BETRAYAL OF JOHN FORDHAM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10157, 13 June 1896, Page 3 (Supplement)

BETRAYAL OF JOHN FORDHAM.

BY B. L. FARJKON,

Author of" No, 119, Great Porter Square," •' Grif,' "The March ot Fate," "For the Defence," " Aaron the Jew," etc. [All Rights Reserved.] PART IV. CHAPTER XXXV. —(Continued.) I do not propose to sob ib down in Louis' own words. Mrs. Fordham wished to give me the information, but I would not reooivo ib from her, although it was to her eagerness to prove Louis' innocence thab I was indebted to some part of the disclosure. For the filling in of the narrativo I am also indebted to the natural intelligence of a man who knows his business, that man, without any affection of false modesty, being myself. Tho importance of this disclosure cannot be exaggerated. It filled up the gaps of tho mystery, and made the whole thing clear. I give the incidents in the conseoutivo order in which they occurred. When Louis fell to the ground in the house in Rye-street, Maxwell and Morgan, believing him to be dead, stood transfixed with fear, appallod by the tragic termination to their plan of robbery. Jack had rushed from the room in terror, bub this they scarcely noticed, so engrossed were they in fears for their own safety* What aroused them were the sounds of a desperate fight in the passage below—the fight thab was going on between John Fordham and Jack. Their impression was that thoy had been watched, and that the police were upon them. If that were indeed the case, their peril could not havo been greater, for, with the body of their victim on the ground, they would be caught red-handed. The conflict) in the passage continued for several minutes, and it seemed as if one or moro of the combatants were endeavouring to force their way upstairs. Suddenly there was a lull—tnoy heard the thud of a fallen body, and then the violent slamming of the street door. Following that a dead silence. Ib was long before they could muster sufficient courage to go from the room to ascertain what had taken place. They took a light with them, and coming upon the body of a man, they stooped to see who ib was. "By God 1" cried Maxwell, "It is ray brother-in-law, John Fordham 1 How did he come here?" and then, " What a slice of luck I' . I can almost hear him utter these words as I write them down— if he did nob

utter them ho thought them, which I take it amounts to the same thing.

Quiok as lightning he saw the opportunity of diverting suspicion from himself, and fixing the guilt upon an innocent man. Assisted by Morgan, to whom probably he disclosed his plan, he carried Fordham's body into the room, took the knife with which he had stabbed' Louis, and pub in its place the gold-digger's knife ho found in Fordhara's sheath, smearing ib first with blood. Then he and Morgan removed every article which would draw suspicion upon themselves, and stole from th« house to await the issue of events. Whether they kept watch upon the house to see what John Fordham would do—for they had ascertained thab he had only been stunned by the fall, and was certain to soon recover his senses— or went away and returned after an interval, is not material. Sufficient that they did return—to find John Fordham flown, and Louis still lying on tho ground in a state of insensibility, and apparently dead. But the wound he had received was not mortal, as we know. He became conscious while Maxwell _ and. Morgan were quarrelling. Morgan, ib appears, was under the impression that Maxwell intended to cheat him of his share of the spoil, and he was insisting upon a fair division then and there. Maxwell refused, and a stormy scene ensued, of which Louis was a witness, though he did nob dare to stir lest they should really make an end of him. Prom words, the two men came to blows, and Maxwell was heard to threaten to servo Morgan as he had served Louis. Bub Morgan, thoroughly enraged, was not to be intimidated, and a savage struggle ensued— in Maxwell dealing Morgan a death stroke with tho knife with which he had stabbed Louis. In a paroxysm of fury he battered the faco of the dead man and stamped upon it; and finally overturned the heavy table upon tho body, and fled. Then Louis, fearful lost tho murder would bo fastened upon him, managed to rise and stumblo from the house unobserved. Tho violence of the storm, which was raging furiously without, favoured him, and he succeeded in making his way to a common lodging-house, frequented by thieves and men of tho worst character, to whom the sight of a man who had been engaged in a desperate fight was familiar. There he remained in hiding for a couple of days, by which time he was strong enough to leave Liverpool and take train to London, where he joined his mother and was nursed by her. Meanwhile Maxwell had also returned to London, devoured by anxiety, and by curiI oaity to ascertain what had become of John [ Fordham. After keeping quiet for a week ho paid a visit to Louis' mother, and was astonished to seo Louis in her house. As may be imagined he was not cordially received, for Louis had given his mother a true account of what had occurred. I At this juncture Maxwell's natural cunning—of which there are so many instances in John Fordlmm's Confession— to his aid. He profossed the greatest delight ab Louis' escape, and the deepest regret thab he had allowed his temper to master him in their dispute over cards. Concerning Morgan's death he pointed out that Louis' peril was no less than his own, and thab, if the worst should happen, it was not he alone who would be accused of the murder. Naturally, he argued, Louis would throw (he crime upon him, and naturally he would throw it upon Louis. It was a fair assumption that his story would bo believed before Louis' because of the wound which the latter had received, which people would say was inflicted by Morgan while defending himself against the attack made upon him. These arguments wero strong enough to show tho dangerous position in which Louis stood in relation to the crime. Maxwell then went on to say that their safety lay in fixing the guilt upon John Fordham, and ho related to them how that unfortunate man came to be entangled in the affair. The hatred they boro to John Fordham induced them to listen with avidity to the villainous proposal, and they hailed with pleasure the opportunity of being reveuged upon him. " He bolieves you to bo dead," said Maxwell to Louis. " Lot him rest in that belief. All you have to do is to keep quiet. If, as I suspect, he is in London, I will track him down. By Barbara's death a largo sum of money has revolted to him. Let me but succeed in finding him, and I will bleed him of every shilling. You need not be seen; I will do tho dirty work, and you shall share the plunder." The temptation was irresistible, and a peace was patched up between them. By what means Maxwell discovered John Fordham in hiding in London under an assumed name, and how ho worked upon tho unhappy man's feelings till tho poor follow was beggarod, is fully explained by Fordham himself in his Confession. Thus, step by step, was tho whole mystery revealed, I had good reason to bo satisfied with my work, though something still remained to be done, When his story wis finished Louis looked anxiously at mo, but I was silent, having a mind to play with him a bit. ''It proves my innocence doesn'b it?" ho asked at length. " I believe it does," I answered. " The question is, will others believe it? You see Maxwell will stick to his story as you will stick to yours. He is not likely to have any feeling of tenderness towards his betrayers.' " Do you soo what you have done, you fool cried Mrs. Fordham, " You have set that boast John freo, and you have put a halter round your neck! Wo have been tricked—tricked !'' She looked about her wildly, and Louis trembled in every limb. I smiled amiably at her. "In that nice Liverpool party of yours there wero four men—you, Maxwell, Morgan, and another." "Jack!" he cried. "Ho can prove ray innocence. He saw Maxwell stab me 1" II Yes," I said, " ho is the only man who can back up your story and save you from Maxwell. If ho could be found now, and be induced to speak tho truth ?" " He must bo found," screamed Louis ; "he must be! For God's sake give me something to drink, or I shall go into a tit 1" His mother flew to tho sideboard, and poured brandy into a glasß, which sho held up to his chattering teeth. I enjoyed tho sight—l don'b deny ib— had ib not been that the time was drawing near for the appearance of Maxwell upon the scene, I liavo no hesitation in admitting that 1 should have prolonged tho agony. My blood fairly boiled within mo as I gazed upon the terror - stricken wretches, and thought of the sufferings they had inflicted upon John Fordham. I controlled my feelings, howovor, and applied myself steadily to the business I had in hand. "Talking is dry work," I said. " Being in a manner of speaking your guests, it would bo politeness on your part to paBS the bottle round." "I second that,"said Bob Garlick, passing his tongue over his 'ips. The woman took no notice of tho hinb, bub Louis stumbled oagorly forward, and hold out the bottlo to me. If I had not taken instant hold of it a lot of good liquor would have been wasted, his hand was so shaky. We helped ourselves, and felt tho better for it, and then I said : "I don'b drink at anyone's expense— except in tho way of l.'iendship—without paying for it. lam going to pay for the drinks, and to prove to you thab you have acted wisely in trusting us. You have culled your son a fool, Mrs. Fordham, and it) would be rude to contradict a lady. Perhaps ho is something worse than that, but at all events he has not been a fool to night. Had ho followed your advice tho pair of you would have seen tho inside of prison walls. As it is, he has saved you and himßolf. Do you think wo left Jack out of the reckoning ? Nod a bib of it. At this present moment ho is within twenty yards of us, waiting for orders, and it is a good job that his account of the stabbing tallies with that wo have just heard. I shouldn't like to have such a record as yours, Mr. Louis, to ray score, bub there will bo no charge of murder brought against you. That is all, you care for, I expect, never mind what happens to anyone else." His eyes literally flashed with joy when ho hoard this, and Mrs. Fordham drew a long, deep breach of relief. She would havo made almost any sacrifice to save both men, bub Louis came first. That is tho way with mothers, even whon they are tho worst of women. "Is tho liquor paid for?" I asked. " Yes, yes," Louis replied. " Take some more." (To bo continued on Wednesday next,]