The Crime of Edmund Challoner.

Te Aroha News, Volume XII, Issue 1759, 14 August 1895, Page 3

The Crime of Edmund Challoner.

By JAMES KNAPP BEEVE. V'. v > • . > ■ [continued - ; / ..ajoboti; ana rue captain went our upon th*& highway of the sea until the reef and 7 the island w,ere far behind and their little beat. the'only visible speck upon the whole waters, and then they waited one day, two days, until the evening of the third. Then a steamer bound for New Orleans bore down upon them, hove to and tools: the captain oh board, andre- . leasing Abbott from his weary office per:nutted his "return to Captiva. When the.captain arrived at New Or- : - !eans( he first made out and forwarded to -. . the owners a full' account of the loss of ;;;the Pelican. Then he - called at the office •• '..of the chief of police. ' His conference - 7 with that official was long and animated. Before its cbnclusion two of the oldest . detectives upon the force were brought l'.Minto:the;consultation. ; I‘There cap be ’no question as to who ‘ - '- ybur man is,” said the chief finally. “The. record is yery straight. Twelve years ■ " ago the Bunker Hill bank of Boston lost ; the Bum' -of; $50,000. The money 1 was taken from the vault after the bank had been closed for the night. Bat two men i' had hccess to the yault-r-Frederick Nelson, the'cashier, and Edmund Challoner, the president.”! . • “Edmuiid Challonerl” exclaimed the .capthip'. • ... “Edmund Ghalloner! That name was. ; " upon the passenger list of the Pelican. I - cannot remember”—- ' L “A mere coincidence of names, a said - • the chief. “This CHallbner waS a man of ■ . 'the highest type of irreproachable char- >; ■■ acter. It was said that he had the greatest confidence in Nelson, so much so that :'; ji when- the loss, was discovered he de- -:: mended that the accusation bo made ' equally against them both, as they each had the.same opportunity to take the money. before ahy> arrests were, made Nelson had fled, And the crime was fixed. The man Nelson,” continued the chief, “was traced to Mobile, where .: he. disappeared. The hank offered a re- • ward of SIO,OOO for his capture. The reward isstill pending.”' : The captain got up apd mopped his; face with his handkerchief. Ten thou- .; sand dollars was. a goodly sum for a man. who had just lost his ship. . And it Was - --almost within his grasp. . The chiefs office,seemed very close. What a fooihe had been to come away and leave the ;‘‘man. there with every, opportunity for r escape. He began to doubt if Abbott had ever gone back to the island. ■- :•“See here,” he exclaimed finally, turni.ingr to the chief, “we have no time to lose. The man i 3 bagged safely enough, 1 if he doesn’t take tile alarm, but we had •■• better: move spry. So give me two of •your best men for. this business,’and I Will show you where he is, and we will divide the reward.’* ; . . r ; Under, such a. spuir th.e “law’s delays” are easily brushed aside. A few hours i'-kufficed to put a good boat under way for,Captiva, with three men in her determined upon vindicating the majesty - r df the law and, t securing the reward of §IO,OOO. ' " ’ Meanwhile life went smoothly with the three upon the island. The girl was constantly surprised and delighted bv new discoveries, winch snowed bow aptly Abbott had adapted himself to the hermit life. The conditions were such as forced them into mucty free intimacy, and it was not in nature that she should fail to become more. than , ordinarily interested in Abbott’s perspnality. .Her father held aloof and seemed distrustful of Abbott, albeit he said nothing to influence or prejudice her. This she attributed to the fact that Abbott h3d confessed himself suspected of., a crime, while not even asserting his innocence^: and that her father could not forget this, even though the man had saved their .-lives. iV- • .

One night the three sat long together beneath 'the skies talking in a desultory way. Abbott, drawn on by the girl’s r questionings, had been telling of his life on the island, how it had been so lonely at first; then how he had. grown to love 'it and willing to remain there always; then how the desire had grown to clear his name from the shadow of the crime which rested upon it and of the journey back into the world which he had essayed for that purpose; then how at Vera Cruz he had veered suddenly about. “Why did you not go on?’’ demanded the girl. < , “Because I chanced to see there the pnly man living who knew whether I was innocent or guilty.” “Yes?” She breathed ’ the question r> softly, waiting for him to finish. “And I saw that it was better for one to suffer:than for many.” . 7 She reached out her hand in the dark ind touched his in quiet sympathy, “Where is’he now?”"

TUey watched, and gradually the form of a boat drew out from the further > darkness and made toward the beach, t As it touched the shore three men sprang i out and came toward the group waiting to receive them. The captain was in the : lead, and he came close and scanned their faces eagerly. Laying his hand upon Abbott’s arm, he turned to the men with : him. . •' : ! “This is the one, my lads. Make snro ! of him.” Abbott made no resistance of ithe men who seized him. “Now,” said the captain briskly, “we won’t waste any time. We have a good sloop lying outside, and we will get aboard as quickly as possible. We shall put into New Orleans very shortly, and then we can attend to this gentleman here, , who will be apt to get his deserts at last.” There was no opportunity for Abbott’s companions to utter any remonstrance. They were at once embarked for the sloop, where he was placed apart from the others. The run to New Orleans, which should; have been made in a few days, had because of contrary winds lengthened into a week, and yet no land was in sight. The voyage, which was monotonous to the girl from the start, became almost unendurable. Her father was ill and kept to his own cabin most of the time. Her aversion for the captain was so great that she could hardly speak to him. But she finally overcame this in her anxiety to know what was in store for Abbott. Finding him alone upon the deck one morning, she put the question to him. i He replied with unfeigned surprise: I “I thought you knew. : You heard him confess that he was a fugitive from justice. Well, I found out what he had : done. He stole $60,000 from the Bunker Hill bank of Boston.” “The Banker Hill bank!” exclaimed the girl. ‘ ‘Does my father know this?” “Whv. I had snpDosed so. Somehow I took it for granted that you both did. But now that you ask me I see that it hasn’t been mentioned.” • The girl began to speak again, but checked herself, turned and going to her, • father’s cabin knocked impetuously upon the door. After soihe delay it was opened, and she was startled to see how ill and worn her father appeared. He had been writing, as she could see from an open portfolio. - » It required but few words to tell him why she had come. When she had fin- ; ished, he took some papers from the portfolio and gave them to her with shaking .hands. ’ V “I have tried to tell you,” he said, “but had not the courage. But I have prepared this, which yop must read and then give to the man Abbott.” He placed the paper in her hand and gently urged her from him. With a heart filled with misgivings the girl went to her own stateroom before daring to glance at the document. It was headed, “The Confession of Edmund Challoner.” . In the-'briefest and clearest phrase it stated that the writer, Edmund Challoner, president of the Bunker-Hill bank qf Boston, becoming involved in speculation, did, in the year 18—, abstract from the vaults of said bank the sum of $50,000. Furthermore, he had intended to use this but temporarily and to replace it. before the loss should become. known. Failing to do this, the loss was discovered;.; Challoner then intended to confess the whole matter, But delaying in this, suspicion fell upon the cashier, Frederick Nelson, who ■ gave color to itbyjbis immediate flight. Then, as the need of saving an innocent man from imprisonment had passed; Challoner kept silence rather than tarnish his good name and destroy the happiness of his family. Then there were a - few weak words to testify how he had suffered mentally for this double crime, and a pathetic prayer to his daughter not to judge him too harshly, as he had done it.for her. sake.

(To be continued.)