THE ENDS OF JUSTICE,

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13481, 22 July 1907, Page 6

THE ENDS OF JUSTICE,

BY FRED. M. W H 1 T E. [COPYRIGHT. 1

CHAPTER Xll.— Continued.

]\lr. Syrett cooked his head knowingly. He beamed as George proceeded to tell all he knew about Raymond Slonnard. "That is good hearing," ho said, " very good hearing indeed. But we shall have to be cautious — very caution > indeed. We must not allow a parti-Ie of the net to be seen until wo are in a position to draw all the meshes tight. 1 ' '* It's likely to prove a terrible scandal," Renton suggested. •'Well, , it is," Syrett admitted. '' Actually a judicial luminary mixed up in it. Mr. Cathcart, lam most anxious to hear and have a full account of the way in which you first met Bath — I mean, James Stevens — in America." " Perhaps I had bettor begin at the proper end," Cathcart said. " For some time, on and off, I have done work for Mostyn A* Company. They sent me out in the * Lonfe Star,' in ballast more or less, to pick up a valuable cargo that was heavily insured at New York. Tho cargo was partly silver and partly pearl shell, and did not take up much room. '' From the very first I had a great deal of tremble with my crew. If they had been picked out for the purpose »\ annoying me they could not have been jbotter selected. There were two of them especially, who caused no end of mi&chief; I had seen them more than once in New York in conversation with n man who, I learnt, wa« called James Stevens. I little guessed who James Stevens was." Of course not," Syrett murmured. •'Go on." " Well, my two men went too far, and the authorities dropped on them for something that was quite outside my story. I managed to get together a crew of sorts, and amongst them the very James Stevens I have mentioned. ii mistrusted him a little, but he seemed to know his work well, and 1 took him. We contrived to collect a pretty good general cargo atop of our bar silver and pearl shell, and a daj T later I intended to sail for England. Just before I went aboard I dined witli Stevens, I've never been overcome with liquor in my life, but I was then. I was drugged, of course. To make a long story short, I was kept like that for a week. I hadn't the remotest if lea what T was doing, and five days later — ostensibly navigating my own ship, mind— - I ran her on the Hog's Back Reef, and she became a total wreck. So far as I can know, there were only two hands saved besides myself, and it was their evidence that very nearly sent mo t,) penal servitude." ' ' James Stevens remained all the time, I suppose!-"' Syrett aaked. '" Really, I can't tell you. He must have done, or the drugging proces 1 would not have been kept up. The two witnesses declared that - everybody was drowned besides themselves and me. Of course, Stevens did not mean to be in evidence at all ; but when the rascals got into trouble ho had to do his dirty work himself. He imagined that he would never be recognised J ever I met him again in England. The idea was to get the insurance money, and there would be an end to the business. But when certaiß facts cropped out the company declined to pay." '' And after that a scapegoat had to be found," said Renton. " Perhaps 1 had better explain matters from my point of view. I fancy I am going to astonish you."