, THE MARK -
OF THE CRUTCH, i
By MARY
"S KYLE DALLAS
Old Adam Hardburn was always i
..runted very eccentric, but when
he adopted Malonc'a boy people
thouslit that his eccentricity amount
ed to niadiif ss. The Malones were a
had lot, and tllls boy was not, as far
i any nne knew, better than any
,iher of t;ie family. Moreover, he
( fallen from a tree which he was
fobbing o( peaches In his youth, and
trlppled himself so that he must al
wavS walk with a crutch. What did
oil Adam want of hlni? But Adam
tared nothing for criticism; he knew
that no one ever pleased all the world
yet, and when his friends prophesied
that he would be sorry he laughed In
their faces. Old Malone was dead,
two of the boys were in Jail, one gone
wa' upon a voyage. He had found
pan deserted in tho miserable hut
they had inhabited, friendless, with
no one to help him to such work as
tie could do, and he bad taken him
home.
"There could not be a better boy,"
eld Adam said, and after Dan had
been with him two years he was still
so much of this opinion that he made
a will In hU favor. Dan Malone, the
eld ruffian's lame boy, had come to
fce the prospective heir of the largest
estate in tho place.
He was a gentle looking boy, who
yew refined in manner and learned
rapidly, but even when he had come
- to be one-and-twenty people were
till prejudiced against him. Adam's
.tenture might turn out well, but they
do ibted it.
it last something happened that
neeued to prove that they were all
i . .
nil Adam VBg vorv fnnrf rt flcMrxr
Some .Inies he spent long days beside
a cert In trout stream, and often his
boy, a: he railed Dan was with him,
bat on summer day Dan was not
wfll aa'. Adam went out alone. The
hired m n was chopping wood in an
other diection, and the old woman
who wasted and cooked kept to her
kitchen. But about 8 o'clock that
rtenln? I nn. verv rale nnd with a
f strange lo k in his eyes, came into a
vtielgbbor's house.
,"I came because I wanted help,"
lie ald. "Mr. Hardburn went away
to fish this morning. I was sick. I
grow giddy when I try to Btand. I
can't go after him. and he's not home
yet. I wanted Simon to go, but he
says his niaser is old enough to take
care of himself, and has probably
gone somewhere to supper. But
man not iiKe Mr. Hard Dure; Desitls
te had on his fishing hat and a linen
Jacket. I wish some one would do
what I find I am unabla to do. I'm
ilarmed very much alarmed."
- The neighbors were kind. The
Jnen started out for the trout stream,
end the women comforted Dan, tell
ing him that good news would soon
tome; that It was too cool for sun
stroke, and that the stream was too
hallow to be dangerous. But the
young man sat paling and shivering.
Partly with Illness and partly with
nxlety, until news came. It was the
worst news possible. Mr. Hardburn
tad been found dead, shot through
the heafl. , pistol lay near him, und
Bis pockets were turned inside out,
end his w atch was gone.
When Dan beard the news he
hinted away, and for awhile every
,"e ymi,athlzed with him. But soon
Ue tide turned.
Detectives came down from the city
end made explorations and inquiries.
The watch was found In a hollow tree
end all along the soft wood path were
ery peculiar footsteps. They traced
them from the woods to the gate of
the old man's homo! tho mark nf a
hoe, and where the other shoe print,
bould have been, a puncture. Some i
vue na3 been here who walked with a
crutch was the conclusion.
In the whole village waa but one
ho us.d a crutch young Dan Ma
lone. The clouds of suspicion began
gather. Dan declared that he bad
"fen 111 in bed all day, but Simon, the
ttan, knew nothing ol Dan's where
bouts from the time he left home
until he returned, and Betty only
new tfcat he had not come home to
c.nner. The pistol with which Mr.
Hardburn had been murdered was
n that was always kept In his own
jming room. And finally Dan, and
other, had an object to attain by
"e old man's death.
Poor Dan was arrested, and fall
5oriy was very great.
what do they think of me?" he
",- "Is money anything In com
rrlon with a friend such as I have
I had all I wanted. He was
.,' ,ather to me. How can you
kead' WUM barm ha'r ' hU dC&''
But say what he would, no one be
him. They had no proof that
e i,ad been 111 in bed: no proof that
it not beeB to the wood: ,Q
ct T' there er the marks of his
hMH ' tDi that the watch h,(1 been
'Oden, not carried off, was the proof
w no thief had been, the murderer.
r,T.i 'n.?nd.WM " Inst brou8ht to
rial. The facts which the Jury had
to consider were these:
No one had seen Dan after M
Hardburn left home. A pistol which
was ln the house had been used to
shoot him with. Dan declared that
he had not crossed the threshold yet
there were the marks of a crutch
from the gate to the woods, down to
the spot where the murdered man lay
and back again, and Dan came Into a
mriuue on nig death.
During the' trial 'his manner, his
words, his pallid face, his evident ter
ror, even before Mr. Hardburn had
been found, were all described and
set down against him. One of his
brothers was In prison for man
slaughter, and the race was bad.
The Jury only brought in the ver
diet all expected when they brought
In that of "Guilty of murder In the
first degree," and when asked what
he could say In his own defense Dan
only answered:
"How could any one believe that I
could kill him?"
So Dan was condemned tobehungby
the neck until he was dead, and all
the world said it was only what might
be expected of Malone's boy that he
should turn and bite the hand that
fed him. Even when the dreadful
day came there was little pity felt for
him. Such a traitor, every one felt,
deserved hanging.
Simon and Betty both came In for
a comfortable legacy, and the prop
erty went to a charity in case of
Dan's death, and Simon took his leg
acy and lived in a little house that he
bought, and for a man of humble sta
tion was very well off. He lived thus
ten years, adding to his means by
driving people to and from the sta
tion when he felt like it, and married
a buxom wife.
One day, however, the wagon of
which he was so proud came to grief.'
Simon was thrown out and taken
home In a dying condition. As he
lay on his bed, attended by his weep
ing wife, more than bodily torments
seemed to rack him, and he begged
for a priest. The priest came, and at
the end of the confession to which he
listened summoned the magistrate.
This is what was taken down ln his
presence and that of the priest from
Simon's own lips:
"Father Stock says I must tell the
truth before I leave the world or I
can ha.ye no absolution. I wouldn't
tell it if I had a chance of life, but it
doesn't matter now.
"I lived with old Mr. Hardburn
ten years ago. I'd lived with him
quite a time, and he thought a good
deal of me. At last he took a boy to
live with him Dan Malone, a lame
fellow and ho thought of no one
elsj after that. I hated Dan; he was
no bettor than I, and the old man
made a will, leaving him all he had.
He put me In the will for $3000, too,
but I wasn't satisfied. One day tho
old man got a lot of money paid him.
It was a mortgage: he put it in his
pocket and went to fish. I knew he
was down In the woods alone, and I
thought if any one could, knock blm
senseless he could get the money, and
then I thought of my legacy. If he
was dead I could have that, too. Dan
Malone was sick that day; I saw him
In bed; he was asleep. I went and
got a pistol there was In the house,
and then I saw Dan's crutch outside
the door; he'd got so he could walk
about the house pretty well without
It. He'd had costly doctors called in
to him, and I thought a minute, and
I took it. I wasn't going to have my
shoes measured If anything happened
to the old man, and the crutch seemed
to be a good thing to knock him on
the head with, too. I tied my leg up
by a handkerchief and went down
Into the woods, leanins on the crutch
as If I was lame. No one saw me.
The old man was fishing. I went be
hind hlra and hit him on tho head
and took his money and his watch as
he lay senseless. I wouldn't have
killed him if he hadn't come to and
called out, 'Good heavens! it's Si
mon!' Then I had to. I hid the
watch In the tree, meaning to get It
again some day, and I limped home
as I had come. If any one saw me
from a distance they thought it was
Dan. I left the crutch where I'd
found It. No one was near. No one
suspected me, Dan was arrested and
tried and hung. I would have saved
him if I could without hurting my
self, but that was not possible. I
here swear that he was as Innocent
as a babe, and that I did the deed he
was hung for."
Simon lived Just long enough to
sign this confession, and long ago re
pentant hands set a stone over pool
Dan's neglected grave with his sad
story upon It. It was a poor atone
ment to the victim of circumstantial
evidence. From Good Literature.
AntomobHes Prohibited in Bermuda.
Consul W. Maxwell Greene, of
Hamilton, reports that the act prohib
iting the use of all motor cars in the
colony of Bermuda, and to be la
force indefinitely, passed both houses
of the Legislature, and on May 11 it
received the signature of the Govern
or and therefore became a law.
Some people would never get men
tloned at all It they were aot talke
about behind their backs.
NIGHT RLFUGL5 IN PARIS.
Last Resource of trie Stranded American
R Charity of Which He Can Avail Hirnself
When Everything Else Fails Graft of Cer
tain firnerican Beggars The Story of a
Man Who Got a Fresh Start. - - :-:
If you have ever been in Paris and
have passed many idle hours ln front
of the Cafe de la Palx you cannot
have failed to make the acquaintance
of the stranded American, writes
the Paris correspondent of the New
York Sun. He haunts the big hotels,
the restaurants and the boulevards,
ever on the alert for the unwary.
He has reduced the spotting of his
prey to a science. He recognizes a
possible victim in tho bluff, genial
gentleman who loudly proclaims to
bystanders in the hotel lobby the fact
that no bartender in Paris can make
cocktails like those to ba had on the
coa3t and that the show at the Moulin
Rogue is disheartening to those ac
customed to entertainments offered
by the Orpin-urn circuit, in short that
America is the only country to be con
sider; d anyway. The stranded Amer
ican knows that it will be the fault
of his oratory only if the Westerner
doesn't give some substantial evi
dence of sympathy after listening to
his well planned tale of overdue re
mittances. If this benefactor were to return
the following year he would probably
encounter 'the identical petitioner,
perhaps a trifle more shabbily
dressed, plying hl3 trade along the
Avenue de 1'Opcra or the Champs
Elysees. And the Westerner would
then realize that this business of
fleecing the unsuspecting Is. an estab
lished occupation for many.
Long ago these men exhausted all
official and charitable resources.
Then finding that playing upon the
credulity o tho public pays better
than any employment they could fill
they regularly Join the Society for the
Subjection of Easy Marks. They seem
to find their profession ln the main
advantageous, although seasons of
prosperity may be followed by times
of woeful depression. And when
these adverse times come, what hap
pens? The stranded American gives up
his comfortable lodgings and moves
to 6ome attic in Montmartre. Then if
hard luck continues ho ceases to have
any address at all until the goddess of
fortune smiles on him once more.
During these off seasons he sleeps
on the uninviting benches of the
parks until he is askod to move on,
or he foregathers with the scum of
Parisian humanity along the quays.
An Infinitesimal minority of these ex
iled waifs turn their steps toward the
"Aslles de nult," free night refuges
for the homeless and penniless of all
the lands, the last resort for tho foot
Eore and heart sore.
They who enter tho severe portals,
topped with the protective three col
ored flag and "Liberty, Equality, Fra
ternity," mist leave all vestige of
pride behind. Those grim institu
tions are no respecters of rank or
person. Pickpockets and cutthroats
sleep side by side with clerks, pro
fessional men and day labois whose
only offense is that they have come
down In the world. ,
The American whom unkind cir
cumstances have led to one of these
homes finds that he must wait in a
bare hall, its only furniture benches
and a giant crucifix, until an officer
takes down the names and tne one
time occupation of all present. He
will then receive a piece of coarse
bread and a mug of water.
Then all will be ushered into, the
basement and told to prepare for the
compulsory shower bath. After they
have donned the nightshirts supplied
by the institution their own clothing
is sewed up in separate sacks and
put through a process of purification
by steam. Then ln a dormitory fitted
up in monastic simplicity with iron
cots, each labelled with the name of
the donor, ail forget the nightmares
of the day ln the kindly oblivion of
sleep.
By 8 In the morning each guest of
a night the refuge's hospitality is
limited to three nights for each vis
itor has gone, and the dormitories
are subjected to the regenerative in
fluences of sunshine, fnjsh air, soap
and water.
"The Americans who have slept
under our roof?" The Baron de
Livols, president of the aslles, re
peated the Sun correspondent's ques
tion. "Yes, certainly there have been
a few from time to time, though we
have more South Americans. Of the.
63,000 who registered here this year,
forty-six were Americans, and I
should say that only ten or at the
roost fifteen were citizens of the
United States.
"You will understand that the
American must have sunk pretty low,
roust have exhausted the patience of
his fellow countrymen, before com
ing here. The tourist from across
the seas doesn't usually consider a
lUght'i sojourn under our roofs as a
necessary part of his slghtseeing'njo
( ram," be added with a smile.
The cltliem of the republic woe
honor us with a brief visit are gener
ally derelicts who have lingered so
long In Paris, ever descending the
social ladder, that they have reached
the state where distinctions of na
tionality mean very little to them.
I remember one or two cases which
don't quite come under this hopeless
category stories of men who weren't
nondescript wretches without ties of
home or country, but were merely
temporary victims of an unkind des
tiny. "We Frenchmen are wont to stand
aghast at the adaptability of Amer
icans, amazed at their conquest of ob
stacles that would seem overwhelm
ing to us. The train hand who be
comes a railroad president, the call
boy who eventually owns his own
theatre these tales astound our
European conservatism.
"Well, one case In point which I
recollect is a good example of your
transatlantic elasticity. A ball was
given for the benefit of one of our
refuges In one of the big hotels.
"During the evening a substantial
looking man, clean shaven an Amer
ican, I knew at first glance came up
to me and said he had once visited
our head refuge. I said that I had
probably not had the pleasure of
showing him around. He answered,
'No, hardly," that he had not come to
Inspect the premises, but to beg a
night's lodging. Then he told me his
story.
"It appears that some years be
fore he wa3 a buyer for an American
firm, coming to Paris twice every
twelve months. He took to drinking
heavily and onco when over here he
made some big business blunder and
bis firm discharged him.
"Instead of going home and seek
ing another position he stayed on.
wasting his time in cafes, going from'!
bad to worse. At last he toOK to
begging. After several successive bad
days when he bad been turned out of
one wine shop after another, he fell
in with a day laborer also out of n
Job. This laborer proposed that they
both snjud the night at one of the
refuges.
"The next morning the American
awoke soberer than he had been for
many a week. No doubt his close
contact with the dregs of Paris had
made him feel how much of an out
cast he had become.
"In this repentant mood a man who
had formerly known him In the States
ran across him and consented to give
him work. Soon the ex-buyer re
turned to America and eventually se
cured a good position. After a lapse
of years he came to Paris again, and
hearing that there was to be a ball
for the benefit of the aslles he puf
chased a ticket they cost ?4 and
thus amply cancelled his debt of hos
pitality. "Another time an American artist
stayed one night here. I think he
came more in search of Impressions
than charity. 'Later he painted a
scene representing the men eating
their rations before retiring. I for
get his name, but he is now illustrat
ing for one of the French political
weeklies. The picture was exhibited
in the Salon and he sent us a framed
copy.
"That gift was acceptable enough.
But you should see some of the things
offered by well meaning but im
practicable benefactors and bene
factresses." The Baron led the way across the
sun flooded court of the principal
refuge, which accommodates nightly
300 homeless soldiers of fortune. The
court was lined with tubs of flower
ing plants, a witnes to the French
man's Infallible instinct for alleviat
ing the sordid by the artistic.
He unlocked the door to a huge
storeroom ln the basement. There,
among other things, were a richly In
laid but dust covered chest of draw
ers, a shabby dress suit and a Psyche
glass, an exile from some Louis
Quinze boudoir.
"Yes," the president smiled in an
swer to his visitor's amazement, "the
course of charity doesn't always run
smooth. In that chest of drawers are
a clown's costume, a pair of gilt slip
pers and several discarded decollete I
gowns.
"Still such gifts are fortunately
rare, and ordinarily we cannot com
plain of the public's lack of generos
ity. These Asiles and there are
four In Paris accommodating ln all
i500 persons a night are maintained
by charity, although they enjoy the
protection of the State. We have re
ceived donations from all nationali
ties. Lady Wallace, widow of the
tell known English art collector,
left us large sums, and an American
woman, Mrs. Maxwell Heddle, be
queathed more than 1,000,000 francs.
So you see America need not feel that
Bhe Is getting something for nothing
when her homeless citizens are our
gujtits for a sight."
1LM
REQUIESCAT IN PACE.
Here lies a poor woman who alwayi was
l)uv;
Sue lived' under pressure that rendered her
dizzy,
She belonged to ten clubs and read Brown-,
ilig by titiht,
Showed at luncheon nnd tens and would
vote if she niitht: I
She serve! on a school board with courage
ann zeal:
She golfed ana she kodaked and rode on
wheel:
6he road Tolstoi and Ibsen, knew microbes
by name,
Approved of Delnnrte, was a "Daughter"
.and "Dame;"
her children went in for the top educa
tion,
Her husband went seaward for neivou
prostration.
One any on her tablets she found an hour
fre?
The sliocl; wrs too great and site disd in
tmitlce! Saturday Evening Herald.
THERE WITH THE GOODS.
Kitty "We're getting dull again.
Do say something brilliant, Eobby."
Bobby "Radium." Louden Opin
ion. . 1 '
IRRESISTIBLE CONCI.VSIC X.
"I see that the man who in ntc
the stock ticker died wealthy." ;
"Then he didn't play it." Cki
land Plain Dealer. :'
WANTED: A MAN.
"What kind of a man wou
yi
Hire for a husband?"
"Oh, either a bachelor or a V ji
er. I'm not particular wbl
lustrated Elts.
"it
ACCORDING TO R.CPr
Eessie "What kin-' of
Anna l-nnv olotaf nca riii- f T
Bobby "From the evii'.os, -j ' I
heard ln the parlor last i.iht i. uast
be gunpowder." Life.
AFRAID IT MIGHT.
"Work never hurts anybody," said
the Industrious man. ;
"No," answered Plodding Pete,'
"but it's most as bad to be SLai t'J ua
hurt." Washington Star. (
"si.
ADDING INSULT TO INJURY.
"Now, don't deny It, "Rote. You
wore my shoes?"
"Only once my feet hurt ne so,
and- I ' wanted something co.uforta-ble."-i-Meggeudorfer
Blaetter.
DOUBLE-CROSSED.
The Daffodil -Great petals!'
Rosi-y, old chap, what haypined you?
Got the spotted fever?"
The Rose (fiercely) "I've been
Eurbanked, that's all!" Puck.
RID PROPOSITION, IN FACT.
Woman Suffrage Advocate (to
Speaker Cannon) "I maintain that
woman has always been the prime
factor In this world."
Uncle Joe (blandly) "Oh, I don't
know. In the very beginning woman
was only a side issue." Juig-J. .,
MIXING THE METAPHORS.
"For my part," said one;, "I think
Fred is very bright and capable. I
am confident he" will succeed."
"Yes," replied the other, "he is cer
tainly a worthy young man, but I
doubt whether he has head enough
to fill his father's shoes." Robeleaf.
A HARD LUCK STOR'.".
"What aro you crying about, my
little man?"
"Jimmy Dodds licked me first, an
then father licked me lor letting
Jimmy lick me, and Jimmy licked me
again for telling father," and now I
suppose I shall catch It again from
father." The Pathfinder.
NOTHING IN IT.
Ho (anxiously) "I understand
your father speaks very highly of.
me?"
She "Yes; but he doesn't mean,
a word of it."
He "Are you sure of that?"
She "Certainly. He does it Just
to torment mother." Chicago New,i
A DUCK OF AN M. D. .
Little Elmer "Mamma says yoai
are a duck of a doctor." J(
Pompous M. D. (greatly pleased!
"Indeed! How did she come to say
that?" .1
Little Elmer "Oh, she didnt say
H Just that way, but I heard t er tell;
papa you were a quack." Chicago.
News.
AND DISSOLVE PARTNERSHIP.!
"Jones never can forget busi
ness for a minute. Eve a at the ball
U.U nlpht "
"Well, what lieppetie.l?" j
"When a yoiuig lady u '..l M'.-j t!-at
her partner had tngflged her for the.
next dauce he Immediately oTre.1 t
bv.y out her partni-r. I t .i:
E'i'gs. '