgave all till I had an oppor tunity to revenge—nolonger,"said Crawley, bringing his horsewhip down upon the bare shoulders of the big groom. " But now," he continued, " I've taken care you shall have no witnesses; and I'll pay you off tho roughly." Blow after blow descended upon the naked shoulders of the muscular Hindoo; but there is a limit to human endurance, and even a Hindoo will sometimes rebel. Without saying a word more, Marro sprung upon his assailant suddenly, and, seizing the horse whip, speedily disarmed his master; for there was no comparison between the physical force of the two combatants. It was now Marro's turn. Holding Crawley with one hand, he brought down the other with the horsewhip in it vigorously upon the shoulders and legs of tho tyrant-master. An Englishman, now over, even of Crawley's stamp, will not quietly suffer himself to be flogged by any Hindoo, big or little. There was a struggle, and Crawley foil beneath Marro, who, hold ing his master down, plied the whip more vigorously ths.n ever, making it resound as he brought it rapidly ana repeatedly into contact with the body of his prostrate foe. The friends of the defeated officer heard the sounds of a struggle and even the words of Crawley, as he swore energetically at the labouring Morro j and they congrat ulated themselves on the punishment which the obstinate groom was receiving for having dared to bring his master before ..the magistrate. At length, having left the riding-whip in the stable, Marro made his appearance, flying away from the scene of conflict as fast as his legs could carry him. "He has learnt a useful lesson," said Basin, as he watched the retreating groom. " Crawley has to thank me for giving him that idea," said Spooner, congratulating himself on his acuteness. They advanced together towards the stable, from which Crawley emerged, looking most unlike a conqueror—looking, in. fact, most like a man who had been thrown down upon dirty straw and a dirtier floor, and who, instead of punishing his antagonist, had been punished himself. " Why, what has been the matter"" asked Basin. " The scoundrel has assaulted you," said Spooner. "I slipped," replied the crest-fallen Crawley, smarting with pain and indignation, "and the villain took advantage of it." It was all that Basin could do to restrain his laughter— it was all that Spooner could do to preserve his gravity. That evening, at the mess, there was no other theme "of conversation but Crawley and Marro, whilst tho Colonel could not refrain, when he heard of the transaction, from giving "Marro" as a toast after dinner. Crawley had learnt a lesson that he did not soon after forget, and for a long time he took heed not to use his horse-whip for any other than its legitimate purpose. As for Marro, he was never heard of again at Dinapore.—"Prize Tit Bit." " ■-

A HUMAN TIGER.

An Infuriated Soldier Kills Eleven Comrades. The castle of Pizzofalione, on the hill over looking the lovely shore of Santa Lucia, in Naples, has been the scene of a remarlc abia tragedy. The castle is a military bar* rack, Ailed with infantry. The tortuous road down to the sco is bordered by cabins inhabited by the families of veterans. The tragedy occurred on the night of Easter Sunday, about 9 o'clock. A knot of Pied montese and Lombardy soldiers began" to chaff a Calabrese corporal, jeer ing at his country, mimicking his patrols, and tantalising him in every way. A sergeant interfered and drove the soldiers to bed. An hour afterwards one Salvatoro Misdea, a Calabrian soldier of the Nine teenth Infantry, stole quietly from bed, took his gun and a hundred rounds of cart ridges, and stationed himself at tho door of the barrack. He piled the cartridges on a bench, levelled Ins musket, and, kneeling down, began to fire upon every Piedmontese and Lombard soldier in sight. The first shot brought down the sergeant who had stopped the warfare of words. He fired as rapidly as possible, every shot either killing or wounding a comrade. The sleeping regiment was aroused. As fast as the soldiers sprang from their beds they were shot down. The regiment was* panic-stricken. The graduates, who rushed for the door, and tried to corral the. human tiger, were shot dead. The remainder of the Boldiers sought shelter in their rooms. Misdea then entered the rooms one after the other, killing and wounding all but the Calabrese. From the windows of each room he would shoot down the soldieis_ outside. In one room half a dozen soldiers had crowded under their beds. They caught the infuriated man by the legs as ho entered and pulled him to the floor. Although he fought like a tiger, his gun was taken from him and his hands tied behind him. He bit and scratched all who came near him, and he was finally gagged. Meantime the bar rack was filled with terror. Affrighted soldiers sprang from the windows, breaking legs and arms, and the place echoed with the cries of the wounded. Smoke filled every room. The walls were furrowed by butjeta, and blood was everywhere seen. Si&inen were killed outright and five were mortally wounded. They were all natives of Lombardy and Piedmont, and of good families. The Calabrian was neither drunk nor crazy. He recognised his countrymen while shooting, shouting: "Don't be afraid. You are Calabrese. I'll not shoot you. Seeing a young conscript quaking with fear, he cried: "Keep quiet. You're only a conscript. I won't hurt you." In all he fired nearly sixty rounds of cartridges. When arrested he snarled like a tiger, and kept it up the whole night. 6e» Mazzacapo questioned him before he was imprisoned. He replied that he knew what he was about, but that he could not bear to hear the Pied montese and Lombards make fun of tho Calabrese.

Before joining the regiment Misdea was~ a brigand. He has often boasted of his deadly exploits to his comrades. He fre quently said that he hated mankind, and that he loved no one —not even his mother. He is twenty-one years old, red-headed, and has high cheek bones. He was sent to the prison at Castel del Nuovo. The hospital of La Trinißta is filled with his victims. Thousands attended the funerals of thoso who were slain outright.

What Fruit Trees to Plant.

Komata in the "Settler" says: I have given lists of some of the best kinds of fruit trees to plant and also a few in August following. There are now so very many excellent va rieties of all kinds of fruit trees in our nur series to select from, that it is difficult to say which is the best. I think where there is a choice it is wiser to confine one's selec tion to those varieties which bear the most abundantly and are hardiest, and that keep longest off the tree, taking care at the same time to provide fruit over as many months as possible. Ido not see much advantage in having a great many varieties, it is bet ter to have fewer .kinds and more trees of the one sort; for instance, if you have a really good apple and another that is still better, both coming ripe together, both you or your customers (if you sell the fruit) will prefer the latter, however good the former may be; and it would be better to be able to continue the supply of the best, than that it should run out just as its value is hegin ning to be understood. Looking forward to your trees growing large I would by all means recommend you to give a very large preference to non-blighting varieties *as large standards. For wine, jams, and tin ning, and carrying purposes the clingstone deaches and plums ore the best. For the market give the preference to early and very late varieties of all fruits. Quinces" do not. generally fetch heavy prices, But they re quire little care, and have the advantage of keeping long and being very easy to carry to the market, with little cost of packing, standing a great deal of knocking about. Baking pears have nearly the some qualities, although they are not very saleable and their yield is sometimes very heavy. .Mr. Mc- Laughlan on the Thames River near Hikuteia has a Catillac pear of which fruit last year weighed in some cases nearly three pounds each, two pounds being less than the average weight. Lemonsalso are very profitable, as they keep long, and there is always a demand for them if not forced on the market as soft fruit must be. I thmkalso that orchardisjts do not, as a rule, give sufficient attention to various kinds of nuts; those in particular who have land that is likely to descend to their ohildren would do well to plant out extensively, walnuts and chestnuts in particular. It is astonishing how valuable some of these trees become in the course of many years. There is now (or was thirty years ago) in England a walnut-tree which if it be still alive has been known to exist over 980 years, and the quantity of fruit that tree has borne is something awful. In tho south of France these nuts form no incon siderable portion of the food of the peasants, and very good they are, and the beautiful walnut trees that line the streets of pretty Interlaken in Switzerland yield a valuable addition to the yearly revenues of the town authorities. I havo had chestnut trees in this country which at the age of about six or seven years began to bear sufficient fruit to repay my trouble, and in a few years more the' return begins to tell, up, so that the length of time required to produce a return need not discourage the planter. Next month I will be able to name a few more varieties, but in the meantime a reference to the May and August, 18S3, numbers is all 'that I have space to suggest.

THE AUCKLAND EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JULY Id, 1884.

3



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THE PUBLIC SATISFIED J AND figT MONEY SAVED! Tue Proprietor of the "Little Monster" Clothing Hall" begs to return his sincere thanks to the Public for their very largo patronage during the first two days of the - Greatest Bona,Fide Sale EVER HELD IX NEW ZEALAND, And to apologise to those who wero unable to be so promptly attended to as he could ~ have wished, owing to the smallnesß of the present premises. He would respectfully • ask them to come as EARLY as possible during the day to secure the BARGAINS ! ' *T DURING THIS WEEK "El Great SLAUGHTERING will be made? IN ORDER TO EFFECT A SPEEDY CLEARANCE, Prior to Removal to our New Premises. Country Orders promptly attended to; jr. levt MONSTER CLOTHING HALL 214 QUEEN ST. 214 (Opposite McArthur's). CHINA. GLASS. DELE. PER CRUSADER. SELLING AT A SACRIFICE TO MAKE ROOM FOR FRESH CONSIGN MENTS DIRECT FROM STAFFORDSHERE. - E. LEE' '-> . Having OPENED Temporary Premises, lirNow Offering CHINA, DELF; AND GLASS WARE ot Prioes hitherto unknown in Auckland, and Respectfully Solioits Intending.Purchasers!to y" Inspect HIS STOCK before , Buying Elsewhere. j A . 8. a. - ' . . - , White and Gold China Cups and '.■■',■.-,■ ; Saucers, large size .. ..9 6 per doz. White and Gold China Cups and Saucers, small size ~ ..6 6 „ Deh* Plates, 8 and Win., 2s and .. 2 6 „ KeroßenoLamps,from .. - ..2 0 >.-.-"■' AND AM/OTHER LINES JIABKED KQUALL? LOW. / Note the Address:; ■—:■■■•-■>'4--tW& NKV AUCKLAND .DAIRY Hqbsqn-st. - -^