CHAPTER II.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8932, 18 May 1907, Page 2

CHAPTER 11.

THE SIS. IN THE TIN BOX. "Cau man commit a greater crime against Ins fellow-man than deliberate murder — murder which not only puts a sudden and cruel end to a life full of present hope and vigour and promise for the future; but also wrecks the happiness of a whole family, and breaks the heart of a young and innocent girl, turning her footsteps aside from the flowery path which leads to the enqhanted ga£<pten of love, and compete

them to wander in the wilderness until the weary journey ends on the verge of the valley of shadows? \ " Yes, I, who write this, I, who before these words will be read shall have heard my doom from the Kps of tie Justice which cannot err, have sinned the sin which is more grievous than this, for I have not only murdered and wrecked and ruined, but I have 6ent an innocent man whomever had an evil thought of me, to be slain T?y the law in my place, to be flung out of the world through the death-pit of the felon, instead of taking his rightful place among hie fellow-men and enjoying in happiness and honour what the kindly fates had given him and his own, genius had won. "The Sydenham Tunnel Murder has not yet faded into a' memory among men. It is, alas ! too recent, since it is but a bare three months since the innocent suffered in the place of the guilty — suffered because of those silent and secret but irresistible forces which like the powers that produce the earthquakes are never seen save in their effects.

" But since, in obedience to motives which this brief narrative will make understood, I have elected to leave the revelation or concealment of the true story of this tragedy in the hands of Fate, and since the chance of revelation may not come for many months or even years, it will be> well for me to recall some of the story that was told in the Law Courts and the newspapers', so that that other part, which will never be told unless the Fates give up this, confession of mine into humankeeping, may be made plain. " lset me, if possible, ease my justly and yet sorely overburdened conscience by stating that Arthur Dennison, despite the apparent clearness and oonclusiveness ot the evidenoe^which sent him to the scaffold, was as innocent of the murder of Guy Henriot as Guy's own father could have been. There were two murderers, and I was one of them. The other was Ison Reinhardt,' and we the only two witnesses of the orime which we swore we did not see— we who did our utmost to save the man. whose salvation we had made impossible, heard him sentenced, and watched him go to his doom head erect, and with as high a heart as a soldier who ever led a forlorn hope did. "Such utter depravity and callousness will seem almost impossible to the most degraded of men, and yet, strange to say, when the fatal words had passedthe judge's lips, we two, worse than murderers, felt genuine pity for the man we had sent to a vile and unjust fate, and for the girl whose happiness was entirely centred on his well-being.

" There are only three passions which, could prompt human beings to such a crime or make possible such a miracle of cvil — Love, Hate and Ambition — and as I shall show, all these were working for the destruction of Arthur Dennison. fson Reinhardt made no secret of his ardent, but, as ho admitted, hopeless, affection for ftdena Henriot. He was a friend of the family of some standing. He was possessed or real financial genius, anaj young as he was, had amassed a fortune which bade fair to become one day enormous, not a breath of ecandal or suspicion of sharp .practice had ever stained any- of his transactions and it was well known that if his daughter's heart had not already been engaged to Arthur Dennison, Monsieur Heuriot would have asked for no more suitable son-in-law. " But when Dennieon came back from Monsieur Henriot'B estates in Peru with absolute proofs that he had discovered gold and silver in large quantities in the side-hills of the valley which formed one of the great estates that he was managing for Monsieur Henriot and which nearly doubled their value, and his patron offered him a partnership which he accepted on codition that another and dearer partnership went with it, Reinhardt 'and I were the first to congratulate him on his well-won fortune.

" Guy Henriot, as everyone, knows, had devoted himself to science. He had taken hie M.D. in London with honours, and as his father's wealth made it needless for him to work for profit^ he threw his whole energy into investigation. Like many highly-gifted men, lie had unaccountable likes and dislikes, and, strangely enough, Arthur Dennison was among the Tatter. All this is known, andj taken by itself, an English Court of Justice found it sufficient preface to lead up to the explanation of the tragedy. That which was not known when placed beside it makes it no explanation at all. Reinhardt's love for Edena Henriot was not the love of a good man, for it was polluted by ambition, the ambition to obtain and use for his own purposes part of the wealth and influence ot her father, and by hate of the man who had got what he wanted. "When Dennison came back with the proofs of the vast wealth, that he had discovered, Reinhardt's ambition and hatred redoubled. That discovery from which he hoped so much sealed the doom of his happiness and Edena' s. " And for myself, for me the mutual friend, the disinterested observer, no man knew or will know till these lines are read that I, apart from all hope of worldly profit, Lad loved Edena with a passion as true, and, if it can be believed, as pure as a man ever felt for a good woman. But this of itself would not have tempted me. Another fact that was known was my hopeless indebtedness to Ison Reinhardt.

"My father had been extravagant, and yet, with unreasoning pride, lie had mortgaged our old home to pay for my education. I did brilliantly at Eton "and Oxford, and wa» called to the Bar coon after I had iaken^ my degree, and then mj mother's sister died and left me a few thousand. I did what my father- would have done. I lived on my capital, believing that long before it was spent fame and fortune would have come to me.

"lii a rash moment, under the influence of drink and despair, I told my master of my lore for Edna and my hate for the man who had won her. After that came temptation and the fall into the lowest depths. v "Two of the strongest links of tho evidenoe against Pennison were Guy's admitted dislike of him, and his strong, if unreasoning, objection to the marriage with, his sister, and the affair of the revolver matoh. Both were excellent shots, and on the afternoon of the day of the murder they had absolutely tied in three matches at Monsieur Henriot's place at Chislehuret, and there had been high words about this after the ladies had gone indoors. We all went up to town by an evening train, for Guy preferred to lire near the laboratories and hospitals. Both lie and Dennison took mo'e champagne at dinner, and brandy and soda afterwards, than they should have done; but the effects did not showtill we were walking to the station. They wrangled the whole way, and, of course, we distinctly heard the word l sh<oot' used several times. It was during this walk that Reinhardt told me his plan, and claimed my assistance. " When we got to the station we had some little time to wait, and he proposed that we should go into the hotel and have another brandy and soda, to support us during tihe miserable journey to town. The others agreed, and Reinhardt managed to drag two of the drinks without Guy or Dennison noticing Mm. When w-e got into the carriage we put Guy and Dennkon into opposite corners, locked the doors, and took possession •of the other corners. " The train was called a fast one. and only stopped at Bromley and Herne Hill. When we neared Penge, Guy and Dennison were fast asleep. Dennison's case, containing two revolvers, was on the seat beside him. It was locked, but the key was tied to one of the handles by a tape. We both crossed the carriage. I unlocked it and took out and loaded one of the weapons. Reinhardt took hold of Guy's canei which was mounted with a heavy agate ball. He raised it and broughifc it down with a fiitunnjng blow

on Guy's temple. At the same moo ment I took the 'revolver and sent al bullet through Guy's heart and instantly clasped the fingere of Dennison's right hand round the stock. Then we went back to our corners andf ■waited, not daring to look at eacl* other till the train cleared the tun* nel. ReinhaTdt sprang up, smashed the window and pulled the communication cord. The train was stopped suddenly in tie station, the guard oame, and we told the story that we told in court. " Reinhardt kept-faith with 1 me. H< ( freed my old home, paid all my debts, and settled £1000 a year on me as long as I Bhould hold my tongue; tie pay* mente to begin from the date of Guy Dennison's payments. .. "It has often been said that Gomel, mysterious influence almost inifillibly draws the criminal back in time to thai scene of his crime- It was so with me. The days and nights between Denni* son's sentence and execution— days and nights of unutterable horror— wer« each longer and more horrible than thor last. Hour after hour I walked round, the neighbourhood in which.. Newgattf stands, hardly daring^ even to look; at the black walls which formed the last home of our victim. Reinhardt, pretending to be totally broken down;, had gone away" for six weeks' tour odl the Continent. ' -.- " " The night before the execution thrf horrible attraction which was drawing me to Newgate became stronger anoy stronger, i got a bedroom in a littk street off Holborn, and went to bea after drinking a heavy dose of chloral.' I felt that in dome way it was ptas or the penalty of my crime that I should.' fet up in the morning and watch'-'thtf' oisting of the black flag- The %hlorat numbed 'my physical senses, but stimu-; lated my mind to morbid activity, and I dreamt such dreams as the condemn* ed in perdition may dream, if sleeg is ever -permitted to them. ; " For the hundredth time I replayed" my part in the tragedy, I went through the trjal, standing in Dennison's plaoa in the dock. I endured the terrible routine of days and nights in the oonv demned cell, passed from there through! the Door of Death to take my stands on the brink of Eternity. I felt th« white cap come down, over my face andr the nooee fall round my neck. Th«f words of the Chaplain sounded dully and a long way off. Then the gulf opened beneath me- Unearthly thunders roared in my ears, and my brain seemed to burst into a blase of light. "I struggled fiercely and woke lying on the floor beside my bed" with aj corner of the sheet twisted tightly round my neck. I freed myself -and l stood up. As I did so the bell of Sti Sepulchre boomed ou,t the first stroke of eight. I flung on my clothes and ran out into the street, toisee the black flag floating above the pit in which! hung the lifeless body of an Innocent man. - | j "For a week I carried my horribWl secret about with /me till life became unJ| endurable. I had an independence f on life if I would only claim it. but I neves took a penny of Reinhardt's moneyj When my own was nearly done I wrote this confession, and swore to it before) a magistrate and two witnesses, who, of course, do not know its contents. Witbi it I enclose my own. photograph, Dennison's, Reinhardt's and Guy's, and) Reinhardt's undertaking to pay off mj». debts, and' give me £1000 a year to} date from March 11— the day of thar execution. This can be verified by re* ference to his solicitors, who Hold a duplicate. c I have not exposed Reinhardt because I would not add another horror to that which has darkened the lives of my beloved Bdena and her parents; and, moreover, who am I that I should do such athing? My life is worthless to me. To-morrow it will end, and t snail take my secret with me to the river, leaving it to the Fates whether] it shall become known or not. « EDWARD BRANGSTON."