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[COPTBIGHT.] THE MISSING WITNESS,
[COPTBIGHT.] THE MISSING WITNESS, BY MARY H. TENNYSON, CHAPTER XXI. With his head bent dejectedly, Gilbert Stobart walked down the stone-strewn cutting that led to the shore; more than once he stopped irreso- lutely, but each time, after a momentary pause, with a heavy sigh he proceeded on his way. His progress was very slow, however, and he was still not more than half way down the steep road when, with a sudden, ejaculation, he raised his head sharply. Borne on the soft breeze there had come to him an ominous, chilling sound. The sound was not loud, but there was an uncanny agony in the faint cry that made his hair stir on his head as he stood listening keenly. But in a minute the complete silence reassured him, and he smiled bitterly at his own weakness. It's time I pushed on," he muttered, re- suming his way; "I am as nervous as a woman. Even the cry of a sea bird I magnify into a tragedy. I am a meddlesome impressionable lool!" Then, with a quick gasp, he stopped again, and the next moment was tearing up the ascent, his face working with excitement. The cry had been repeated. This time the air was scarcely stirred by it; but its weird faintness made it the more impressive. It was no sea bird, he was sure of that now. It was a woman—a woman crying for help. In three minutes Stobart had gained the level moorland, and then after a quick glance round he rushed onward once more. Three or four hundred yards further stood the girl who had interested him- so strangely; she was dad in a long black cloak, there was a bundle on the grass by her side, and she was standing up- right and rigid, with her two arms stretched forward imploringly. Her face, from which the large grey eyes glared with a gleam that ap- proached actual insanity, was livid in its awful pallor. In little more than an hour, it seemed to Gilbert atobart, this woman had aged twenty years; and as he looked at her his sense of pity grew 90 over- whelming that, forgetful of all conventionalities, he ran right up to her, and seizing the out- stretched fingers, clasped them tightly. "What h-?- ??Pp d?" he oried impulsively. Don t refuse my help. For Heaven's sake speak. It breake my heart to see you like this." By an effort she turned her eyes from the sea ?peeaar?ed t ??" S??g face, but her sensee ap- JpLeaw red to be still astray, and she looked at him ifhr?o6Sh, of speechless horror that cbilled him to the heart. f°I° moment her haunting eyes rested OH bls, and then she turned them seawards a?ain ?d ? once more th desolate cry escaped heri?; But he felt her icy fingers close on his; in- stinctively, it seemed, she clutched at the physical support he offered her, and he took her two ma'l hands in one of his, and passing his arm round her figure, which now shook in almost convulsive tremblings, he fodowed with his eyes the line of hers, and then became aware that the steamer had left the island and was just gaining the open sea. Iastantly he leapt to a conclusion. In the bundle hastily gathered together, which lay at her feet, and which had fallen open, he could see the newspaper he had given her an hour before, some linen, and a brush and comb. Her pur- pose, then, had been to leave the island by the steamer. Holding her tightly, for she would have fallen had he not supported her, he looked around and saw that half-a-dozen steps to the right- was the great boulder which had served him for a seat during his gloomy cogitations only a short time before. Carrying his helpless companion to it, he seated himself by her side, and abstraccing from his pocket the silver flask of whisky which, by good fortune, happened to be there, he poured a small quantity into the cup, and ventured to hold it to her chattering teeth; then tilting a few drops into her mouth, he watched the rosuit, anxiously. Presently the girl swallowed mechanically, choking and catchin- her breath with an involun- tary shudder, and then she sat upright, coughing violently, and wringing her hands piteousiy. He waited for the paroxysm to pass, and then, leaning forward, looked into her faee, heaving a sigh of profound relief as he saw a look of recog- nition flash into her astonished eyes. For a moment Antoinette stared at her sup- porter in speechless bewilderment, her haggard face flushing painfully. face flu-hinq b?ea ill again?" she asked. Then her eyes fell on the bundle lying on the ground a few yards distant; the newspaper was fluttering in the fresh breeze. In an instant the colour left her c h e?e k s, a. colour left her cheeks, and starting to her feet once more she directed her eyes towards the sea. The steamer had turned a projecting headland, and from where they stood was now invisible; but a long streak of black smoke that still hung in the clear air shewed the course it had taken. With another pitiful cry the girl sank upcn the stone again, and dropping her white face in her hands, utterly regardless of Stobart's presence, moaned out. Too late! Too late They are judging him '1 now, and I cannot save him. Oh, God, is there no help for an innocent man and a wretched, hopeless woman?" Carried away by the magnetism of her despair, the young man grasped her shcuider, and actually shook her in the vehemence of his excitement. "Listen to me," he cried. "Don't sit there i crying and wringing your hands. Tell me what is wrong. You may trust me. Did you want to get away by that steamer?" Ox i l 1 L_ > I 1 it oianiea oy tne aptness ot the question, she raised her head. Yes," she sobbed. "The next boat will not come for four days. It would take me three days to get there, and by that time it will be all -over; and then, perhaps, they might not listen to me, or he will have died of the disgrace and horror of it." And he wants to die," she went on wildly. "I have poisoned his life; he wants to die, and his blood will be upon my head." Gilbert Stob&rt's face was almost as white as Antoinette's as for a minute he stood silently looking down upon her. He could only guess at his companion's trouble, still; but her broken words had shewn him that he must trample under f-cot at once the tenderness of the sympathy he had felt for her from the instant she had C'o me into his life. In a few seconds, however, he lifted his depressed head, his eyes shining with un- j selfish devotion. Where do you want to go?" he asked calmly. "To Manning-ton." "Mannington he repeated. I don't know where it is." You kave to go to Stafford first," she replied hopelessly. Stafford is on the nam line to the North." he interrupted excitedly. "We can get from Oban to Glasgow. That will do." His face glowing with honest enthusiasm, ho ran to where the bundle lay, and rolling the shawl tightly round It, returned it to her as she sat staring blankly at him. Then he put his; right arm round her and assisted her to her feet. "With the help of my arm could you walk down to the shore?" he asked. She did not understand his intentions, but his gentle voice sootnea ana comtorted her to some slight extent, and she raised her forlorn eyes to his. Then she grasped suddenly at his arm. What do you mean?" she cried sharply. What is in your mind?" He laid his hand over her clutching fingers. Keep calm," he said. All depends upon your nerve and strength of purpose. That is my yacht, the Sylvia, lying at anchor there. I will take you to Oban the wind is fair, and she is a fast sailer. From Oban we will go to Glasgow. If you can walk to the shore now, and can trust yourself to me, we will sail in ten minutes from the time we get on board." He felt her hands tremble on his arm, but she did not speak, and he looked enquiringly into her face. Then his heart bounded and contracted again with a pang, Her eyes were swimming in tears, and her lips were quivering; but there was such an intensity of gratitude in her face that he .scarcely dared to look on it. Ccme," he said, softly. Come, madam, we must lose no time. Lean upon mc. Do not cry any more. It weakens you." Then supporting her with tender reverence, he led her down the steep path: nor did she speak once until, by slow and painful degrees, they reached the landing-stage. Stobart made no effort to break the silence, except now and then to uttar a word of en- couragement, and indeed as they neared their destination he grew considerably perplexed as to how he could account satisfactorily for the un- expected guest he proposed bringing on board the yacht. And when at last they encountered the men who were waiting at the landing-stage with the boat the lowering confusion in their faces when he told them the lady was to accompany them was so apparent he glanced uneasily at his com- panion to see how she was affected by it. But he need not have feared. Seated by his side in the stern of the dinghy Antoinette heeded inctte i ??ccle d not the frowning faces of the bronzed, bearded sailors; her whole figure was tense with excite- ment, and her big eyes were fixed yearningly I upon the yacht, which bent and dipped on the blue waters. In five minutes the dinghy reached the side of the vessel. In an instant Stobart sprang on board, and then turning he assisted the girl to mount the ladder-like steps, supporting her firmly until she steed on the white deck. Offering her his arm and carrying her bundle, without a word to the grim Scotch skipper, who, utterly dumbfounded, stood silently looking on, Gilbert led Antoinette down the brass-bound steps into the luxurious saloon, and then shewing her the beautiful private cabin which would be at her service until the Sylvia reached Oban about noon on the following day, he returned to the deck. i The crew, numbering twelve men, were gathered together in a group, the skipper in their mid--t. They were whispering when Stobart set his foot upon the deck, but at the sight of him an ominous silence settled down upon them. Assuming a confidence he did not feel, for the surliness of the men's demeanour rendered him very uneasy, for if there were any delay in their start the consequences to the unhappv woman j on board might be terribly serious, Stobart gave directions that the anchor should be weighed a.nd the vessel got under way as soon as possibie. As a rule his orders were carried out with a promptness that was almost enthusiastic, but this j time litere was no movement among the men, nor did the skipper utter a word. Then squaring his broad shoulders, with an expression of dogged determination on his comely countenance, Stobart raised his head proudly, and looked them straight in the face. Look here. Captain," he said sharply,. I'm master here, isn't that so?" Ay, sir; ye're the maistor, sure enough," the skipper replied grimly. It's the leddy that puzzles us." With a quick flash the young man turned on him; but in an instant his glance softened, and a look of actual entreaty came into his eyes, as, crossing to the skipper, he laid his tanned hand on the seaman's arm. "See here, MacXeil," he said, "I want you to } make no difficulties, but to orowd on sail and start at once," Weel, sir," the man replied'uneasily, "I shouldna wish to refuse you onything, but that leddy-" That lady is a stranger to me," Stobart cried. I swear to you I do not even know her name, and have never spoken to her until an hour ago. But she is in terrible. distress. I found her faint- ing there on the moor. What her trouble is I know no more than you do, but she tells me that an innocent man in England is in danger of con- demnation unless she gives her evidence in his favour. She did not know this in time to catch the steamer, and she cannot leave the island for four days now, except by the Sylvia. Would you have an innocent man ruined and a woman driven mad because you are afraid of people's tongues? I should feel myself disgraced as an English gentleman to withhold help from a woman who needed it for any such pitiful consideration. And surely a. Scotchman isn't behind an Englishman in matters of chivalry. Come, Captain, don't fail this poor lady in her need, and shame me. What could I say to her? 'Go on shore, madam? We j are thirteen strong, hardy men, but we are afraid of you?' Look here, Captain, get us to Oban by noon to-morrow, so that she can catch the after- noon express to Glasgow, and there's ten guineas for you and two for each of the crew." Then the surly Scotoh skipper raised his rough hand excitedly. "Na. sir," he cried. I wouldna do what I thought wrong for twice ten guineas. Keep yer siller, mon. I ask yer pardon for having doubted ye. Now then, lads, with a will. The order is that we make Oban by twelve to-morrow. Steward, tell the cook there's a leddy on board. There must be some sort of soft pudden at dinner to-night. In a moment everything was in commotion; up rose the anchor, out bellied the sails, and half an hour later the Sylvia, with all canvas spread, glided through the narrow strait, winging her way like some huge white bird for Oban. CHAPTER XXII. I The Courthouse at Mannington was crowded to its utmost capacity on the second day of the trial on a charge of murder of Sir Malcolm Stanton, Bart. In the middle of the first day's hearing, the I presiding judge, oppressed by the stuffy atmo- sphere of the crammed building, had suddenly turned faint, and being seriously indisposed the next morning, the trial had been adjourned until the following day. But now the ghastly business appeared to the numerous sympathisers with the accused man to be proceeding with horrible, inexorable swiftness; and more than one sturdy squire, actually sick with apprehension as the toils closed round the prisoner, had had to push his way quickly out of the vitiated atmosphere, unable to endure longer the awful strain on heart and nerves. And indeed, on this, the second day cf the trial, the evidence against the accused appeared abso- lutely conclusive. On the first day, only two witnesses had been examined: Burrowes the gamekeeper, and the oonstable Myles, who had been directed to arrest the suspected man but the evidence of these two had been overwhelming, and although the pri- soner's counsel had done his best to phake their depositions, by increasing the miserable embar- rassment of the two men, who spoke with the utmost reluctance, he did not benefit his cause in any degree, for—especially in the ease of Bur- rowes-it became obviously evident that the wit- ness was only too much inclined to shield the master to whom he was so entirely devoted, even at the expense of truth. The evidence of Burrowes, in substance, was that at ten o'clock on the eight of the 18th of April, while sitting quietly with his wife in his cottage, he had heard a faint report of firearms— whether it was a pistol or gunshot which he heard he was net prepared to swear; he only knew it was very faint, so faint that his wife, whose ears were not so keen in such matters, did not hear it. The sound seemed to him to come from the direction of the giant oak. He had heard noth- ing suspicious until that moment, and had it happened that he and his wife had been speaking at the instant, the sound was not loud enough to have attracted his attention. Questioned as to why he did not go out imme- diately on hearing the shot, Burrowes seized the opportunity to break into an enthusiastic pane- gyric on his employer, which the prosecuting counsel made no attempt to subdue. Burrowes declared that there had been no doubt in his own mind that the shot was that of a poaoher, but Sir Malcolm Stanton, having always an immense sympathy with the poor, and, moreover, holding j very unusual sentiments on the existing game iaws, had repeatedly given him to understand that, except in very flagrant instances, he would be better pleased not to have to prosecute any- ( one for breaking the law in this way. Therefore the witness had felt he could on this occasion shut his ears to the faint sound, and had done so. ) At this point there was an ominous pause on ) the part of the gamekeeper, and being forced to proceed, the man's voioe sank so low, it was with the utmost difficulty the breathless, eager throng caught the faltering words. Quite early on the morning of April 19th. Bur- rowes experienced his first shock. Going to his son's room as usual to wake. him, he found it empty, and the bed undisturbed. This occasioned him considerable surprise and some alarm, for he knew that the lad had gone to his room with a headache at about twenty minutes past eight the previous evening. He noticed the hour, for the boy had come home just as his wife and he were sitting down to supper. Philip did not enter the kitchen where tho meal was prepared, however, calling out from the pas- sage that he could net cat, but went straight up to his bedroom. An hour afterwards Mrs. Burrowes went to see how the boy was, but returned, saying that his door was locked and the lad evidently asleep. Questioned as to what he thought when he found the room empty, the witness explained that he feared Philip also had heard the shot, and being very venturesome—singularly so considering I his slight lameness—had gone out himself with- out leave, to ascertain what was occurring in the woods. Afterwards this idea was strengthened ly finding that there was a ladder standing against the wall, which the boy might have made use of to get out cf the house without the know- ledge of his parents. From that time, the witness declared, he had heard or seen nothing whatever of his son. Pressed as to how he oould account for the lad's absence, the man turned obstinate-persisting II that he had no notion whatever of the reason for it, but that Phil was no fool, and he had no I fear that any aotual harm had come to him. Burrowes was forced to admit, however, that the boy might have been skilfully kept out of the I way by someone anxious to suppress his evidence. There was another ominous pause here, and then the gamekeeper went on to state with many breaks that, uneasy on his son's account, he had gone out at once, meaning to search the woods, and on reaching the giant oak had discovered the dead body of Rudge. The murdered man was lying upon his back, and near him on the grass was an old red leather letter case, apparently empty. The witness de- claxed he was so horrified by the terrible spectacle that he noticed nothing further, but, on an im- puL-e, rushed out into the highroad, which was only a quarter of a mile distant, with the natural idea of calling for help. There, as chance would, have it, the first man he met was Constable 1yles, and with him he returned at once to the body. Questioned as to whether he had any sus- picions as to the probable murderer, Burrowes at first denied that he had; but being reminded gravely and solemnly that he was on oath, and that he was bound under a heavy penalty to assist the course of justice, the reluctant man, hanging his aead, and crimson with suppressed teeung, confessed that a thought of Sir Malcolm Stanton had just orossed his mind for an instant, for Sir Maicolm and the murdered man were on terms of hot enmity. Myles, tho constable, gave his evidence with professional satisfaction in his own importance, stating that he accompanied the last witness to the giant oak in Feldon Woods at half-past seven on the morning of April 19th, and had seen the body of the man Rudge. Taking careful note of the surrounding ground, under the seat which I encircled the tree he observed thllt the onrth u-aa freshly disturbed, and scratching away the loose mould, he had discovered, a few inches from the surface, a silver-mounted revolver, with five of its chambers still loaded. One chamber, how- ever, was empty, and this he could see had been comparatively recently discharged. Up to this moment Myles had spoken with what, in comparison with the emotion of 1,Lir- rowes, had appeared actual callousness; but new the man's professional stoicism suddenly gt ve way, and coming to the arrest of Sir Malcolm Stanton. he hesitated and faltered pam fully. I The baronet had received him in perfect silence, he said, and had spoken no word whatever in his own dcfence, though he had pic?d?d not guilty to the charge; but his bearing and the expression of his face had been those ,,f cn ii,ro- cent man, and the constable declared with simple earnestness he had never felt so bad in his life as when he had been compelled to arrost, on a capital charge, the most honoured gentleman of the oounty. The Court had adjourned at this point, in con- sequence of the indisposition of the judge; and when the prisoner once more took his place in the dock, the face of every man in the jury box was white and drawn with anxietv. The first witness examined on thgeoond day was George Meadows. L.R.C.S., the local medical man, whom the constable had summoned to view the body before it was moved from the spot where it had been discovered by Burrowes. The roon, locally styled "the Doctor," was a fussy, fatuous, seemingly elderly man, a type of a class common enough in country districts thirty or forty years ago, but now fortunately rarely to be met with. For a man to pass the examinations necessary to obtain his diploma, it might well be imagined that he must be possessed of some culture and brains; but a few years since there were a very j large number of surgeons earning a scanty living in obscure country towns and villages, who, in their general bearing, shewed an entire absence either of education or intelligence, and to this class belonged Mr. George Meadows. Irritation and impatience were to bo seen on every countenance in the court as the vulgarly dressed man gave his evidence, dwelling on the details with the utmost satisfaction, and evidently rejoicing in the sound of his own pompous voice; but no one could deny the horrible importance of what he said. This witness displayed no reluctance in strengthening the case against the prisoner; but there was not a man in the jury box at least to whom "the Doctor" was unfamiliar, and all of them retained a lively recollection of a certain coroner's inquest a year or two back, at which the Doctor" had been severely censured for his inhuman conduct in refusing to attend a man "in extremis" because there was a doubt as to the payment of his fee. Sir Malcolm Stanton, among others, had expressed his sentiments of disgust openly on the occasion, and by doing so had made a secret enemy of "the Doctor" for life. Mr. George Meadows declared that Rudge had died from the effects of a bullet wound in the head; he had himself extracted the bullet from the base of the skull. Asked to produce the bullet, the surgeon admitted that he had inad- vertently mislaid it. He imagined he knew where he had placed it, but it could not be found anywhere. He had seen the revolver discovered in the earth under the seat of the oak, however, and there existed no doubt whatever in his mind that the bullet was exactly similar to those in the five undischarged chambers. The course taken by the bullet, and the Un- scorched oondition of the skin round the wound, proved conclusively to him that the fatal injury was not self-inflicted; and so far as he could judge, the man had been dead for about ten hours when he was called to view the body at 8 a.m. on April 19th. In his opening address, the prosecuting counsel had felt it to be absolutely incumbent on him to allude to the mysterious disappearance of the accused man's wife, as well as to that of the boy Philip Burrowes; and also to point out the fact that Lady Stanton's absence was the more in- criminating circumstance of the two. For while it might be inferred that the boy had been got rid of as a dangerous witness, the flight of the lady must unhappily be regarded in a still more serious light. At the coroner's inquest, and also at the magisterial enquiry, one of the principal witnesses for the prosecution had been prostrated by fever, and utterly unable to give his evidence; but there could be little doubt that Lady Stanton's flight, which this witness would prove had preceded the murder, furnished a probable cause for the com- mittal of the terrible act, for it was well known that there had been grave differences between the murdered man and Sir Malcolm Stanton, and that the prisoner had threatened the man, after a stormy soene in which Lady Stanton declared that Rudge had grossly insulted her. And, the counsel proceeded, it could not be doubted that Kudgo was in possession of some secret dan- gerous to Lady Stanton's reputation, for it was plainly evident to the household at Feldon Park that, after this scene and the instant dismissal of Rudge, the relations between Sir Malcolm and his wife were very strained. Throughout the whole hearing Sir Malcolm Stanton stood in the dock, declining the feat offered to him, with a perfectly impassive counten- ance; but more than one noticed a quick flush pass over his pale face, and a look of commisera- tion come into his eyes, as young William Blunt was helped into the witness-box; and, indeed, there was no one present who did not experience an extra ohi!l of ill omen, as the hapless young fellow raised his head, and with piteous eyes gazed in appeal flitst at the solemn judge, and then at the apprehensive jurymen. But there was no escape for the scared lad he had to speak, and men, and women too, despite the heat of the day, shivered involuntary as they listened to the faint, halting words. The prosecuting counsel dealt very gently with this witness, but he had a stern duty to perform, and the haggard young man actually writhed with misery as one after another of the damning facts were drawn from him. Forced to speak, he told how, a little after nine en the fatal evening, being concealed behind the curtains of the library, he had seen his master enter the room, apparently in a condition of terrible mental distress. For a time Sir Malcolm had remained seated, without removing his hat or overcoat, seemingly exhausted by emotion; and then he had risen, and kneeling down before the fire had been occupied for the space of a minute or two in burning something—what, tho witness could not see—but he heard the prisoner stir the fire more than once, as though there was some difficulty in getting rid of the thing. When that was done, Sir Malcolm had gone out of the room for a minute or so-he imagined into the morning room opposite the study—and return- ing almost immediately, had walked straight to the bureau in the corner of the study; the witness could not see him at this moment, but he heard him opening the drawers as though searching for something, and in another minute Sir Malcolm shut the drawers and came to the table in tho centre of the room. Here the unhappy witness broke down, but after a m nute's delay he was compelled to answer the inexorable question as to what his master held in his hand when he returned to the table and bemcr shewn the revolver unearthed by the witness Myles, he admitted brokenly that it was that. There was no doubt at all in his mind as to the identity of the weapon; he had often polished the jilver mountings of the revolver. William Blunt further deposed how, fearing that something was wrong, he had followed his master, but that, being confused and frightened, a few minutes had elapsed before he could make up his mind to this course, and he had arrived only at the gamekeeper's lodge when he heard the shot 4:1 Aikk I I *°": rlœr tnat ne had no distinct recollection of his own ?proceedmgs. He was terribly i frightened. and he supposed he must have run back to the house, for he had been found lying dressed on his bed the next day, delirious with fever. In his ravings, it appeared he had said things he would sooner have bitten out his tongue than spoken, and so it came about that he  where he did, giving evidence against fhVS master that ever a man had. The poor young fel low burst into sobs at this noint anA i an aufle groaning sigh passed ft?™, i the crowded ?"?- After a minute's stru^e Blunt recovored himself to some extent, and then with bent head ho turned as though to walk out of the box. But his tortures were not over; ere he had taken a step he was recalled, and he started and winced as though cut with a whip when he was commanded to tell the judge and jury all he knew as to the movements of Lady Stanton on the day and evening of the murder. mL xne young man s lace was actually livid, but he was entirely helpless, and in a few minutes all knew how the lady of the house had stolen from it, with her face hidden by a thick black veil, a couple of hours before the shot in the wood, and how a few days previously she had been taken suddenly ill, and had had to retire to bed. and that afterwards Sir Malcolm and he had noticed muddy footprints in the morning room, where she had been alone for some hours, as though someone had entered the room by the window from the garden. It was elicited, too, that on the discovery of the tootprints Sir Malcolm had appeared much dis- turbed, and had gone up at once to his lady's room, but had been denied admittance by the n,aid. who said that her mistress was too unwell to speak to him. At this point the witness collapsed altogether, and had to be carried fainting- out of the court; but the case for the prosecution was closed, and now there was nothing but the speeches of c-ounsel and the summing up of the judg-o. With awful rapidity this business was gone through. The counsel for the Crown was very temperate, merely stating the facts of the case, without enlarging on them; but tho other side had j a perfectly hopeless task. There was not a single weak point in the evidence; the animus between the murdered man and the accused could not be denied, and it was well known that the prisoner had openly threatened the other's life, should he again give him cause of offence. The only circumstance in connection with the case which was not perfectly comprehensible was the statement of the witness William Blunt that his master had been occupied in burning some- thing before he left the house with the revolver. The natural inference was that the prisoner was at that moment destroying something connected with the terrible occurrences of the cv- e iting; but that after all could not be proved, and although it was difficult to account for his actions at this moment, they did not in any way prove him innocent of the crime imputed to him. At three o'clock the jury retired, and in less than a quarter of an hour returned. No one had the slightest hope, and the prisoner's counten- ance did not change a whit, though he drew him- self to his full height and raised his head proudly as the foreman with trembling white lips pro- nounced the fatal word "GniltvAnrI ,"u},n h" was asked if he had anything to say his voice did not even tremble, as in low tones, bowing to the judge, he answered, Nothing, my Ivrd, except to thank you all for the consideration you have shewn to a most un- happy man." "Think again," the other persisted solemnly. Is there nothing you can say? You pleaded not guilty to the charge." The prisoner's expression was most dogged in its determination, as with erect head he replied slowly and calmly. "I pleaded not guilty at the desire of mv counsel. It was merely a form to satisfy him. I have no defence to offer. I have nothing to say for myself." With a heavy sigh, which was almost a groan, the shocked judge remained motionless for a minute, and then with an obvious effort rose and took the horrible black cap in his hand. But the next instant a change came over his face. The door of the court had been opened noisily, and in a moment a breathless excitement had come over the crowded assemblage. There was a loud buzz of voices a general movement, and a minute after the cr)wd parted; crushing each other violently back, an] a. woman, followed closely by a man, rushed up.-Ile narrow path. ) Then for the first time, sinking on t^ chair in the dock, the prisoner uttered a cry jf agony, which was never forgotten by those wh. heard it, and leaning forward hid his quivering' fee. He had recognised her-zll had recognised her. It was Lady Stanton who stood there, haggard and worn, with gleaming eyes and twitoing lips, speechless and panting for breath, an at the sight the prisoner's manhood deseed him altogether. (To be continued.)
[COPYRIGHT.] GUILTYorNOT GUILTY?
[COPYRIGHT.] GUILTYorNOT GUILTY? BY W. W. HUTCHINGS, Author of "Historic Tragedies of London Life," &c., &c., I IX.—THE MURDER OF THE MUNICH USURER. On the night of Friday, the 7th of February, 1817, the company at a certain tavern in the city of Munich included several respectable burghers and a less reputable goldsmith and money-lender named Christopher Rupprecht, a man of vulgar, avaricious nature, who had many onemies and scarce a friend. At this time about sixty years of age, he had been for twelve years a widower, and there was but one of his ohildren living, p. r'aughter, married to a furrier named Bieringer. lie was of a violent, abusive turn, had quarrelled with his brother and one of his sisters, and also with Bieringer, his son-in-law, and the only living per- sons with whom he was on terms of anything like cordiality were his other sister, Clara, his daughter, and one Hogner, who lodged in the same house. Rupprooht lived, in fact, to scrape together money by usury. For solo recreation he spent most of his evenings at this public-house, where he stixxve with considerable success to make himself ex- eessively disagreeable to the rest of the oompanyi; by ooarse sallies and vulgar abuse. About half-past ten on this Friday night Rup-! precht ordered another glass of beer, and th landlord left the upstairs parlour and went down to the tap to fetch it. The man had got nearly to the top of the stairs on his way back when he heard someone standing at the street door, whocie voice he did not recognise, enquire whether Herr Rupprc-cht was there. Without looking round he answetred that he was. The stranger then begged him to ask Herr Rupprecht to step down for a moment, and on receiving the message Rup- J precht, probably scenting business, at once went downstairs. The stranger had come on business, but busi- -s but bus i ness different from that which Rupprecht had an- ticipated. Nor did he waste his own or the usurer's time. Rupprecht had not been gone from the parlour a minute when his fellow-guests heard dreadful groans, and rushing downstairs they found him stretched cut just inside the door bleeding j from a terrible wound in the head. Close to the body lay his leatherri, cap, shewing a cut corro- sponding with the wound in Rupprecht's head. The old man, not quite unconscious, was mutter- ing the words, "Wicked rogue! wicked rogue! with the axe! with the axe!" and when asked to say who his assailant was lie appeared to under- stand the question and tried to answer it, but his tongue failed him. ) When they had carried him upstairs they began to ply him with questions, and at last he ex- claimed: "My daughter! my daughter!" It was supposed that he wished to see Frau Bieringer, and she was fetched; but by this time he had re- lapsed into unconsciousness. Surgeons were soon on the spot, and on examination they found that; the gaping wound, four inches long, had pene- trated the skull, and they had no hesitation in attributing it to a sharp, heavy instrument, not improbably a large sabre. From the situation of the wound and other circumstances, the examin- i ing magistrate concluded that as soon as the mur- I dorer had given the landlord his message he' stepped aside from the doorway into a dark comer on the left, mounted a stone bench which stood there for the use of customers, and with uplifted weapon awaited his viotim. Seeing no one in the passage oa getting downstairs, Rupprecht no doubt stepped just outside the door and turned round to look down the street. At that instant the weapon fell, and tottering inside the door, Rupprecht Earik down where a few seconds later they tound him. As the murderer had got away entirely unob- served, the streets being deserted at half-past ten on a February night, and as he had left not a traco behind him, the officers of justice had to look j to the dying man for a clue to the miscmant's: identity. On the evening of the next day, Satur- day, finding him conscious, they asked him who struck the blow. "Schmidt," he replied. "What i Schmidt?" they inquirsd, and he answered "Nvood- cutter." Further, he said that this Schmidt the woodcutter lived in the part of the city known as The Most, that he had used a hatchet, that he [ (Rupprecht) had recognised him by his voice, that Schmidt owed him no money, but there had been a quarrel between them. His answers, it must be understood, were of the briefest, for the most part limited to a single word, and he was so obviously incapable of making a coherent statement that no question was put to him as to the nature of the quarrel. Two days after this, on Monday, the 10th, his mental condition having, as the result of tre- panning, slightly improved, he was more fonnally examined, but, though he was able to reoognise the examining magistrate, nothing more definito was gleaned from him. He repeated that his assailant j was Schmidt, the woodcutter, but when asked whether he lived in The Walch, The Schutt, or The Most, he was silent, and when the question was put "Does he live on The Holies Plfaster't" he dis- tinctly answered "Yes." Then he became in- capably of further utterance, and early the next morning he died. Though Rupprecht had supplied something in the nature of a clue, the examining magistrate was conscious that he had a difficult piece of work before him. The number of Schmidts in Munich was legion, and several of them wero woodcutters. The claims of each of these woodcutter Schmidts to the attentions of the law were carefully re- viewed* and ?t last the number of suspects was brought down to three. One of them, Abraham, whose home was on the Hohes Palter—where on I the second occasion Rupprecht said his assailant lived-began to prevaricate as soon as the firt I question was put to him. Taken to tiie bedside of the dying man, he at first denied that he knew him, but ill the next breath said, "That h Herr RUP-I precht; I know him well. What is tho matter with him?" "Why did you say you did net know him" j he was asked. "Because that is Mr. RUDDlecht." I he replied At this he was sternly ordered to give a proper answer, but instead of doing so he launched out into general assertions of his inno- cence, adding, "On Friday night I was cutting pegs at the house of my mother-in-ianr till eleven o'clock." When asked at what time he went home he said, "I stayed until past nine with my mother- ill-law"; and on its being pointed out to him that this did not agree with what he had just said, he sought to reconcile the statements by saying "From nine to eleven After this the magistrate had no hesitation in ordering him into custody. The police next searched Abraham's house, and found that the blade of his hatchet was spotted with blood. To account for this lie pointed to his right hand, which was chapped, and which, he said, had bled on the Friday. Now. thought the examining magistrate, the man had betrayed him- self. It was his right hand which was chapped. But it was the left hand whici, in using the hatchet, would be near the blade- the right hand would be grasping the handle, and the blood there- lore snouici nave been on the baojie, not on the blade. To this, however, Abraham replied that he was left-handed, and so he undoubtedly was. The point therefore had to be dropped. The rest of the case against the nan, too, soon began to crumble to pieces. When the axe was compared with the wound in the head and the cut in the cap the surgeons thought it improbable that this could have been the weapon employed, for the edge was only three inches and 1 third long while the wound measured four inches and the cut in the cap nearly four inches and a half. His wife and mother-in-law and other persons ivere closely examined, and their evidence satisfie* the magis- trate that at the time of the murder hE was in bed. Of the contradiction into which he "as betrayed on being taken into Rupprecht's presnoe he was auie at last to give a sufficient expanation. It was quite true, he said, that he had never seen Rupprecht before. But he had heard of the oat. rage upon a man of this name before the officers same to him, and knew therefore that he was being taken to &aa Rupprecht, and thit was all he meant when he said, "That is Herr Rupprecht I know him well." The faet is that Abiaham was an awkward, stupid, timid man, and haid of hearing into the bargain; hence the discrepancies into which he fell. "I believe, said the Magistrate of his district, "that there is no one it my jurisdic- tion who blunders so much as he docs. He seldom calls anyone by his right najne; and when he does not understand what is said to him, or cannot ex- press his maaning, he is apt to be angry." So Abraham had to be brought in not amuraerer, but only a blockhead. The examining magistrate now gave his atten- tion to the two other SchmidtA, who were half- biothers, living together under tile same roof, and known as "big Schmidt" and "little Schmidt." ihey certainly were not strange to the monev- leiider, for they had spent a goq deal of time in his company at ti-io tavern wliicj he. frequented, and he was in the habit of iddressing "big Schmidt as Hans. Both of then had been taken to his bedside, where they beha-ed in a fashion not in the least suspicious. "Po,r Christopher!" exclaimetd "big Schmidt," John Cabriel; "'how ill you have been served. Poor fell<w! Many's the good jokd we have had together! He must have owed you a powerful grudge wlo could ha.ve served you so!" 'HV> was anxioua+i»of. R,t.L -uu. "UP¡J1.U\.¡ should reoognise him, and repeafedly exclaimed, Christopher! Christopher; your Iaris is here!" With "big Schmidt" and "little Schmidt" were associated in the scrutiny two mei named Fried- maiin and Gotz, with whom Rupprecht a few months before had had a quarrel, into which the Scnmidts were drawn. It was thought possible I that I liedmann and Gmtz might hkve planned the (bath of tho man who had become their enemy, tnel might have employed the Schmidts as the I.gents of their vengeance. Investigation shewed iowover, that the quarrel had be&n forced upon them by Rupprecht, that they had given no indi- I tation of harbouring thoughts of vengeance, and lhat they haa expressed sorrow and indignation _L_- LL_ 1 I wneii wity neiard of the outrage upon him. They were able, too, to account for their movements at the time of the murder, Friedmann, indeed, being in the tavern parlour when Rupprecht was struck dwn. The two Scbmidts also were able to satisfy j the officers of justice that they were at home at thea? time. Not until every Schmidt in the city who was a woodcutter had proved his innocence did the! magistrate abandon this clue. But at last he was; obliged to admit to himself that they had wasted precious time. The dying man, his mind paralysed by the injury to his brain, had unconsciously done; his best to screen his murderer by uttering words I  wnicn put the bloodhounds of justice upon a false scents As we have already seen, the probability is that he never saw his assassin, or the- weapon with which he was struck; but, conscious of having been smitten by something sharp and heavy, his mind; would not unnaturally run-upon the axes of the Schmidts, with whom he had fallen out. That, and that alone, was what his exclamations meant. He was putting into broken words not something that he had seen, but a mere impression, and that impression, unfortunately, a mistaken one. Meanwhile the magistrates had not forgotten that Rupprecht was on bad terms with his son-in- law, Biaringer. Had Bieringer any motive for wishing his father-in-law out of the way? Well, it so happened that Rupprecht had long threatened to leave his property to his daughter in such a way that Bieringer should have no power over it. He- j had spoken of this both to his daughter aad to his friend Hogner, and on the very afternoon of the murder had asked the latter to look out certain papars in order that he might then and there take them to the magistrate to get the will drafted. The papers, however, could not be put in order that day, and so Hogner was to come to his office on the Sunday and finish off the business. Curious it was, certainly, that the murder should j have fallen out just in time to frustrate a design aimed by Rupprecht at Bieringer's interests, for as the old man had died intestate Bieringer, as his son-in-law, was entitled to a certain proportion of his substance. It was remembered, too, that the dying man had exclaimed, "The wicked rogue! with the axe!" and it was notorious that "the wicked rogue" was this affectionata father -in-law's favourite mode of speaking of his daughter's hus- band. But this clue in its turn melted away under the heat of scrutiny. Bieringer was shewn to be a man of education and excellent character. Tho worst that could be said of him was that he was not living on good terms with his wife, but for this, it appeared, she was chiefly to blame, and on one occasion she had been sentenced to forty-eight hours' imprisonment for an outburst of violent temper. She had carefully abstained from telling him of her father's intention to will away the pro- perty from him, nor had Hogner said a word to him on the subject. Moreover, at half-past ten on the night of tho murder he was at home preparing for bed. But what of Bieringer's wife, Rupprecht's daughter, this woman who seemed to have in- herited something of her father's truculent position? Did no suspicion attach to her? It had been noticed that almost as soon as she reached her father's side that Friday night she shewed anxiety to possess herself of the keys. She seemed in fact to be thinking mora of her father's pro- perty than of his shocking plight, and as soon as she got the keys she hurried off to his rooms. Again, might not the old man's repeated exclama- tions Again, "My daughter! my daughter!" mean not that he wanted her to be fetched but that she had done the deed? That such a blow couid have been dealt by a woman's arm was not, at first sight, probable. But Frau Bieringer was, as the reader knows, a person of furious temper, and crimes of violence have not seldom been committed by such women. It is to be noted, too, that when the land- lord of the tavern had been put to the test to see if he could identify Abraham Schmidt, the stupid woodcutter, by his voice, heard in the distance, he asserted that Schmidt's voice was much too harsh, and that the stranger's voice was, in fact, more like that of a woman! To these facts is to be added the ostentatious eagerness which the woman had shewn to fasten the crime upon "big Schmidt" and the man Gotz. So voluble indeed was she in accusing them that she had to be or- dered to keep silence lest she should drown words that might fall from her father's lips. She de- clared elven that her father had said to her, when she asked him who struck the blow, "It was a big fellow!" Was it not suspicious that no one else, not even the officers told off to lie in wait for Rupprecht's utterances, heard this, or anything like it? Fortunately for this woman she had meted out to her by the magistrate more impartial treatment than she had measured to "big Schmidt." Yet her bias against this man was not unnatural, see- ing that her father had seemed to point to him as tliu assassin. As to her having taken possession of the keys, she was able to shew that she hadddne this at the suggestion of the doctor, who thought that even at ttiat moment the murderer or his ac- complices might be robbing Rupprecht's -lodging. Nor did she go to the rooms alone, but accoui- pained, at her own wish, by a couple of poi-ico officers. Besides, what conceivable interest could she have had in making away with bar father just then? She had always been on good tenna with him, he had supported her in her differences with her husband, and at this time he was in the very act of making a disposition of his property in her favour. She had, therefore, nothing to gain, but much to lose, by his death at that partiouiar junc- ture. So this clue, like the others, was found to lead i nowhere. But might not the murder have been committed by one of Rupprecht's debtors who wante d in this easy and .summary way to rid him- self of his obhgabou Y From the usurer's ma.id the magistrate learnt that on the day oi the murder three trumpeters, belonging to a regiment quar- tered in the city, had called to do business with him. This was a hint worth following up, for was it not the opinion of the surgeons that the instru- ment of murder was a sabre, such as men in the army would have easy access to? So the men were sought out, and one of them had to admit that 11C! owed Rupprecht money which he had no means of repaying. As to the others,, they could give no reason why they went with their comrade to see Rupprecht, except that it was to bear him com- pany. The first of the three, then, had a motive for removing Rupprecht. But so had all the rest of thei money-lender's debtors. And two of the three trumpeters were able to prove that they were in barracks at the time of the murder, and the third that he was at a tavern. By the maid, also, the magistrate was informed that-late on that Friday afternoon, two young men were closeted with Rupprecht for over an hour ana that, happening to look into the room through a. window, she had seen them busying themselves with something on the table. This, however, was but another ignis fatuus. The man turned out to be the regimental tailor, who was borrowing money off Rupprecht, and left a lot of cloth with him as socurity, and a shoemaker who went with him to witness tho transaction. That this murder had at last to be added to the long list of unavehged crimes waa certainly due to no lack of energy or of perseverance or of skill on the part of the officers of justice. They oast their net widely enough, in all conscience, arresting a number of persons besides those I have mentioned, and, in fact, laying by the hoels every- one who could possibly bo suspected, and compel- ling him to prove an alibi. But at every fresh move they were met by failure. The crime, there can be little doubt, arose out of Rupprecht's busi- ness, and Was probably the work of somo hard- pressed client who deemed an act of murder a cheap price to pay for the redemption of his debt. Had Rupprecht left behind him a record of his transactions the police, by treating every debtor as a suspect, might at last, by a process of ex- haustion, have run their quarry to earth. But, all illiterate man with an excellent memory for figures. he kept no books, and as the assassin had the good luck to be seen by no mortal eye, not even, in all probability, by the eye of the victim, the con- ditions of successful detection in this case were altogether absent. [The End.]
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Next week, under the heading of .1 "Guilty or Not Guilty," will appear the narrative of "The Cannon-street Mystery.
HOW I WRITE MY PLAYS.I
HOW I WRITE MY PLAYS. I A CHAT WITH MR. LAURENCE RODGERS. Mr. Laurence Rodgers, author of that well. known success, Susan," is an American who has lately made London his home, living in a luxurious but business-like flat at 10, Hanover-square, London, W. A Weekly Dispatch" reporter found him arranging for production of one of his plays at a London theatre. "Unlike most playwrights," he said, "I do not consider myself a genius with a mission to teach actors and educate the public taste. Neither do I seek introduction to any lessee, manager, or actor. Mr. L. Rodgers, the well-lcnoivn Playwright. "When I first began I bad one success and several failures, but I looked upon the latter as pointing the road to future successes. I never work on a play more than four hours a day, and I don't believe in night work. I can account for the partial failure of my play Oh Angeline' by the fact that at the time I was writing it I was in very bad health. I was ill from the end of 1899 until the end of the summer, 1901, and during this period I consulted quite half a dozen doctors in America, England, and the Continent, but nothing did me any good until I heard of Dr. Williams' pink pills for pale people. What were my symptoms ? Well, I had severe pains at the back of my neck, my breath was very short, while foi-I days together I had most severe headaches. When going upstairs I could scarcely breathe. Different doctors attributed my sufferings to lumbago, to chest complaint, rheu- matism, and heart disease. During my last voyage from America I spoke to a friend, who told me that if I bought just six boxes of Dr. Williams' pink pills us soon as I landed I should be a new man before I had finished them. He was right my digestion and appetite improved. I grew strong and stout. Before my illness I weighed list. 131b., while my best weight during my ill-health was 9st. 41b. Three days ago I turned the balance at list. 71b. When cases so severe and complicated are cured, it is no wond.t JUinor ailments-indjgestion, bne, ffieumatism, and bronchitis—-yield to a few doses of the same pills; while severe ailments, as paralysis, consumption, and kidney disease are cured by a little perseverance, as many published cases prove. On another page of this paper will be found an article on Heart Disease, and particulars of a case cured.
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I ATHLETIC -NEWS.
I ATHLETIC NEWS. FOOTBALL NOTES. After the long spell of fine and often sunny Saturdays, the wet and cold weather of a week ago came as a reminder to us that football is a winter game, and that to enjoy it we must fre- quently endure cheerless meteorological conditions. The Chester team ware again at home on Satur- day, having as visitors the redoubtable Oswestry eleven, which last season defeated the city to the tune of eight goals to nil. That great interest was taken in the game was evidenced by the fact that a large number of people braved the cold and damp to witness the game. Chester were repre- sented by the followingEardley, goal; Astbury and Tomalin, full-backs; Taylor, Turner and Bar- ker, half-backs; Hodnett, Delaney, Riley, Sher- man and Kelly, forwards. Just prior to the start old Sol put in an appearance from behind a big, black cloud, and with his rays in their faces the Cestrians kicked off. A nasty wind which blew across the field was rather in favour of the visitors. Oswestry at once became the aggressors, and Tomalin had to clear three times in succession. Then Chester got away on the right, and after some nico work between Hodnett, Taylor and Delaney the city were pulled up. Prascott, on the visitors' left extreme, obtained possession, and the homo defence had again to w*rk hard. The ball was cleared to Morgan, one of the Oswestry full-backs, who shot in from the half-way line. Unfortunately the fleeting sunshine. was in Eardley's eyes, with the result that he. was unable to judge the ball's flight correctly, and it dropped into the goal. Not content with this success, Oswestry again troubled EardJey, who j had to clear from Percival. The Chester forwards again attacked, and Riley put in some useful play; I but when the full-back line was reached, the ball went back again. I After the City's custodian had saved smartly twice, a neat pass from the left was missed in turn by three of the Oswestry forwards, a nice and easy goal being lost. After some tricky play, Bar- ker parsed to Riley, who in turn passed, to Hod- nott, but he was offside. The city attacked in earnest, and swarmed round their opponents' citadel. Twelve yards away from the goal Kelly met the ball before it touched the ground, and sent it into the goal with a beautiful shot. To every- one's disappointment the referee ruled Kelly off- side, though it appeared to us in the Press-box thp.t one of the visitors' men touched the ball just before Kelly met it. Oswestry pressed vigorously, but Eardley was safe and brought off soma excellent saves. Chester dashed away, but Delaney was unable to meet the ball in time, and the goalkeeper cleared. From a high shot by Delaney Hodnett raced with the opposing full-back (Davey) for the possession of the ball. Reaching it first, he dashed away all alone. The. goalkeeper ran out to him, and Davey having caught up to him again, the ba.U was cleared. If Hodnett had risked a shot before the custodian had reached him he might have scored. The home goal then underwent a long spell of bombardment. The city suddenly broke away, and a fierce scrim- mage ensued in the visitors' goalmouth. It seemed as if the ball must go through, but just befora the interval it was cleared. After the interval, the referee allowed the game to re-commence before all the home team were in their places. Eardley was on the centre line, while one or two other members of the side had not reacned their positions. Chester had much the best of the opening exchanges. Kelly put in a good shot right across. the goalmouth. A nice run was mades by the city's forwards. Kelly passed to Riley, and Riley to Sherman, who after dashing away dropped the ball just outside the goal. Another rush was made, and Hodnett sent in a steady, low shot, which missed by inches. Oswestry bactc- mages ensued in the home quarters. A nice shot from Elhvorth was nicely saved by Eardiey, while Prescott also mado a good try. The Cestrians again pressed, and after several hot shots by the forwards, Barker put in a rattling shot, which all but beat the goalkeeper. A corner followed, and 3oon afterwards a penalty was awarded the city. The kick was taken by De- laney, who easily scored the equalising goal. Stimulated by this success, Chester tried hard to incraase their score, and the Oswestry defenders were not allowed to stand idle. Unfortunately a heavy shower of rain came on, and what with the umbrellas and the spectators crowding in on us, it was almost impossible for the Press to see what was going on. As far as we could see, the Ces- trians kept up the pressure, and though Oswestry retaliated once or twice, neither side were able to score, and the gama ended in a draw of one. goal each. Taking the play as a wliole, Oswep-y shewed j much better form a.nd accurate play. Their com- bination was good and their passing was excellent, while tho shooting-in was also a nice feature of I their play. During the first portion of the game they had much the best of the game; but after the interval the Cestrians played with a great deal more vigour, and were the predominant team. The play of the Chester men was far below the average, a.nd Eardley and Barker were the only two who played consistently well. Tomalin was seen to better advantage than Astbury, who was not half as certain as usual. Barker was the best in the half-back line, and worked very hard. Turner was very poor on the whole, while even Taylor was a much less dangerous opponent. The forward line at times shewed but little combination, and played as five distinct players instead of as part of a machine. The support they received from the half-back line was not what it ought to be. Hodnett kept up to the Same standard all through the game. Kelly, though brilliant at times, did not do himself credit. His shot which beat tho goalkeeper, though he was ruled offside, was the best individual piece of work during the whole afternoon. Delaney worked hard as usual, but Riley and Sherman did not seem to get properly going until after the interval. During the game the spectators expressed great dissatisfaction with the ruling of the referee, though, fortunately, their demonstrations did rot go further than hooting. At the conclusion of the game the referee, escorted by two policemen, formed the centre of a rather excited crowd. It was pleasing to find that the good sense of the spectators prevented any scene, which could not but have brought disgrace on all concerned. May we drop the committee a hint, after Satur- day's exparience, that more comfortable quarters for the Press would be desirable? We published a letter in this column last week from "Fair Play is a Jewell," in which he com- plained strongly of the action of the Chester Junior Association in quashing the protest of Hoole against several of the Garrison players, on the ground that they were ineligible. He states that the referee in questioa. Sergt. Belshaw, was al- lowed to sit on the protest committee. We are informed that so far from that being the case, ho was no more on the committee than the Hoole representative; also that while the committee wore arriving at their decision the referee retired from the room. Our correspondent. also states that "conclusive evidence" was brought that the players protested against were ineligible. That is a matter of opinion. We understand that the committee sat for two hours hearing the case. They came to a different conclusion to our correspondent's, and it is hardly fair to the committee for him to open the matter again and question, their decision, There is no reason for supposing that the conl- mittele were biased in favour of the Garrison, and it may safely be assumed that the committee were in a better position to form an opinion on the matter than "Fair Play, etc." In the second round of the Chester Seeiior Cup competition, Mold Amateurs were at home to the Druids Reserve (Ruabon) on Saturday. The home team won the toss, and the Druids kicked-off up the hill. The visitors were the better balanced team, but the Mold players adapted themselves more to the state of the ground. During the first: half, play was very even, and both goals remained intact until about five minutes before the interval, when Jenkinson scored for Mold from the touch- line. I During the second half a downpour of rain made matters most uncomfortable. The visitors shewed far superior play, and attacked continually. but were unable to score. They were awarded a penalty kick, but the goalkeeper saved well. They' kept up the pressure until the close, but did not pt in penetrating their opponents' goal. An exciting game ended in a victory for Mold by ona goal to nil. We understand that the Druids have protested against Mold on the ground that a cer- tain member of the team was ineligible. Mold Junction Locos visited Saltney St. Mark's on Saturday. St. Mark's kicked off against the wind, and after about fifteen minutes' play G. Hewitt scored an easy goal for the visitors. From the kick-off the Locos again had hard lines in not scoring. Half-time came with the resuJt-Locoo one, St. Mark's one. In the second half the Locos backs and goalkeeper played a grand game. From a nicely-placed free kick in the Saints' goal, Evans headed the second goal. The Saints pressed, but WM-c again driven away. G. Hewitt then regis- tered the third goal, time arriving with the score- Mold Junction three, St. Mark's one. Dawson, the centre-half, was the most brilliant player for St. Mark's. The Helsby ground was on Saturday occupied by tho Reserves, who met Whitby in the, socond round of the Chester and District Junior Cup com- petition. There was a moderate attendance of spectators present when the visitors, who had only ten men, kicked off with the wind in their favour. After a few exchanges Isield, on the home team's right wing, got away, and Cartwright scored a capital goal from his centre. Whitby pressed, but; their efforts to score were very feeble and were easily dealt with by the home defenders. Sutton I saved a couple of long shots, the visitors' custodian doing lik-ewl-se from Nield and Smith. After button had again cleared from a scrimmage in the goal mouth-, Griffiths, of the home team, missed with an open goal. Give-and-take play followed up to half-time, when Helsby led by ono goal to nil. With the wind in their favour, the home team at, ft I u eCOlru Keeping up the pressure, Cartwright (Helsby) scored a third goal. The visitors got away 011 sevaral occasions, but were soon driven back, and play was chiefly contested in their half. At length Harding obtained the fourth goal from a corner. One of the visitors' players was ordered off the field for rough play, which left them with nine men only. The home team continued to press up to the finish, but failed to score again, several ex- lent chances being missed, and the game ended in Heisby's favour by four goals to nil. An unusual scene occurred at Wrexham on Sat- urday, during the progress of the match between Wrexham Victoria and Gwersyllt, in the Welsh Amateur Cup competition. The visitors' custodian was apparently annoyed by somo remarks made by the home team's trainer, who was standing be- hind the goal. The goalkeeper popped under the rails, and a fight ensued between him and tho trainer. This was concluded by the trainer's scam- pering across the ground with a number of spec- tators at his heels. The players retired to their rooms, and the game was suspended for a quarter of an hour. The trainer was eventually escorted off the ground bleeding from a cut on the face. The ground was cleared and the game finished. The visitors' supporters present easily outnumbered the Wrexham supporters. St. Oswald's met the College second eleven on Saturday. Williams opened the score for the College after ten minutes' play. From a corner kick Hayes added a second. St. Oswald's were then seen to advantage, and Cottrell scored from a centre by L. Jeffs. At the interval the score stood :—College two goals, St. Oswald's one. Soon after the kick-off, Thompson equalised with a long shot. The College tried hard to gain the lead, but could not break the defence of J. Butterworth and W. Jeffs. In the last few minutes Cottrell missed an open goal from a breakaway by E. Butterworth. The game ended in a draw of two goals each. I Frodsham Parish Church second team journeyed to Chester on Saturday to bring off their engage- ment with Chester St. Mary's. The visitors kicked off in very wet weather, and were at onca forced on the defensive. The home toam quickly; got into their stride and scored two goals in quick succession, Frodham failirg to make anything tangible. Resuming, the play was for the most part of an even character, and rather inclined to be rough. The home contingent again scored a I couple of goals, and the visitors were thus de- cisively beaten by four goals to nil. j t Conna, h 'a Quay w?r& I Connah'ø Quay "'em "billed" to play Flint T -7.,I.C. in the Welsh Junior Cup competition on the former's ground. They, liko their frieoids at Shotton, received a bye in the first round. Ihe j official referee failed to put in an appearance, and Mr. Ellis (Flint) undertook the duties. In the first half Flint fairly made "rings" around the Quay, and had it not been for the fine performances of Dodd in goal, the visitors would have oompiled a fine score. After Flint had scored two goa!s it was decided to abandon the game on account of the wretched state of the weather. Northop Hall entertained Caergwrle on Satur- day in a Flintshiro League match. The opening exchanges were of Ra even character, but owing to the slippery nature of the ground the players had great difficulty in keeping their feet. Just before half-time one of the visitors hurt his ankle and had to leave the field. Half-time arrived with no score, although Northop Hall were awarded ? penalty. After change of ends, the home team had the best of matters, but they could not penetrate the visitors' defence. The Caergwrle left wing theP had a run up tho field, and the outside man crossed over to Howell Davies, who netted the ball, which proved to be tho only goal of thei match. The homo custodian kept out some good shots, and tblÇ. gamo was played on the most. friendly terms, fotl- ing boing conspicuous by its absence. On Saturday Shottongers played Flint at Shotton in the second round for the Welsh Jui)iOf Cup. There wa.s a capital attendance when JjtJJ Tyack kicked off against a stiff breeze for ShottoO- Flint ran down, but could not pass Hewitt, who turned out the intruders time after time. Shotto" then took up the running and forced a Oriner. which was cleared by Singleton (the visitors' eUs; todian) in grand stylo. » Flint then had a pop fit, goal, but the ball went harmlesslv over the line- From the goal-kick the visitors again got posses- sion, but were nicely robbed by the Shotton backs, who were playing a very determined game. The visitors were now playing a rather rough gaine, the result being that Shotton wore left with only ten men. Flint compelled Hughes to concede a corner, which was splendidly cleared by W. Green. the home' custodian. By a sequence of clever passing, Shotton were again enabled to test Sir, 'gle' ton's abilities, which were not found wanting- Half-time arrived with no score. The second half started in a downpour of raib- After fifte n minutes' play Shotton, through Jones, notched their first goal, to be followed by another in a few minutes by Shaw. The home forwardo.. carried the ball down at a terrific rate, and be,fore" Singleton had time to consider Edwards put in third goal. The visitors were now a beaten teal#' the persistency of each individual player of tile home team being very marked, and the result vvoo that the visitors' play became of a very straggling nature. Edwards again scored, and ShattO)) oventually ran out winners by four goals to nil- COMBINATION. RESULTS UP TO DATE. ?Go&!8-? P. W. L. D. PorAKst-P? Wr?xham 8. 7. 0. I.?. 4'16 Witton Albion 9. 5. 0. 4.22.10.1? Nantwich 8. 5. 2. 1 17 14.Il Birkenhead •). 5. 3. !22.11.? J Burslem Port Vale 8 3.. ?L 2.?22.14. ? Middlewich 8. 2. 2.. 4.15.25. jj Chester. 8. 2. 2 4 14 11 ? Oswestry 8. 3. 4. !24.1:3. Tramnere :) 2 5 2 13 26. ? Chirk «. 2. 3.? I ..t0.ll. *2 B angor 8. 3.. 4. 1.15.24. Newton-Ie-Willowa 9.. 2. G. 1 21.39. ? Wmsford. 9. 2. IL 1.19.21. White MtarWauderera. 5. 2. 3. 0. 6.12. 1 Rhyl 4.. 1. 3.. 0. 9 14, #Two points deducted for playing an ineligible ma.?' RUGBY UNION. CHESHIRE v. CUMBERLAND. i1 r p l,, I I I-  .L U1" UmLl:il was p?yea at Rirkenceact on  >1 !^r^an(l kicked off against the sun aoo f ioVrrXee;ze. xnljnscmrn murutu LV litu vxraim?iitmci U& t but smart passing by the backs relieved, and thell i Davidson dribbled finely. The play, however, waS very even, the Cumbrians being very "nippy" If) handling the ball. Cheshire, however, bore down  eventually, and on the visitors being penalLStJ Walker made an admirable shot at goal, the ball falling only a trifle short of the mark. After- wards Hulme checked a raid by kicking out of, play, and again the Cestrians were in an aggres- sive mood, C. R. Hartley gaining a decided ad- vantage by kicking well ahead into touch. A I moment later Herschell and Francomb lea I a raid which promised well, but the Cumbrian? proved too smart when nearing the line. The ganH was tenaciously contested, Bell being well tackled before he could get clear away. One of the Cum- brians' backs blundered, and Marquis got up in time to prevent a return, while a moment later Hulme t rushed over the line in dashing style for Walker to place a goal for Chesh' ro. lieif-time-Cbesbire, i) points; Cumberland, nil. On changing ends. Cheshire continued to have the best of the game, Walker's finding of touch being admirable, whilst for Cumberland Scoular defended splendidly- Herschell broke through for Walker to kick a second goal. Then Cum berland had a penalty kick awarded. and narrowly missed the goal. The visitors played up strongly at the finish, but were unable to score. Result :-Cheshire, 10 points Cumberland, nil.