WRECKED ON ISLAND NUMBER TEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 321, 30 December 1862, Page 6

WRECKED ON ISLAND NUMBER TEN.

(From All the Year Round.)

" I can't stand this any longer, Ned ; I shall turn out, and go on deck. This stifling heat is bad enough to bear, without the stings of the confounded mosquitoes. I could as soon sleep in a kiln with a blister all over me."

I scrambled out of my berth, and huddled on my clothes as well as the dim light would allow, The other occupant of the little cabin, my dear old friend and kinsman, Ned Granger, merely yawned and stretched himself. Petty annayauc2s did not trouble him. He had been sleeping as contentedly as if the villainous little den of a cabin close to the engine, which we had been talked into hiring on board the Van Buren, were a cool and airy bed-chamber. We had both been outwitted by the steam-boat clerk, a " smart. citizen," who had assured us on his honor that the only disposable cabin left on board the Mississippi packet was a snug and pleasant one, free from bugs and cockroaches, and not in the least too hot. And now I was stewed and stung to the verge of fever, while Ned, whom nothing seemed to hurt, turned over on his pillow with a little sigh, murmuring, " Take it coolly, old chap. You'll forget the temperature and the gnats when we get to Cairo and have our breakfast ashore. Take it coolly."

I replied rather testily that I wished I could, but that, not being a salamander, I couldn't, And with this withering retort I left the cabin, and stumbled my way on deck. The hurricane-deck of an American river steamer is a gay scene by day, but it had melancholy and lonely look as I saw it in the feeble moonlight, bare and deserted. The pilot in his lofty wheelhouse intent upon the helm and the bearings, and a solitary deck hand who filled the office of lookout, appeared to be the only human beings awake save myself. To be sure, from the hatchway of the engine-room there gushed at times a transient glare of dull crimson firelight, and a pitch-black figure crossed the gleam, while a sound as of the dull roaring of a caged wild beast, told that the furnace had been supplied with fresh wood. It was very hot and sultry, even in the air ; but the atmosphere was endurable when compared with the oven-like oppression of the heat below. Ihe mosquitoes were still troublesome, but I felt that I could bear their sharp stings better than when I lay in the close cabin.

I leaned over the side rail and gazed upon the yellowriver, whose turbid waters stretched for an immense distance on either hand ; the moon was new and pale, but I could make out the bold bluffs of the Tennessee shore, though the low-lying forest of the M ssouri bank was was hid in dark shadow.

uTis lonesome here, mister, ain't it?" drawled out a nasal voice at my elbow. I could not help starting. "I didn't mean to skear you, Mr Barham," apologised the voice, which I now recognised as that of an American passenger, General Jeremiah Flint, who had taken a fancy to Ned Granger and myself, and with whom we had struck up a travelling friendship. General Flint was a thorough-bred Yankee, one of those tall lathy dark-browned down- eastern who are found in active employment all over the Union. His complete history, of which he now and then favored us with piquant scraps, would have been very amusing even in print, and partook a good deal of the adventurous ups and downs in the career of Haji Baba. Just now the general was at rather a low pitch of the social see-saw, being on board the boat in no more exalted capacity than that of travelling salesman to a "jobber" of dry goods at Philadelj hi i. General Flintwas not and never had been a military man. He had been postmaster-general of some small State, Vermont or Maine, and had retained the latter and more portable half of his quondam official designation.

•'it's kinder dull up here, but I couldn't sleep," said the new comer; " I've got it happened home upon my mind to night that mischief's on the brew."

" On the what?" said I, laughing. "On the brew, sir," answered the general, very solemnly. " Young men like you, Mr Earham, air too apt to ridicule the presentiments of their elders, but Jeremy Flint's no greenhorn, and he don't relish the feel of matters."

I had observed before, that the general was a little oracular, and, what may seem odder in a Yankee, slightly superstitious; but I knew he was a keen practical person who had seen ten times as much of the world as I, an exOxonian of four-and-twenty, could possibly have done. Therefore, when my queer acquaintance seemed ill at ease, I strongly suspected that his prognostications of coming evil were based on other grounds than those of sentiment.

" I'll let you know, Mister, the long and short of it," said the Yankee, dropping his voice; " this Van Buren we're afloat in, is an old craft, old and leaky, and clean wore out Iron 1 her keelson to her b'iler, that'? je.-t tiutli. The owners held a talk about giving her up, they did, a month ago, but old Barnabas Kyle, senior partner, said, Hold on — she's good for a voyage or two, and if she

breaks up, the fixings are no loss—let her rip! "

Do you mean to say that the owners have permitted this boat to sail, knowing she was unsafe? If so, and harm happens, it is murder." ■ ■

The general nodded. "That's a Europian idea, sir. I don't say I approve of what old Kyle's done, but it's common enough. LStill, this child wishes he were in his boots, and his boots ashore, he does.",

And the American drummed the devil's tattoo on the side rail with his long bony fingers. \

I asked whereabouts we were. I knew that Flint was familiar with every bend of the river.

" We're past New Madrid," he answered, scanning the shore line sharply; « and we're going mortal slow for all our puffins and straining. Let me see—that's Red Bluff on the Tennessee bank, and yon dark line on the larboard must be Island Number Ten." As if the words had been the sonnds of some fearful spell, there was, at that instant, a roar as loud as the roar of a hundred cannon, a crash of breaking timber and riven iron-work, and the deck was torn into splintered fragments, while fire, shattered beams, and scalding vapor, came spouting up as from a volcano. I was struggling with the cold waters of the Mississippi, which bubbled and hissed in my ears, as the strong current sucked me down stream. What had happened I hardly knew. I was stunned and deafened, but I fought for life with mechanical energy, and, being able to swim, could just keep myself above the surface. My wet clothes and boots embarrassed me, and the stream was too strong to be resisted; but, just as I felt myself being swept away like a leaf upon the river, I jostled.against a floating mass of wood-work and clutched it. '

" Give me your fingers, whoever you air," cried a familiar voice, and a strong hand caught my wrist. "Mr Barham, by all that's airthly ! Wall, I'm glad to see you alive, Britisher. Get hold of the beam, and scramble up whore I am."

General Flint assisted me to crawl to the top of the floating timber, where he sat at ease, with his feet dangling in the water. " Taint first time this child has seen a b'iler bust. Apple guiltings !; I thought it would be; a final smash ! The notions I was taking back to Philadelphia were all well insured", that's one comfort, and my notes are in my waistband."

" Boiler bust! Then the boiler did burst, and we are alone ; The rest of us ? Ned Granger ?"

{i There's not much mcon, but you may make out the hull of the steamer afloat yet," said the Yankee; " what's left of her, a drifting like a floating coffin. If there's any living human being aboard her—drowning will be welcome, after the misery therein, I guess. The water and steam did scald, I reckon." A dull pain in my hands attracted my notice. I looked down and could see that they were swollen and red. I remembered that I grasped the side rail at the moment of the explosion, and I had no doubt that I had been partially injured,by the dash ot heated water, from which Flint seemed wholly to have escaped.

Ido not recollect what followed. I heard Flint's voice very indistinctly—a mere humming of meaningless words —and I' rocked to and tro, from weakness. My brain reeled. Then I grew sick and faint, and I remember bein^ in deadly fear least I should tumble off the ; spar. 1 remember, too, trying to call to my companion for help, but failing to speak intelligibly. And then I remember no more until I was laying on a heap of brushwood ashore, and Flint was insinuating between my lips some drops of whisky from a metal flask. "Cheer up, Britisher; you'll do now. It? kinder came over you," said the good-natured" Yankee, lifting the flask to his own lips, and imbibing several sups of the cordial. ; I gave his hand a feeble squeeze. " I owe you my life; but where are we ? And Ned—are any saved ?' « The Yankee shook his head. "We're on Island Number Ten, that's where we air, jest after you gave in, we grounded, and I got a np^ of a snag sticking out of the mud, and we're on dry airth again. If you're strong enough, mister, we'd best look for a shelter, for 'taint wholesome to lie out, so far south." I was bruised and weak, and my hands were very painful, but I could walk pretty well. We made our way across a sort of swampy meadow, the general talking rapidly and continually, in his kindly wish to divert my thoughts from the sad fate of my gallant cousin. I gathered from him that the island had no permanent inhabitants, hut was occasionally frequented by ferrymen, flatmen, and others, at the particular seasons when their trades were in full activity. General Flint scarcely fancied that we should find any living possessors of this dreary spot ,• but he made no doubt we should discover some log-house in tolerable repair, where we could pass the night. " And in the mornin', mister, we'll signal a steamboat and get picked off. No fear of our playin' Robinson Crusoe too long here, I guess. We'll have a banyan breakfast, but our appetite for dianer will be a caution to alligators. Ah ! here's a con-venient location."

In effect, we were on the threshold of a large and substantial log-house, behind which we could dimly discern the outlines of other buildings. The heavy door was ajar, and yielded sullenly to our push. We entered. The interior was, of course, quite dark, but a feeble red glow proceeded from some dying embers on the hearth, proving that human beings had been there within a few hours. The general showed no surprise. He merely observed that a timber flat, bound for New Orleans, had- probably run aground on the island, and wished the men had remained, that they might have given us a cast ashore in their broadhorn. He stooped, blew the embers to a glow, laid on dry brush and fresh wood, aud soon the hut was illuminated by a cheery glare. It was large, in good repair, and contained an old table of unbarked wood, and several broken barrels which had probably served for seats. There were shelves nailed up, but they were empty, nor were any provisions visible. But in an inner recess, half partitioned off from the larger apartment, were several heaps of brushwood and flowery grasses: beds not to be disposed when mattresses and pillows were out of the question. I do not suppose that Jeremiah Flint had ever heard of the French proverb, Quidorldine, but he showed some sagacity in remarking that when asleep, our foodless and comfortless state would be less vexatious. We dried our clothes before the large fire, and prepared to obtain such repose, as we might, in the inner apartment of the cabin. General Flint had been, in the course of his adventurous life, been accustomed to queer sleeping-places, and it was with a grunt of satisfaction that he adjusted his bony frame to the heaps of withering brush. B

"Pull some' them sassafras boughs over your face, mister: that's the way to cheat the skeeturs," said he ; v we'll have a good long nap, and Avake up in time to hoist a handker-chi-r on one of t: : ose hemlocks down by the waterside. If a steamer don't see it, a flatboat n i a}-.'* I lay still a few moments, and then rolled restlessly from side to side. My nerves were strung to a painful tension, and my brain was

too. active to allow sleep to visit me. The accident, with all its horrors, rather imagined than actually seen, was ever before my eyes but it seemed unreal anduunatural, avivid nightmare rather than a sad reality. Poor Ned Granger, too! What sad news to carry home to the quiet Devonshire rectory, where father, mother and sisters Avere hopefully awaiting his return To die so early, and by a death so horrible and abrupt—how should I ever dare to tell it? Poor dear Ned, who saved my life once, who had done me fifty kindnesses, with whom I had never exchanged an ansry word. Where should I ever again in life find such a friend as that early one, now lost ? How long I mused I cannot tell, but I was startled by a sound which broke the stillness of the night—a very odd sound to be heard on Island Number Ten—the neigh of a horseI shook off my. reverie, and half raised myself to listen. The sound was not renewed, but so sure was I that it had been no cheat of fancy that I determined to rouse my companion and solve the doubt. It was not until I had shaken Flint, who was a heavy sleeper, that he woke up, grumbling.

.:" Jerusalem, mister, what's afloat ? Not a bar swum across, sure-ly."

"No," said I, rather ashamed, " only the neighing of a horse, close at hand." " Unpossible—couldn't be ! There's no horse beasts here. What should they be doing on the island ? You must have' been dreaming, Mr Barham."

Tha general yawned and sank back into the pile of brushwood, nor was it long before his heavy breathing announced that he was fast asleep. I was far from convinced, but I was puzzled; imagination, I knew, does often play us strange tricks. Besides, was it not possible that a horse had neighed on shore, on either the left or right bank, and that my ear, perhaps unusually acute after the excitement of the night, had caught and exaggerated the distant sound. I pondered yet awhile, but I was weary; gradully my nerves relaxed, my eyelids became heavy, and I sank into deep slumber. Not so deep, however, but that my dreams were stirring and various, changing like the shifting patterns of a kaleidoscope. One dre&m was particularly distinct. I have forgotten it now, but I know that a conversation between ideal personages attracted my fullest attention, and that by degrees this conversation grew more and more real and audible.

"I don't care a cuss how ii kept alight," said some one; "jist clap on a kipple more sticks, and I'll blow up the kindlers." Directly afterwards I heard the familiar noise—familiar, at least, to one fresh from prairie travel—of somebody blowing the embers oi a fire into a blaze, while the sharp crackle of burning wood succeeded. "Where's Stone's, mann?" asked some one else, in a high cracked voice, that contrasted with the deep tones of the first speaker: "where's the old critter got to, I admire! I'm as starved, for one, as any wolf, and there's never a scrap to eat until she briles the meat. Ten hour o ' work makes a man peckish, and we must clear out of this before day. Vaguely the thought dawntdinmyhalf-un-couscious minc^ that I was no longer asleep, and that the words I heard, were real words spoken by beings of flesh and blood. I opened my *yes. The larger compartment of the log-house was suffused with dull red light, which brightened into a clear glow as the wood heaped on the fire with a lavish hand, caught the ascending blaze. Around this fire were grouped five or six men, most of whom wore the red flannel shirts and coarse homespun of the regular Mississippi working garb, though one Avas'in a suit of rusty black, of city make. Several more dark figures hovered about the open doorway, going and coming, bringing hags and barrels which were received by two of the men within. Boatmen, thought T, who had probably put in for a safe haven when benighted on the rapid and dangerous river. I was preparing to accost them, when a shrill neighing, unmistakably that of a horse this time and close by, was" answered as shrilly and distinctly by an equine companion. '' Darn them brutes! pinch their nostrils, you loafing dunces! or, if a steamer goes by, the place will be blown upon," said a deep and fierce voice from the hut. And a man whom I had not observed, sprang up from a sitting posture and strode across the illuminated space. I rubbed my eyes, and cautiously raised myself on my elbow.

The last speaker was of gigantic stature, with a fell of shaggy black hair tumbling on the collar of his red woollen shirt; his face was a stern and forbidding one, like that of some robber soldier in a Flemish picture ; he wore a pistol and a bowie-knife, ostentatiously displayed, in the black leather belt around his waist.

" Ail right, captain ! 'twar that rampaging black beast, Jem Hudson's colt, that got loose a minit," answered a man from without; and very soon several men and two or three women entered the log-house. Most of the new comers were ruffianly figures, with the brass-bound handles of knives or pistols peeping out of their pockets, or protruding from the breasts of their homespun coats; but one or two had the air of educated men, though their keen faces showed tracer of evil passions and evil habits. One old man—he must have been more than sixty —was well dressed in the unpretending garments cf, respectable Western farmer, and his Aveatnerbeaten but mild face contrasted with the ferocity and recklessness of the countenances around him. The man with the high cracked voice, who wore a town-made suit of dilapidated broad-cloth, accosted this new comer as Mr Stone, and asked if his wife intended to give the company any supper or not?

"The mississ is comm' in: you'd best ask her," said the old farmer, philosophically lighting his pipe. Mrs Stone, a tall bony virago, here bustled forward to answer for herself, which she did by telling the hungry querist that he was a " a greedy, cowardly, troublesome, turkey-bnzzard of a Yankee, and that he had better have been helping to cache the horses and unload the bojats, than calling for food as if he was in some line city hotel." While thus upbraiding the man in black— who indeed seemed to hold a very low position in the esteem of his comrades—Mrs Stone bustled furiously to and fro, and before long *. great frying-pan, full of pieces of pork, was sputtering on the fire, while several junks of beef and venison were broiling on impromptu spits made of ramrods stuck in the soit clay of the floor. Mrs Stone was aided in these culinary processes by a pretty modest looking giil of eighteen, whose pale sad face looked out of keeping with the place and company, and whom I discovered to be her eldest daughter. A younger girl, about fourteen years of age, looked on from the outer circle. Ino longer felt the slightest inclination to address the members of this group, and hardly knew in what light to consider them. I could form no guess as to their calling or object, but I instinctively cowered down among the branches and hid myself from observation. I felt that something was amiss, and that discovery might lead to awkward results. General Flint was asleep, but I feared that every moment he mightawakeand utter some exclamation, while it was always possible that hi*.heavy breathing might draw the attention.of some sharp-, eartd nuinbir oi' the baud. Some of the party had seated themselves on barrels or logs, with every sign of fatigue, but the rest atood wa,tch-

ing the pork as it bubbled in the pan, and the steaks browning before the fierce fire. Several voices were speaking at once, snd I only caught unconnected scraps of the talk.j " Jem Hudson was terrible riled. He set such a valley on that colt. If his gun hadn't had too much powder in it, this child would have been a gone coon, I guess."

" I think Hiram Stout's a deal uglier than Jem. He owes us a grudge, he does. I reckon Tennessee's gettin' too hot to hold us."

'•* Keep your opinion till it's axed for, greenhorn" said the big man who had been addressed as captain, and who spoke in a tone of bullying authority. " This nigger don't need a Pennsylvany chicken to tell him when a melons squash is squeezed dry." I began to be seriously alarmed. I was yet in ignorance as to the true character of those on whose bounds we seemed to be unwitting trespassers, but I knew that Flint, who had spent many years in the wild West, had a stout heart, and that his apprehensions were not likely to be roused without reason.

" I know more than one of 'em, Mr Baniam," whispered the general; " that tall fisnrod of a man in the tail-coat, comes from Concord, Mass.: he was a regular penitentiary bird, he was. That German rogue in the cap, is Fitz Vogel, who was nigh hanged at Chicago last fall. And — may I never !—but that biochap in the red shirt—the «aptain— turns out to be Black Dave." "Black Dave?" " Ay, Black Dave, or David Jossam, the most e-tarnal thief! Famous for stealing horses, coining bogus dollars, robbing stores, and breaking out of prison. Last time I saw him was at Little Kock, Arkansas, in the Supreme Court, under trial, and but for a ro<me of a I lawyer " | ■ Here my friend's reminiscences were cut short by the abrupt question, put by a gentleman whosa mouth was very full, and who had a huge clasp knife in one hand, and a pound or two of beef in the other : "Captaiu Dave, when are we to paddle over with them hosses?'

" We'll see about it," answered the chief. Some one must go over to scout fust. I expect the brutes will be a nation deal safer when they get into Missouri, and out of si«*ht of the river." °

These words were a revelation. The general pressed my elbow. "They're horse-thieves mister."

This announcement of the quality of our unconscious hosts was by no means calculated to dissipate my apprehensions. I listened, nervously enough, to an animated debate which now ensued among the members of the gang, as to the propriety of' hurrying over the stolen horses to the Missouri shore, or of lying concealed for some days, until the first fury of the pursuers should be baffled and spent. Opinions varied. The only person of the male sex who took no part in the argument, wjxs the old farmer-looking man whom I had heard addressed as Mr Stove. He sat quiet, having finished his meal and resumed his pipe, and we could see nothing but his respectable-looking grey head, and the silvery wreaths from his soapstone meerschaum, inasmuch as his face was towards the outer door Mrs Stone, his better-half, took an active part in council, urging a stay on the island, since there had been "nothing but scurrying here and stampedeing there for weeks, aiid her darters were worrited and worn out with it." It was gcurious, but this notable woman's character appeared little if at all changed by lawless companionship and outiaw life. In the midst of robbers she was still the shrewish hard-working house-wife, and I could see no remorse written on her parchment cheeks. With her daughters it was different. The eldest was evidently melancholy and ill at ease. She sat a little apart, never replied save with a monosyllable to any ' remarks of rough compliment, and her downcast eyes and colourless face told of regrets and scruples that her mother did not share. The younger girl showed the same mental: condition, but in a miuor degree. Her answers were short, but pert, and she occasionally exploded into a giggle at some jocular sally, of the Massachusetts man, or the German, who were the wits of the assembly. But one glance from her sister's sad dark eyes checked her rising spirits, and she subsided into gloom again. We listened with considerable interest to a discussion which materially affected oursafvty; but over which we could exercise no influence whatever. We | gathered from the discourse that another hut existed, not far off, which was assigned to the I Stone family, but that the rest of the association had no residence on the island save the loghouse in which we were concealed, and no couches but those heaps of brush and flowerin; grasses on which we were growing fearlully uneasy. The horses, we also learned, were hidden hard by, in a c iche dug where the scrub grew thickest, and which was' effectually masked from careless eyes by a sort of broad trap-door of osier work and sassafras boughs. Here ■it • was customary to conceal them—they were all stolen from owners in Tennessee—until an opportunity occurred for transporting them to Bolivar or Greenville, in Missouri, where certain accomplices of the band resided, and whence they were sent to St, Louis, to be sold to emigrants bound for California.

Very unwillingly did we thus acquire possession of the secrets of those desperate men, every fresh admission or unguarded word serving to increase our danger, until at last we heard with dismay the final award of Black Dave, the captain.

" We'll jest stop. This location's good, and nobody knows of it (we trembled), and, as Mann Stone says, the gals are tired som>,' and we'd all be the better of rest. So we'll jest keep close for a few days, and then absquotilate with the bosses, and scurry for Boiivar."

There was a growl of assent, overtopped by the shrill voice of Mrs Stone, who clamorously expressed her approval. I glanced at the general's face. It was white but firm ; and the compressed lips and brightening eye told of a new resolve.

" Here's your victuals rearly, and no lady in Illinoy State could have fixed 'em better, nor ytt slicker," exclaimed Mrs Stone, in. an argumentative manner, as if to challenge contradiction. But nobody picked up the gauntlet. A circle was formed, some walnut-wood platters and pewter pannikins were produced from a hiding-place, the company drew their bowie-knives, and Mrs Stone carried round the fryingpan, in order that every one might help himself; while her two daughters followed, one with the steaks still stuck upon the iron-tipped ramroads, the other with some lumps of" corn-bread" in a basket.

It was at this moment that I felt my wrist cautiously grasped by a set of long lean fingers, and could hardly repress an exclamation, when, looking round, I saw that Jeremiah Flint was awake, and had risen to a kneeling position, keeping at the same time well behind the screen of brushwood,

"It's well I woke. We're in a fix, mister, we air." I looked round. I could see by the faint light that my companion's resolute face was very pale '* Very bad this —wuss than scalding water, mebbe; we've got into the den of grizzly, mister ; a.nd if we carry our scalps out, we mßy be thankful a tew." i (To be couQluded in our next issue. J

3 RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COUUT. 1 Monday, December 29ra. 7 (Before A. Chetham Strode, Esq., R M ) RD T NK:ESNESS.-Patrick Fanning, Win. Under- * X Jaf ueSi AuStin ' Peter Graham fwho denied that he was drunk, and said that he was only excited •K)naS Tp 1h?r""S W0 lads ' uamed Thomas Donald' 1 fli? t l« GE °F BEu ING Legally on Premises- ; isea-ressH t felt that there was no ground for presMne the eh •£? c Charge of Stealing a Wa?ch.~El en Co iS c tanking in two public houses, tLy spent SmS n ■denied having stolen the watch, but he took her to jr the Police Station and gave her into custody An ~ ofticer was sent to.the house, and he found the watch 0 fpfn thf S"11^, tkere/ Tlie Prisoner who it peated her denial of the robbery, was discharged the 0 Magistrate saying that there was just enough doubt to ThSitFS w Wan a rf y üband oued woman. . Trespass. -\\ m . tl. Harrison was charge), on the information of Police Sergeant Thomas Curran with c having been found iv the enclosed garden of Mr' John j £«?--« c f stated-About four o'clock this mormn" I c found the prisoner in Mr Harris's garden There ;fir ftT?Uanti^ Boffruitand vegetables groS them, ln e garden is enclosed, partly by a wooden . t fence and partly by a hedge. l'a& e dtVp!taJ£rs :. Mr M'Gregor: Having his name and address nance, to be apprehended. . Mr M'Gregor saia that there was the simplest explauation. His client had been en-aged in the laborious occupations of his office, as connected with one of the newspapers. On his way home, at four r o clock m the morning, he had a violent attack • and 1 he retired, very properly, for purposes of nature _ seeing that it would have ben a breach of public decency had he been observed. He was going iff th« tt. grounds of Mr Harris, when he wasTW by t c 'c shShis VcS he eXljlaked s and (f The Accused said he wished to add a few words in explanauon Mr Harris would remember that at the corner of his grounds where the old cottage stood, f S, r,nI aS aU. "T nul'.° IOW oae > so t^ttuat part >f was not enclosed as the others were. He had a . natural call and to some bush near was the only a place he could go in common decency. He had not even to get over the iron rail, for he could pass beside without disturbing it; and there was a gap in the , ZZTet^ nCQ C[°V° iL He just K ot behind this s hedge, and near there were some voun- trees V f 0"""^' ,t0 wl»«" lie went. Afterwards he-ve& . foolishly, he confessed-went to cross the garden to . get out at the other end, and he thus met the officer. M r Harris snid that he had no wish to become nro- - secator m this case. But he now desired to ask the c ptncer some questions, because three times durin^ the c Jast week, fruit, and trees, and other things had been r stolen from the garden ; and it was as a consequence, !' m le i l, tten, Uon of Tj* Police had been specially called to the depredations. (To the officer): Where * di. you meet the prisoner ?—Currau: In the back y walk. 2 How far is that, in a direct line, Jrom where the B prisoner went into the ga.den ?—Currun : About 30 j yards. What kind of fence is it between this unoccupied s tnorn'here ffai' Jen itseln-CurraQ : A close r Of what height I— Curran : About four feet. c You have heard the prisoner's statement. What do you think, is the place which he lias named one to which he would be likely to go, under the circumstances, Air M'Gregor protested against the officer givinjr evidence as to what he mighu think to be likely Mr Hams said that he had a perfect right to put tlw question. It had been attempted to show the probability of the prisoner's statement; aud he (Mr Hams) had a right to put the question, meaning to follow it with another, to show that that statement was altogether improbable, from the cm-umstances of the locality. The officer had already stated that it w;is a thorn fence where the prisoner got over, and he knew the place quite as well as the prisontr He would now ask the officer— Are there not, within twenty or thirty jards of where the prisoner g-ot over, fur the purpose lie has named, bushes and other places to which, without offending public decency, he could hive gone?—Curran : Yes, there are plenty such, and very convenient, too, some of them amongst ilux. Air Harris said he did not want to fay anything against Mr Harrison; hut he »as bound to show that there was no probability in the statement made in explanation. He would leave it to the court to determine whether a satisfactory account had, uuder the circumstances, been given of Mr Harrison's being in the garden at such an hour in the mornii.g. Mr M'Gregor saio that his client was on his way home irom the Times office. Surely ifc was not to be supposed thtt a gentleman in his position had gone into the garden to stenl two pennyworth of apple.1? or pears. He (Mr M'tfregor) could not. conceive why Mr Harris should attempt to cast such an imputation upon Mr Harrison. Mr Harris: If he had kept in his way along the road there would have been nothing about imputation of any kind. Mr M 'Gregor was sure that Mr Harris liad no right to conduct the case in such a manner. Mr Strode said thnt Mr Harris naturally wished to protect his property. He had been robbed" on several occasions, and trees and fruit to some extent had been taken away. It was necessary for him to nrotect hia property. Mr M'Gregor : Could Mr Harris think for one moment, that Mr Harrison was there with any object but what he had stated ? Mr Hants said the /acts were, that Mr Harrison was found there under very suspiciuus circumstances • and lie had a right to think that the explanation given was verj unsatisfactory, looking at the locality and everything nb?. connected with the case. > The Accused said that the only available ground just at the corner where he was, when attacked, was all fenced in with a high fence. Mr Harris was sure that there were plenty of quiet places about, where a man could have done a thing of this kind, without getting into a private jrarden. Mr Stroie sa;d that to him the explanation was very unsatisfactory indeed, now that the locality hud be> n explained by the constable. He was very loth to send a respectable man like Mr Harrison to gaol on a charge of this kind. What did Mr Harris - thir.k? Mr Harris: I should be very sorry to be the means, in aDy way, of sending a person in Mr Harrison s position to prison. JJut I must say that lam as much convinced that the statement he has made is not a correct one, as I am of my own existence. Mr Strode : I perfectly agree with you. Mr Harris said that if the matter was one which could be dealt with by a small fine, he Bhould be glad. Mr Strode said that is was not. The informatio was laid under the Vagrant Ordinance, and there wa no option. The Accused said that he could ofter no further explanation It was acorreot one, however improbable it might seem. Mr Strode : I am very loth to send a man ot your position to gaol on a charge of this kind. It will damage your character probably for life. But I say again, as I did before, that your statement is certainly an improbable one. Mr M'Gregor; Mr Harris does not press the case, sir. * ■ * Mr Harris : If it is impossible to deal with it except as a criminal matter, I beg that it may not be pressed. Mr Strode: Very well. In consequence of what has been said by Mr Harris, I will not imprison you on this charge ; but I tru-t that in future, when you have a call of nature, you will fiud some other place, without entering a private garden. The Acused : I offi-rrd to convince the constable of rhe truth of what 1 stated; but he.declined to ga back with me. Mr Strode ; Well, you have rendered 3 Yourself liable to b.: imprisoned with hard labor for any time uofe excelling six months. I trust that this will be a warnius: to you never to do such a thing again* Under the circumstances, you are discharged*