Tom Gallon

“ They would hunt down this Philip Silver, and would drag him into the dock before the assizes were over; and he would prove to be some common wretch, with the face of a murderer—some brute who would be proud to think that he had got away from them all, and led them a rare dance for a few hours. What had Philip Silver to do with this man, sitting at his desk and going through his notes?
The will of the man was so strong that he could bring himself steadily back to that work, and could forget for a time everything else. ”

“ You kicked me out of doors, and left me to choose my own way of going to the dogs."
"And now, to end it all, you have killed a man," answered the judge.
"That wasn't true, Phil; you are quite innocent of that?" pleaded Lady Veasey.
"No, mumsie, it happens to be true," he answered very gently. "The man was a brute, and in that underworld into which I had been driven, he had treated a woman badly. There is but one way with such brutes as that, and I took that way. I struck to kill—and I killed." ”

“ How cool and still everything is!"
He closed the window and let the curtain fall across it, then seated himself at the desk, and began to look over the pile of papers before him. He did not seem to give much attention to all the work with which he was faced. His thoughts wandered a little, and in the most exasperating fashion he found himself thinking, again and again, of that desperate, hunted fugitive, now flying over the country—the man who should, by every right of law and justice, have stood before him in the dock on the morrow, with the brand of Cain upon him. ”

“ The voice of the judge seemed curiously shaken and husky; something of the sternness that was habitual to the man had dropped away from him. "We do not judge the dead, nor condemn them. The man is before another tribunal; our judgments are but darkened ones in comparison. Sit down, sir."
The young barrister dropped back into his seat. The dock that should have been the place for the hunted man was filled by another prisoner. Sir John Veasey glanced again at his notes. ”

“ This was the subject-matter of the whisperings round the table—whisperings of which the judge himself seemed to take no notice.
Presently, however, as though some final word were expected of him, he turned gravely to his host and spoke of the thing. "I shall, of course, make strong comment to-morrow concerning this escape. It is disgraceful that, in a city like this, a man may slip out of the hands of justice, and get clear away. It is quite certain that he will be caught; it is equally certain that those responsible for the safe custody of the man will be punished." ”

“ Then he stepped to the middle of the room, keeping the desk between himself and that shrouded window behind the curtains of which he knew the man must be. Suddenly he challenged that man in a stern, commanding tone—
"Come out and show yourself, whoever you are!"
There was a faint movement of the curtain, as though an irresolute hand had touched it and then drawn back; then, after a moment, the curtain was pulled aside, and a man took a faltering, unsteady step into the room, and let the curtain fall behind him. ”

“ The judge got to his feet, frowning a little at this disturbance of his quiet, and went to the door.
There was a great riot going on in the house. The frightened voices of women called to know what was the matter; the stronger, more reassuring voices of men answered them; then a man, running along the corridor, holding a lamp. Sir John Veasey hailed him. ”

“ THE HANGING JUDGE.
By TOM GALLON.
WELL, you will have one case the less to try to-morrow, Sir John," said the man at the head of the table, with a little laugh. "For my part, I wish the poor devil luck—a sporting chance, at least. May they never find him!"
Sir John Veasey sipped his wine slowly; just as slowly and deliberately set down his glass. "They will find the man, and it will be my duty to try him," he said slowly; "it will probably also be my duty to sentence him to death. The case is a pretty clear one, and he is only postponing the evil day." ”

“ He limped to the desk, and leaned across it, and thrust his young face towards the face of the judge. "What is it to you whether I go, or whether I'm caught again?" he demanded. "You'll have a job the less to do to-morrow—one of those jobs you like, and are paid well for. Besides," he added, with a faint sneer, "it might be awkward, and might shock your feelings, if you had to say those words about hanging by the neck till I'm dead—to your own son!"
"You are a fugitive from justice," answered Sir John Veasey. "I have a duty to perform."
"You're not a policeman ”

“ You had been schooled in the law early; your house was a court of justice for everyone who lived in it. For a mad freak I was expelled from school, and yet it was a freak that made everyone laugh that heard about it. After that you took me in hand, as you phrased it. Nothing that I did was right. I wanted to be a soldier ”