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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of My Friend The Murderer, by A. Conan Doyle
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: My Friend The Murderer
+
+Author: A. Conan Doyle
+
+Release Date: October 17, 2007 [EBook #23059]
+Last Updated: September 30, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY FRIEND THE MURDERER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+MY FRIEND THE MURDERER
+
+By A. Conan Doyle
+
+
+“Number 481 is no better, doctor,” said the head-warder, in a slightly
+reproachful accent, looking in round the corner of my door.
+
+“Confound 481” I responded from behind the pages of the _Australian
+Sketcher_.
+
+“And 61 says his tubes are paining him. Couldn’t you do anything for
+him?”
+
+“He is a walking drug-shop,” said I. “He has the whole British
+pharmacopaæ inside him. I believe his tubes are as sound as yours are.”
+
+“Then there’s 7 and 108, they are chronic,” continued the warder,
+glancing down a blue slip of paper. “And 28 knocked off work
+yesterday--said lifting things gave him a stitch in the side. I want you
+to have a look at him, if you don’t mind, doctor. There’s 81, too--him
+that killed John Adamson in the Corinthian brig--he’s been carrying on
+awful in the night, shrieking and yelling, he has, and no stopping him
+either.”
+
+“All right, I’ll have a look at him afterward,” I said, tossing my paper
+carelessly aside, and pouring myself out a cup of coffee. “Nothing else
+to report, I suppose, warder?”
+
+The official protruded his head a little further into the room. “Beg
+pardon, doctor,” he said, in a confidential tone, “but I notice as 82
+has a bit of a cold, and it would be a good excuse for you to visit him
+and have a chat, maybe.”
+
+The cup of coffee was arrested half-way to my lips as I stared in
+amazement at the man’s serious face.
+
+“An excuse?” I said. “An excuse? What the deuce are you talking about,
+McPherson? You see me trudging about all day at my practise, when I’m
+not looking after the prisoners, and coming back every night as tired as
+a dog, and you talk about finding an excuse for doing more work.”
+
+“You’d like it, doctor,” said Warder McPherson, insinuating one of his
+shoulders into the room. “That man’s story’s worth listening to if you
+could get him to tell it, though he’s not what you’d call free in his
+speech. Maybe you don’t know who 82 is?”
+
+“No, I don’t, and I don’t care either,” I answered, in the conviction
+that some local ruffian was about to be foisted upon me as a celebrity.
+
+“He’s Maloney,” said the warder, “him that turned Queen’s evidence after
+the murders at Bluemansdyke.”
+
+“You don’t say so?” I ejaculated, laying down my cup in astonishment. I
+had heard of this ghastly series of murders, and read an account of
+them in a London magazine long before setting foot in the colony. I
+remembered that the atrocities committed had thrown the Burke and Hare
+crimes completely into the shade, and that one of the most villainous
+of the gang had saved his own skin by betraying his companions. “Are you
+sure?” I asked.
+
+“Oh, yes, it’s him right enough. Just you draw him out a bit, and
+he’ll astonish you. He’s a man to know, is Maloney; that’s to say, in
+moderation;” and the head grinned, bobbed, and disappeared, leaving me
+to finish my breakfast and ruminate over what I had heard.
+
+The surgeonship of an Australian prison is not an enviable position. It
+may be endurable in Melbourne or Sydney, but the little town of Perth
+has few attractions to recommend it, and those few had been long
+exhausted. The climate was detestable, and the society far from
+congenial. Sheep and cattle were the staple support of the community;
+and their prices, breeding, and diseases the principal topic of
+conversation. Now as I, being an outsider, possessed neither the one nor
+the other, and was utterly callous to the new “dip” and the “rot” and
+other kindred topics, I found myself in a state of mental isolation,
+and was ready to hail anything which might relieve the monotony of my
+existence. Maloney, the murderer, had at least some distinctiveness and
+individuality in his character, and might act as a tonic to a mind sick
+of the commonplaces of existence. I determined that I should follow the
+warder’s advice, and take the excuse for making his acquaintance. When,
+therefore, I went upon my usual matutinal round, I turned the lock of
+the door which bore the convict’s number upon it, and walked into the
+cell.
+
+The man was lying in a heap upon his rough bed as I entered, but,
+uncoiling his long limbs, he started up and stared at me with an
+insolent look of defiance on his face which augured badly for our
+interview. He had a pale, set face, with sandy hair and a steely-blue
+eye, with something feline in its expression. His frame was tall and
+muscular, though there was a curious bend in his shoulders, which almost
+amounted to a deformity. An ordinary observer meeting him in the street
+might have put him down as a well-developed man, fairly handsome, and
+of studious habits--even in the hideous uniform of the rottenest convict
+establishment he imparted a certain refinement to his carriage which
+marked him out among the inferior ruffians around him.
+
+“I’m not on the sick-list,” he said, gruffly. There was something in the
+hard, rasping voice which dispelled all softer illusions, and made me
+realize that I was face to face with the man of the Lena Valley and
+Bluemansdyke, the bloodiest bushranger that ever stuck up a farm or cut
+the throats of its occupants.
+
+“I know you’re not,” I answered. “Warder McPherson told me you had a
+cold, though, and I thought I’d look in and see you.”
+
+“Blast Warder McPherson, and blast you, too!” yelled the convict, in
+a paroxysm of rage. “Oh, that’s right,” he added in a quieter voice;
+“hurry away; report me to the governor, do! Get me another six months or
+so--that’s your game.”
+
+“I’m not going to report you,” I said.
+
+“Eight square feet of ground,” he went on, disregarding my protest, and
+evidently working himself into a fury again. “Eight square feet, and I
+can’t have that without being talked to and stared at, and--oh, blast
+the whole crew of you!” and he raised his two clinched hands above, his
+head and shook them in passionate invective.
+
+“You’ve got a curious idea of hospitality,” I remarked, determined not
+to lose my temper, and saying almost the first thing that came to my
+tongue.
+
+To my surprise the words had an extraordinary effect upon him. He seemed
+completely staggered at my assuming the proposition for which he had
+been so fiercely contending--namely, that the room in which he stood was
+his own.
+
+“I beg your pardon,” he said; “I didn’t mean to be rude. Won’t you
+take a seat?” and he motioned toward a rough trestle, which formed the
+head-piece of his couch.
+
+I sat down, rather astonished at the sudden change. I don’t know that
+I liked Maloney better under this new aspect. The murderer had, it is
+true, disappeared for the nonce, but there was something in the smooth
+tones and obsequious manner which powerfully suggested the witness of
+the queen, who had stood up and sworn away the lives of his companions
+in crime.
+
+“How’s your chest?” I asked, putting on my professional air.
+
+“Come, drop it, doctor--drop it!” he answered, showing a row of white
+teeth as he resumed his seat upon the side of the bed. “It wasn’t
+anxiety after my precious health that brought you along here; that story
+won’t wash at all. You came to have a look at Wolf Tone Maloney, forger,
+murderer, Sydney-slider, ranger, and government peach. That’s about my
+figure, ain’t it? There it is, plain and straight; there’s nothing mean
+about me.”
+
+He paused as if he expected me to say something; but as I remained
+silent, he repeated once or twice, “There’s nothing mean about me.”
+
+“And why shouldn’t I?” he suddenly yelled, his eyes gleaming and his
+whole satanic nature reasserting itself. “We were bound to swing, one
+and all, and they were none the worse if I saved myself by turning
+against them. Every man for himself, say I, and the devil take the
+luckiest. You haven’t a plug of tobacco, doctor, have you?”
+
+He tore at the piece of “Barrett’s” which I handed him, as ravenously as
+a wild beast. It seemed to have the effect of soothing his nerves, for
+he settled himself down in the bed and re-assumed his former deprecating
+manner.
+
+“You wouldn’t like it yourself, you know, doctor,” he said: “it’s enough
+to make any man a little queer in his temper. I’m in for six months this
+time for assault, and very sorry I shall be to go out again, I can tell
+you. My mind’s at ease in here; but when I’m outside, what with the
+government and what with Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury, there’s no chance
+of a quiet life.”
+
+“Who is he?” I asked.
+
+“He’s the brother of John Grimthorpe, the same that was condemned on my
+evidence; and an infernal scamp he was, too! Spawn of the devil, both of
+them! This tattooed one is a murderous ruffian, and he swore to have my
+blood after that trial. It’s seven year ago, and he’s following me yet;
+I know he is, though he lies low and keeps dark. He came up to me in
+Ballarat in ‘75; you can see on the back of my hand here where the
+bullet clipped me. He tried again in ‘76, at Port Philip, but I got the
+drop on him and wounded him badly. He knifed me in ‘79, though, in a bar
+at Adelaide, and that made our account about level. He’s loafing round
+again now, and he’ll let daylight into me--unless--unless by some
+extraordinary chance some one does as much for him.” And Maloney gave a
+very ugly smile.
+
+“I don’t complain of _him_ so much,” he continued. “Looking at it in
+his way, no doubt it is a sort of family matter that can hardly be
+neglected. It’s the government that fetches me. When I think of what
+I’ve done for this country, and then of what this country has done for
+me, it makes me fairly wild--clean drives me off my head. There’s no
+gratitude nor common decency left, doctor!”
+
+He brooded over his wrongs for a few minutes, and then proceeded to lay
+them before me in detail.
+
+“Here’s nine men,” he said; “they’ve been murdering and killing for
+a matter of three years, and maybe a life a week wouldn’t more than
+average the work that they’ve done. The government catches them and the
+government tries them, but they can’t convict; and why?--because the
+witnesses have all had their throats cut, and the whole job’s been very
+neatly done. What happens then? Up comes a citizen called Wolf Tone
+Maloney; he says, ‘The country needs me, and here I am.’ And with that
+he gives his evidence, convicts the lot, and enables the beaks to hang
+them. That’s what I did. There’s nothing mean about me! And now what
+does the country do in return? Dogs me, sir, spies on me, watches me
+night and day, turns against the very man that worked so very hard for
+it. There’s something mean about that, anyway. I didn’t expect them to
+knight me, nor to make me colonial secretary; but, damn it! I did expect
+that they would let me alone!”
+
+“Well,” I remonstrated, “if you choose to break laws and assault people,
+you can’t expect it to be looked over on account of former services.”
+
+“I don’t refer to my present imprisonment, sir,” said Maloney, with
+dignity. “It’s the life I’ve been leading since that cursed trial that
+takes the soul out of me. Just you sit there on that trestle, and I’ll
+tell you all about it, and then look me in the face and tell me that
+I’ve been treated fair by the police.”
+
+I shall endeavor to transcribe the experience of the convict in his own
+words, as far as I can remember them, preserving his curious perversions
+of right and wrong. I can answer for the truth of his facts, whatever
+may be said for his deductions from them. Months afterward, Inspector H.
+W. Hann, formerly governor of the jail at Dunedin, showed me entries in
+his ledger which corroborated every statement Maloney reeled the story
+off in a dull, monotonous voice, with his head sunk upon his breast and
+his hands between his knees. The glitter of his serpentlike eyes was the
+only sign of the emotions which were stirred up by the recollection of
+the events which he narrated.
+
+*****
+
+You’ve read of Bluemansdyke (he began, with some pride in his tone).
+We made it hot while it lasted; but they ran us to earth at last, and a
+trap called Braxton, with a damned Yankee, took the lot of us. That was
+in New Zealand, of course, and they took us down to Dunedin, and there
+they were convicted and hanged. One and all they put up their hands
+in the dock, and cursed me till your blood would have run cold to hear
+them--which was scurvy treatment, seeing that we had all been
+pals together; but they were a blackguard lot, and thought only of
+themselves. I think it is as well that they were hung.
+
+They took me back to Dunedin Jail, and clapped me into the old cell.
+The only difference they made was, that I had no work to do and was
+well fed. I stood this for a week or two, until one day the governor was
+making his rounds, and I put the matter to him.
+
+“How’s this?” I said. “My conditions were a free pardon, and you’re
+keeping me here against the law.”
+
+He gave a sort of a smile. “Should you like very much to get out?” he
+asked.
+
+“So much,” said I, “that unless you open that door I’ll have an action
+against you for illegal detention.”
+
+He seemed a bit astonished by my resolution.
+
+“You’re very anxious to meet your death,” he said.
+
+“What d’ye mean?” I asked.
+
+“Come here, and you’ll know what I mean,” he answered. And he led me
+down the passage to a window that overlooked the door of the prison.
+“Look at that!” said he.
+
+I looked out, and there were a dozen or so rough-looking fellows
+standing outside the street, some of them smoking, some playing cards
+on the pavement. When they saw me they gave a yell and crowded round the
+door, shaking their fists and hooting.
+
+“They wait for you, watch and watch about,” said the governor. “They’re
+the executive of the vigilance committee. However, since you are
+determined to go, I can’t stop you.”
+
+“D’ye call this a civilized land,” I cried, “and let a man be murdered
+in cold blood in open daylight?”
+
+When I said this the governor and the warder and every fool in the place
+grinned, as if a man’s life was a rare good joke.
+
+“You’ve got the law on your side,” says the governor; “so we won’t
+detain you any longer. Show him out, warder.”
+
+He’d have done it, too, the black-hearted villain, if I hadn’t begged
+and prayed and offered to pay for my board and lodging, which is
+more than any prisoner ever did before me. He let me stay on those
+conditions; and for three months I was caged up there with every
+larrikin in the township clamoring at the other side of the wall. That
+was pretty treatment for a man that had served his country!
+
+At last, one morning up came the governor again.
+
+“Well, Maloney,” he said, “how long are you going to honor us with your
+society?”
+
+I could have put a knife into his cursed body, and would, too, if we had
+been alone in the bush; but I had to smile, and smooth him and flatter,
+for I feared that he might have me sent out.
+
+“You’re an infernal rascal,” he said; those were his very words, to a
+man that had helped him all he knew how. “I don’t want any rough justice
+here, though; and I think I see my way to getting you out of Dunedin.”
+
+“I’ll never forget you, governor,” said I; “and, by God! I never will.”
+
+“I don’t want your thanks nor your gratitude,” he answered; “it’s
+not for your sake that I do it, but simply to keep order in the town.
+There’s a steamer starts from the West Quay to Melbourne to-morrow, and
+we’ll get you aboard it. She is advertised at five in the morning, so
+have yourself in readiness.”
+
+I packed up the few things I had, and was smuggled out by a back door,
+just before daybreak. I hurried down, took my ticket under the name
+of Isaac Smith, and got safely aboard the Melbourne boat. I remember
+hearing her screw grinding into the water as the warps were cast loose,
+and looking back at the lights of Dunedin as I leaned upon the bulwarks,
+with the pleasant thought that I was leaving them behind me forever.
+It seemed to me that a new world was before me, and that all my troubles
+had been cast off. I went down below and had some coffee, and came up
+again feeling better than I had done since the morning that I woke
+to find that cursed Irishman that took me standing over me with a
+six-shooter.
+
+Day had dawned by that time, and we were steaming along by the coast,
+well out of sight of Dunedin. I loafed about for a couple of hours, and
+when the sun got well up some of the other passengers came on deck and
+joined me. One of them, a little perky sort of fellow, took a good long
+look at me, and then came over and began talking.
+
+“Mining, I suppose?” says he.
+
+“Yes,” I says.
+
+“Made your pile?” he asks.
+
+“Pretty fair,” says I.
+
+“I was at it myself,” he says; “I worked at the Nelson fields for three
+months, and spent all I made in buying a salted claim which busted up
+the second day. I went at it again, though, and struck it rich; but when
+the gold wagon was going down to the settlements, it was stuck up by
+those cursed rangers, and not a red cent left.”
+
+“That was a bad job,” I says.
+
+“Broke me--ruined me clean. Never mind, I’ve seen them all hanged for
+it; that makes it easier to bear. There’s only one left--the villain
+that gave the evidence. I’d die happy if I could come across him. There
+are two things I have to do if I meet him.”
+
+“What’s that?” says I, carelessly.
+
+“I’ve got to ask him where the money lies--they never had time to make
+away with it, and it’s _cachéd_ somewhere in the mountains--and then
+I’ve got to stretch his neck for him, and send his soul down to join the
+men that he betrayed.”
+
+It seemed to me that I knew something about that _caché_, and I felt
+like laughing; but he was watching me, and it struck me that he had a
+nasty, vindictive kind of mind.
+
+“I’m going up on the bridge,” I said, for he was not a man whose
+acquaintance I cared much about making.
+
+He wouldn’t hear of my leaving him, though. “We’re both miners,” he
+says, “and we’re pals for the voyage. Come down to the bar. I’m not too
+poor to shout.”
+
+I couldn’t refuse him well, and we went down together; and that was the
+beginning of the trouble. What harm was I doing any one on the ship?
+All I asked for was a quiet life, leaving others alone and getting left
+alone myself. No man could ask fairer than that. And now just you listen
+to what came of it.
+
+We were passing the front of the ladies’ cabin, on our way to
+the saloon, when out comes a servant lass--a freckled currency
+she-devil--with a baby in her arms. We were brushing past her, when she
+gave a scream like a railway whistle, and nearly dropped the kid. My
+nerves gave a sort of a jump when I heard that scream, but I turned and
+begged her pardon, letting on that I thought I might have trod on her
+foot. I knew the game was up, though, when I saw her white face, and her
+leaning against the door and pointing.
+
+“It’s him!” she cried; “it’s him! I saw him in the court-house. Oh,
+don’t let him hurt the baby!”
+
+“Who is it?” asked the steward and half a dozen others in a breath.
+
+“It’s him--Maloney--Maloney, the murderer--oh, take him away--take him
+away!”
+
+I don’t rightly remember what happened just at that moment. The
+furniture and me seemed to get kind of mixed, and there was cursing,
+and smashing, and some one shouting for his gold, and a general stamping
+round. When I got steadied a bit, I found somebody’s hand in my mouth.
+From what I gathered afterward, I concluded that it belonged to that
+same little man with the vicious way of talking. He got some of it out
+again, but that was because the others were choking me. A poor chap can
+get no fair play in this world when once he is down--still, I think he
+will remember me till the day of his death--longer, I hope.
+
+They dragged me out on to the poop and held a damned court-martial--on
+_me_, mind you; _me_, that had thrown over my pals in order to serve
+them. What were they to do with me? Some said this, some said that; but
+it ended by the captain deciding to send me ashore. The ship stopped,
+they lowered a boat, and I was hoisted in, the whole gang of them
+hooting at me from over the bulwarks, I saw the man I spoke of tying up
+his hand, though, and I felt that things might be worse.
+
+I changed my opinion before we got to the land. I had reckoned on the
+shore being deserted, and that I might make my way inland; but the ship
+had stopped too near the Heads, and a dozen beach-combers and such like
+had come down to the water’s edge and were staring at us, wondering what
+the boat was after. When we got to the edge of the surf the cockswain
+hailed them, and after singing out who I was, he and his men threw me
+into the water. You may well look surprised--neck and crop into ten feet
+of water, with sharks as thick as green parrots in the bush, and I heard
+them laughing as I floundered to the shore.
+
+I soon saw it was a worse job than ever. As I came scrambling out
+through the weeds, I was collared by a big chap with a velveteen coat,
+and half a dozen others got round me and held me fast. Most of them
+looked simple fellows enough, and I was not afraid of them; but there
+was one in a cabbage-tree hat that had a very nasty expression on his
+face, and the big man seemed to be chummy with him.
+
+They dragged me up the beach, and then they let go their hold of me and
+stood round in a circle.
+
+“Well, mate,” says the man with the hat, “we’ve been looking out for you
+some time in these parts.”
+
+“And very good of you, too,” I answers.
+
+“None of your jaw,” says he. “Come, boys, what shall it be--hanging,
+drowning, or shooting? Look sharp!”
+
+This looked a bit too like business. “No, you don’t!” I said. “I’ve got
+government protection, and it’ll be murder.”
+
+“That’s what they call it,” answered the one in the velveteen coat, as
+cheery as a piping crow.
+
+“And you’re going to murder me for being a ranger?”
+
+“Ranger be damned!” said the man. “We’re going to hang you for peaching
+against your pals; and that’s an end of the palaver.”
+
+They slung a rope round my neck and dragged me up to the edge of the
+bush. There were some big she-oaks and blue-gums, and they pitched on
+one of these for the wicked deed. They ran the rope over a branch, tied
+my hands, and told me to say my prayers. It seemed as if it was all up;
+but Providence interfered to save me. It sounds nice enough sitting here
+and telling about it, sir; but it was sick work to stand with nothing
+but the beach in front of you, and the long white line of surf, with the
+steamer in the distance, and a set of bloody-minded villains round you
+thirsting for your life.
+
+I never thought I’d owe anything good to the police; but they saved
+me that time. A troop of them were riding from Hawkes Point Station to
+Dunedin, and hearing that something was up, they came down through the
+bush and interrupted the proceedings. I’ve heard some bands in my time,
+doctor, but I never heard music like the jingle of those traps’ spurs
+and harness as they galloped out on to the open. They tried to hang me
+even then, but the police were too quick for them; and the man with the
+hat got one over the head with the flat of a sword. I was clapped on
+to a horse, and before evening I found myself in my old quarters in the
+city jail.
+
+The governor wasn’t to be done, though. He was determined to get rid of
+me, and I was equally anxious to see the last of him. He waited a week
+or so until the excitement had begun to die away, and then he smuggled
+me aboard a three-masted schooner bound to Sydney with tallow and hides.
+
+We got far away to sea without a hitch, and things began to look a bit
+more rosy. I made sure that I had seen the last of the prison, anyway.
+The crew had a sort of an idea who I was, and if there’d been any rough
+weather, they’d have hove me overboard, like enough; for they were a
+rough, ignorant lot, and had a notion that I brought bad luck to the
+ship. We had a good passage, however, and I was landed safe and sound
+upon Sydney Quay.
+
+Now just you listen to what happened next. You’d have thought they would
+have been sick of ill-using me and following me by this time--wouldn’t
+you, now? Well, just you listen. It seems that a cursed steamer started
+from Dunedin to Sydney on the very day we left, and got in before
+us, bringing news that I was coming. Blessed if they hadn’t called a
+meeting--a regular mass-meeting--at the docks to discuss about it, and
+I marched right into it when I landed. They didn’t take long about
+arresting me, and I listened to all the speeches and resolutions. If I’d
+been a prince there couldn’t have been more excitement. The end of all
+was that they agreed that it wasn’t right that New Zealand should be
+allowed to foist her criminals upon her neighbors, and that I was to be
+sent back again by the next boat. So they posted me off again as if
+I was a damned parcel; and after another eight-hundred-mile journey I
+found myself back for the third time moving in the place that I started
+from.
+
+By this time I had begun to think that I was going to spend the rest of
+my existence traveling about from one port to another. Every man’s
+hand seemed turned against me, and there was no peace or quiet in any
+direction. I was about sick of it by the time I had come back; and if
+I could have taken to the bush I’d have done it, and chanced it with my
+old pals. They were too quick for me, though, and kept me under lock and
+key; but I managed, in spite of them, to negotiate that _caché_ I told
+you of, and sewed the gold up in my belt. I spent another month in jail,
+and then they slipped me aboard a bark that was bound for England.
+
+This time the crew never knew who I was, but the captain had a pretty
+good idea, though he didn’t let on to me that he had any suspicions.
+I guessed from the first that the man was a villain. We had a fair
+passage, except a gale or two off the Cape; and I began to feel like
+a free man when I saw the blue loom of the old country, and the saucy
+little pilot-boat from Falmouth dancing toward us over the waves. We ran
+down the Channel, and before we reached Gravesend I had agreed with the
+pilot that he should take me ashore with him when he left. It was at
+this time that the captain showed me that I was right in thinking him a
+meddling, disagreeable man. I got my things packed, such as they were,
+and left him talking earnestly to the pilot, while I went below for my
+breakfast. When I came up again we were fairly into the mouth of the
+river, and the boat in which I was to have gone ashore had left us. The
+skipper said the pilot had forgotten me; but that was too thin, and I
+began to fear that all my old troubles were going to commence once more.
+
+It was not long before my suspicions were confirmed. A boat darted out
+from the side of the river, and a tall cove with a long black beard came
+aboard. I heard him ask the mate whether they didn’t need a mud-pilot to
+take them up in the reaches, but it seemed to me that he was a man who
+would know a deal more about handcuffs than he did about steering, so
+I kept away from him. He came across the deck, however, and made
+some remark to me, taking a good look at me the while. I don’t like
+inquisitive people at any time, but an inquisitive stranger with glue
+about the roots of his beard is the worst of all to stand, especially
+under the circumstances. I began to feel that it was time for me to go.
+
+I soon got a chance, and made good use of it. A big collier came athwart
+the bows of our steamer, and we had to slacken down to dead slow. There
+was a barge astern, and I slipped down by a rope and was into the barge
+before any one missed me. Of course I had to leave my luggage behind me,
+but I had the belt with the nuggets round my waist, and the chance of
+shaking the police off my track was worth more than a couple of boxes.
+It was clear to me now that the pilot had been a traitor, as well as the
+captain, and had set the detectives after me. I often wish I could drop
+across those two men again.
+
+I hung about the barge all day as she drifted down the stream. There was
+one man in her, but she was a big, ugly craft, and his hands were too
+full for much looking about. Toward evening, when it got a bit dusky, I
+struck out for the shore, and found myself in a sort of marsh place, a
+good many miles to the east of London. I was soaking wet and half
+dead with hunger, but I trudged into the town, got a new rig-out at a
+slop-shop, and after having some supper, engaged a bed at the quietest
+lodgings I could find.
+
+I woke pretty early--a habit you pick up in the bush--and lucky for me
+that I did so. The very first thing I saw when I took a look through a
+chink in the shutter was one of these infernal policemen standing right
+opposite and staring up at the windows. He hadn’t epaulets nor a sword,
+like our traps, but for all that there was a sort of family likeness,
+and the same busybody expression. Whether they followed me all the time,
+or whether the woman that let me the bed didn’t like the looks of me,
+is more than I have ever been able to find out. He came across as I was
+watching him, and noted down the address of the house in a book. I was
+afraid that he was going to ring at the bell, but I suppose his orders
+were simply to keep an eye on me, for after another good look at the
+windows he moved on down the street.
+
+I saw that my only chance was to act at once. I threw on my clothes,
+opened the window softly, and, after making sure that there was nobody
+about, dropped out onto the ground and made off as hard as I could run.
+I traveled a matter of two or three miles, when my wind gave out; and
+as I saw a big building with people going in and out, I went in too,
+and found that it was a railway station. A train was just going off
+for Dover to meet the French boat, so I took a ticket and jumped into a
+third-class carriage.
+
+There were a couple of other chaps in the carriage, innocent-looking
+young beggars, both of them. They began speaking about this and that,
+while I sat quiet in the corner and listened. Then they started on
+England and foreign countries, and such like. Look ye now, doctor, this
+is a fact. One of them begins jawing about the justice of England’s
+laws. “It’s all fair and above-board,” says he; “there ain’t any secret
+police, nor spying, like they have abroad,” and a lot more of the same
+sort of wash. Rather rough on me, wasn’t it, listening to the damned
+young fool, with the police following me about like my shadow?
+
+I got to Paris right enough, and there I changed some of my gold, and
+for a few days I imagined I’d shaken them off, and began to think of
+settling down for a bit of rest. I needed it by that time, for I was
+looking more like a ghost than a man. You’ve never had the police after
+you, I suppose? Well, you needn’t look offended, I didn’t mean any harm.
+If ever you had you’d know that it wastes a man away like a sheep with
+the rot.
+
+I went to the opera one night and took a box, for I was very flush. I
+was coming out between the acts when I met a fellow lounging along
+in the passage. The light fell on his face, and I saw that it was the
+mud-pilot that had boarded us in the Thames. His beard was gone, but I
+recognized the man at a glance, for I’ve a good memory for faces.
+
+I tell you, doctor, I felt desperate for a moment. I could have knifed
+him if we had been alone, but he knew me well enough never to give me
+the chance. It was more than I could stand any longer, so I went right
+up to him and drew him aside, where we’d be free from all the loungers
+and theater-goers.
+
+“How long are you going to keep it up?” I asked him.
+
+He seemed a bit flustered for a moment, but then he saw there was no use
+beating about the bush, so he answered straight:
+
+“Until you go back to Australia,” he said.
+
+“Don’t you know,” I said, “that I have served the government and got a
+free pardon?”
+
+He grinned all over his ugly face when I said this.
+
+“We know all about you, Maloney,” he answered. “If you want a quiet
+life, just you go back where you came from. If you stay here, you’re a
+marked man; and when you are found tripping it’ll be a lifer for you,
+at the least. Free trade’s a fine thing but the market’s too full of men
+like you for us to need to import any.”
+
+It seemed to me that there was something in what he said, though he had
+a nasty way of putting it. For some days back I’d been feeling a sort of
+homesick. The ways of the people weren’t my ways. They stared at me in
+the street; and if I dropped into a bar, they’d stop talking and edge
+away a bit, as if I was a wild beast. I’d sooner have had a pint of old
+Stringybark, too, than a bucketful of their rot-gut liquors. There
+was too much damned propriety. What was the use of having money if you
+couldn’t dress as you liked, nor bust in properly? There was no sympathy
+for a man if he shot about a little when he was half-over, I’ve seen a
+man dropped at Nelson many a time with less row than they’d make over a
+broken window-pane. The thing was slow, and I was sick of it.
+
+“You want me to go back?” I said.
+
+“I’ve my order to stick fast to you until you do,” he answered.
+
+“Well,” I said, “I don’t care if I do. All I bargain is that you keep
+your mouth shut and don’t let on who I am, so that I may have a fair
+start when I get there.”
+
+He agreed to this, and we went over to Southampton the very next
+day, where he saw me safely off once more. I took a passage round to
+Adelaide, where no one was likely to know me; and there I settled, right
+under the nose of the police. I’d been there ever since, leading a quiet
+life, but for little difficulties like the one I’m in for now, and for
+that devil, Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury. I don’t know what made me
+tell you all this, doctor, unless it is that being lonely makes a man
+inclined to jaw when he gets a chance. Just you take warning from me,
+though. Never put yourself out to serve your country; for your country
+will do precious little for you. Just you let them look after their own
+affairs; and if they find difficulty in hanging a set of scoundrels,
+never mind chipping in, but let them alone to do as best they can. Maybe
+they’ll remember how they treated me after I’m dead, and be sorry for
+neglecting me, I was rude to you when you came in, and swore a trifle
+promiscuous: but don’t you mind me, it’s only my way. You’ll allow,
+though, that I have cause to be a bit touchy now and again when I think
+of all that’s passed. You’re not going, are you? Well, if you must, you
+must; but I hope you will look me up at odd times when you are going
+your rounds. Oh, I say, you’ve left the balance of that cake of tobacco
+behind you, haven’t you? No; it’s in your pocket--that’s all right.
+Thank ye, doctor, you’re a good sort, and as quick at a hint as any man
+I’ve met.
+
+A couple of months after narrating his experiences, Wolf Tone Maloney
+finished his term, and was released. For a long time I neither saw him
+nor heard of him, and he had almost slipped from my memory, until I
+was reminded, in a somewhat tragic manner, of his existence. I had been
+attending a patient some distance off in the country, and was riding
+back, guiding my tired horse among the boulders which strewed the
+pathway, and endeavoring to see my way through the gathering darkness,
+when I came suddenly upon a little wayside inn. As I walked my horse up
+toward the door, intending to make sure of my bearings before proceeding
+further, I heard the sound of a violent altercation within the little
+bar.
+
+There seemed to be a chorus of expostulation or remonstrance, above
+which two powerful voices rang out loud and angry. As I listened, there
+was a momentary hush, two pistol shots sounded almost simultaneously,
+and with a crash the door burst open and a pair of dark figures
+staggered out into the moonlight. They struggled for a moment in a
+deadly wrestle, and then went down together among the loose stones.
+I had sprung off my horse, and, with the help of half a dozen rough
+fellows from the bar, dragged them away from one another.
+
+A glance was sufficient to convince me that one of them was dying fast.
+He was a thick-set burly fellow, with a determined cast of countenance.
+The blood was welling from a deep stab in his throat, and it was evident
+that an important artery had been divided. I turned away from him in
+despair, and walked over to where his antagonist was lying. He was shot
+through the lungs, but managed to raise himself up on his hand as I
+approached, and peered anxiously up into my face. To my surprise, I
+saw before me the haggard features and flaxen hair of my prison
+acquaintance, Maloney.
+
+“Ah, doctor!” he said, recognizing me. “How is he? Will he die?”
+
+He asked the question so earnestly that I imagined he had softened at
+the last moment, and feared to leave the world with another homicide
+upon his conscience. Truth, however, compelled me to shake my head
+mournfully, and to intimate that the wound would prove a mortal one.
+
+Maloney gave a wild cry of triumph, which brought the blood welling
+out from between his lips. “Here, boys,” he gasped to the little group
+around him. “There’s money in my inside pocket. Damn the expense! Drinks
+round. There’s nothing mean about me. I’d drink with you, but I’m going.
+Give the doc my share, for he’s as good--” Here his head fell back
+with a thud, his eye glazed, and the soul of Wolf Tone Maloney, forger,
+convict, ranger, murderer, and government peach, drifted away into the
+Great Unknown.
+
+I cannot conclude without borrowing the account of the fatal quarrel
+which appeared in the column of the _West Australian Sentinel_. The
+curious will find it in the issue of October 4,1881:
+
+     “Fatal Affray.--W. T. Maloney, a well-know citizen of New
+     Montrose, and proprietor of the Yellow Boy gambling saloon,
+     has met with his death under rather painful circumstances.
+     Mr. Maloney was a man who had led a checkered existence, and
+     whose past history is replete with interest. Some of our
+     readers may recall the Lena Valley murders, in which he
+     figured as the principal criminal. It is conjectured that
+     during the seven months that he owned a bar in that region,
+     from twenty to thirty travelers were hocussed and made away
+     with.   He succeeded, however, in evading the vigilance of
+     the officers of the law, and allied himself with the
+     bushrangers of Bluemansdyke, whose heroic capture and
+     subsequent execution are matters of history. Maloney
+     extricated himself from the fate which awaited him by
+     turning Queen’s evidence. He afterward visited Europe, but
+     returned to West Australia, where he has long played a
+     prominent part in local matters. On Friday evening he
+     encountered an old enemy, Thomas Grimthorpe, commonly known
+     as Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury.
+
+     “Shots were exchanged, and both were badly wounded, only
+     surviving a few minutes. Mr. Maloney had the reputation of
+     being not only the most wholesale murderer that ever lived,
+     but also of having a finish and attention to detail in
+     matters of evidence which has been unapproached by any
+     European criminal. _Sic transit gloria mundi!_”
+
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of My Friend The Murderer, by A. Conan Doyle
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: My Friend The Murderer
+
+Author: A. Conan Doyle
+
+Release Date: October 17, 2007 [EBook #23059]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY FRIEND THE MURDERER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+MY FRIEND THE MURDERER
+
+By A. Conan Doyle
+
+
+"Number 481 is no better, doctor," said the head-warder, in a slightly
+reproachful accent, looking in round the corner of my door.
+
+"Confound 481" I responded from behind the pages of the _Australian
+Sketcher_.
+
+"And 61 says his tubes are paining him. Couldn't you do anything for
+him?"
+
+"He is a walking drug-shop," said I. "He has the whole British
+pharmacopa� inside him. I believe his tubes are as sound as yours are."
+
+"Then there's 7 and 108, they are chronic," continued the warder,
+glancing down a blue slip of paper. "And 28 knocked off work
+yesterday--said lifting things gave him a stitch in the side. I want you
+to have a look at him, if you don't mind, doctor. There's 81, too--him
+that killed John Adamson in the Corinthian brig--he's been carrying on
+awful in the night, shrieking and yelling, he has, and no stopping him
+either."
+
+"All right, I'll have a look at him afterward," I said, tossing my paper
+carelessly aside, and pouring myself out a cup of coffee. "Nothing else
+to report, I suppose, warder?"
+
+The official protruded his head a little further into the room. "Beg
+pardon, doctor," he said, in a confidential tone, "but I notice as 82
+has a bit of a cold, and it would be a good excuse for you to visit him
+and have a chat, maybe."
+
+The cup of coffee was arrested half-way to my lips as I stared in
+amazement at the man's serious face.
+
+"An excuse?" I said. "An excuse? What the deuce are you talking about,
+McPherson? You see me trudging about all day at my practise, when I'm
+not looking after the prisoners, and coming back every night as tired as
+a dog, and you talk about finding an excuse for doing more work."
+
+"You'd like it, doctor," said Warder McPherson, insinuating one of his
+shoulders into the room. "That man's story's worth listening to if you
+could get him to tell it, though he's not what you'd call free in his
+speech. Maybe you don't know who 82 is?"
+
+"No, I don't, and I don't care either," I answered, in the conviction
+that some local ruffian was about to be foisted upon me as a celebrity.
+
+"He's Maloney," said the warder, "him that turned Queen's evidence after
+the murders at Bluemansdyke."
+
+"You don't say so?" I ejaculated, laying down my cup in astonishment. I
+had heard of this ghastly series of murders, and read an account of
+them in a London magazine long before setting foot in the colony. I
+remembered that the atrocities committed had thrown the Burke and Hare
+crimes completely into the shade, and that one of the most villainous
+of the gang had saved his own skin by betraying his companions. "Are you
+sure?" I asked.
+
+"Oh, yes, it's him right enough. Just you draw him out a bit, and
+he'll astonish you. He's a man to know, is Maloney; that's to say, in
+moderation;" and the head grinned, bobbed, and disappeared, leaving me
+to finish my breakfast and ruminate over what I had heard.
+
+The surgeonship of an Australian prison is not an enviable position. It
+may be endurable in Melbourne or Sydney, but the little town of Perth
+has few attractions to recommend it, and those few had been long
+exhausted. The climate was detestable, and the society far from
+congenial. Sheep and cattle were the staple support of the community;
+and their prices, breeding, and diseases the principal topic of
+conversation. Now as I, being an outsider, possessed neither the one nor
+the other, and was utterly callous to the new "dip" and the "rot" and
+other kindred topics, I found myself in a state of mental isolation,
+and was ready to hail anything which might relieve the monotony of my
+existence. Maloney, the murderer, had at least some distinctiveness and
+individuality in his character, and might act as a tonic to a mind sick
+of the commonplaces of existence. I determined that I should follow the
+warder's advice, and take the excuse for making his acquaintance. When,
+therefore, I went upon my usual matutinal round, I turned the lock of
+the door which bore the convict's number upon it, and walked into the
+cell.
+
+The man was lying in a heap upon his rough bed as I entered, but,
+uncoiling his long limbs, he started up and stared at me with an
+insolent look of defiance on his face which augured badly for our
+interview. He had a pale, set face, with sandy hair and a steely-blue
+eye, with something feline in its expression. His frame was tall and
+muscular, though there was a curious bend in his shoulders, which almost
+amounted to a deformity. An ordinary observer meeting him in the street
+might have put him down as a well-developed man, fairly handsome, and
+of studious habits--even in the hideous uniform of the rottenest convict
+establishment he imparted a certain refinement to his carriage which
+marked him out among the inferior ruffians around him.
+
+"I'm not on the sick-list," he said, gruffly. There was something in the
+hard, rasping voice which dispelled all softer illusions, and made me
+realize that I was face to face with the man of the Lena Valley and
+Bluemansdyke, the bloodiest bushranger that ever stuck up a farm or cut
+the throats of its occupants.
+
+"I know you're not," I answered. "Warder McPherson told me you had a
+cold, though, and I thought I'd look in and see you."
+
+"Blast Warder McPherson, and blast you, too!" yelled the convict, in
+a paroxysm of rage. "Oh, that's right," he added in a quieter voice;
+"hurry away; report me to the governor, do! Get me another six months or
+so--that's your game."
+
+"I'm not going to report you," I said.
+
+"Eight square feet of ground," he went on, disregarding my protest, and
+evidently working himself into a fury again. "Eight square feet, and I
+can't have that without being talked to and stared at, and--oh, blast
+the whole crew of you!" and he raised his two clinched hands above, his
+head and shook them in passionate invective.
+
+"You've got a curious idea of hospitality," I remarked, determined not
+to lose my temper, and saying almost the first thing that came to my
+tongue.
+
+To my surprise the words had an extraordinary effect upon him. He seemed
+completely staggered at my assuming the proposition for which he had
+been so fiercely contending--namely, that the room in which he stood was
+his own.
+
+"I beg your pardon," he said; "I didn't mean to be rude. Won't you
+take a seat?" and he motioned toward a rough trestle, which formed the
+head-piece of his couch.
+
+I sat down, rather astonished at the sudden change. I don't know that
+I liked Maloney better under this new aspect. The murderer had, it is
+true, disappeared for the nonce, but there was something in the smooth
+tones and obsequious manner which powerfully suggested the witness of
+the queen, who had stood up and sworn away the lives of his companions
+in crime.
+
+"How's your chest?" I asked, putting on my professional air.
+
+"Come, drop it, doctor--drop it!" he answered, showing a row of white
+teeth as he resumed his seat upon the side of the bed. "It wasn't
+anxiety after my precious health that brought you along here; that story
+won't wash at all. You came to have a look at Wolf Tone Maloney, forger,
+murderer, Sydney-slider, ranger, and government peach. That's about my
+figure, ain't it? There it is, plain and straight; there's nothing mean
+about me."
+
+He paused as if he expected me to say something; but as I remained
+silent, he repeated once or twice, "There's nothing mean about me."
+
+"And why shouldn't I?" he suddenly yelled, his eyes gleaming and his
+whole satanic nature reasserting itself. "We were bound to swing, one
+and all, and they were none the worse if I saved myself by turning
+against them. Every man for himself, say I, and the devil take the
+luckiest. You haven't a plug of tobacco, doctor, have you?"
+
+He tore at the piece of "Barrett's" which I handed him, as ravenously as
+a wild beast. It seemed to have the effect of soothing his nerves, for
+he settled himself down in the bed and re-assumed his former deprecating
+manner.
+
+"You wouldn't like it yourself, you know, doctor," he said: "it's enough
+to make any man a little queer in his temper. I'm in for six months this
+time for assault, and very sorry I shall be to go out again, I can tell
+you. My mind's at ease in here; but when I'm outside, what with the
+government and what with Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury, there's no chance
+of a quiet life."
+
+"Who is he?" I asked.
+
+"He's the brother of John Grimthorpe, the same that was condemned on my
+evidence; and an infernal scamp he was, too! Spawn of the devil, both of
+them! This tattooed one is a murderous ruffian, and he swore to have my
+blood after that trial. It's seven year ago, and he's following me yet;
+I know he is, though he lies low and keeps dark. He came up to me in
+Ballarat in '75; you can see on the back of my hand here where the
+bullet clipped me. He tried again in '76, at Port Philip, but I got the
+drop on him and wounded him badly. He knifed me in '79, though, in a bar
+at Adelaide, and that made our account about level. He's loafing round
+again now, and he'll let daylight into me--unless--unless by some
+extraordinary chance some one does as much for him." And Maloney gave a
+very ugly smile.
+
+"I don't complain of _him_ so much," he continued. "Looking at it in
+his way, no doubt it is a sort of family matter that can hardly be
+neglected. It's the government that fetches me. When I think of what
+I've done for this country, and then of what this country has done for
+me, it makes me fairly wild--clean drives me off my head. There's no
+gratitude nor common decency left, doctor!"
+
+He brooded over his wrongs for a few minutes, and then proceeded to lay
+them before me in detail.
+
+"Here's nine men," he said; "they've been murdering and killing for
+a matter of three years, and maybe a life a week wouldn't more than
+average the work that they've done. The government catches them and the
+government tries them, but they can't convict; and why?--because the
+witnesses have all had their throats cut, and the whole job's been very
+neatly done. What happens then? Up comes a citizen called Wolf Tone
+Maloney; he says, 'The country needs me, and here I am.' And with that
+he gives his evidence, convicts the lot, and enables the beaks to hang
+them. That's what I did. There's nothing mean about me! And now what
+does the country do in return? Dogs me, sir, spies on me, watches me
+night and day, turns against the very man that worked so very hard for
+it. There's something mean about that, anyway. I didn't expect them to
+knight me, nor to make me colonial secretary; but, damn it! I did expect
+that they would let me alone!"
+
+"Well," I remonstrated, "if you choose to break laws and assault people,
+you can't expect it to be looked over on account of former services."
+
+"I don't refer to my present imprisonment, sir," said Maloney, with
+dignity. "It's the life I've been leading since that cursed trial that
+takes the soul out of me. Just you sit there on that trestle, and I'll
+tell you all about it, and then look me in the face and tell me that
+I've been treated fair by the police."
+
+I shall endeavor to transcribe the experience of the convict in his own
+words, as far as I can remember them, preserving his curious perversions
+of right and wrong. I can answer for the truth of his facts, whatever
+may be said for his deductions from them. Months afterward, Inspector H.
+W. Hann, formerly governor of the jail at Dunedin, showed me entries in
+his ledger which corroborated every statement Maloney reeled the story
+off in a dull, monotonous voice, with his head sunk upon his breast and
+his hands between his knees. The glitter of his serpentlike eyes was the
+only sign of the emotions which were stirred up by the recollection of
+the events which he narrated.
+
+*****
+
+You've read of Bluemansdyke (he began, with some pride in his tone).
+We made it hot while it lasted; but they ran us to earth at last, and a
+trap called Braxton, with a damned Yankee, took the lot of us. That was
+in New Zealand, of course, and they took us down to Dunedin, and there
+they were convicted and hanged. One and all they put up their hands
+in the dock, and cursed me till your blood would have run cold to hear
+them--which was scurvy treatment, seeing that we had all been
+pals together; but they were a blackguard lot, and thought only of
+themselves. I think it is as well that they were hung.
+
+They took me back to Dunedin Jail, and clapped me into the old cell.
+The only difference they made was, that I had no work to do and was
+well fed. I stood this for a week or two, until one day the governor was
+making his rounds, and I put the matter to him.
+
+"How's this?" I said. "My conditions were a free pardon, and you're
+keeping me here against the law."
+
+He gave a sort of a smile. "Should you like very much to get out?" he
+asked.
+
+"So much," said I, "that unless you open that door I'll have an action
+against you for illegal detention."
+
+He seemed a bit astonished by my resolution.
+
+"You're very anxious to meet your death," he said.
+
+"What d'ye mean?" I asked.
+
+"Come here, and you'll know what I mean," he answered. And he led me
+down the passage to a window that overlooked the door of the prison.
+"Look at that!" said he.
+
+I looked out, and there were a dozen or so rough-looking fellows
+standing outside the street, some of them smoking, some playing cards
+on the pavement. When they saw me they gave a yell and crowded round the
+door, shaking their fists and hooting.
+
+"They wait for you, watch and watch about," said the governor. "They're
+the executive of the vigilance committee. However, since you are
+determined to go, I can't stop you."
+
+"D'ye call this a civilized land," I cried, "and let a man be murdered
+in cold blood in open daylight?"
+
+When I said this the governor and the warder and every fool in the place
+grinned, as if a man's life was a rare good joke.
+
+"You've got the law on your side," says the governor; "so we won't
+detain you any longer. Show him out, warder."
+
+He'd have done it, too, the black-hearted villain, if I hadn't begged
+and prayed and offered to pay for my board and lodging, which is
+more than any prisoner ever did before me. He let me stay on those
+conditions; and for three months I was caged up there with every
+larrikin in the township clamoring at the other side of the wall. That
+was pretty treatment for a man that had served his country!
+
+At last, one morning up came the governor again.
+
+"Well, Maloney," he said, "how long are you going to honor us with your
+society?"
+
+I could have put a knife into his cursed body, and would, too, if we had
+been alone in the bush; but I had to smile, and smooth him and flatter,
+for I feared that he might have me sent out.
+
+"You're an infernal rascal," he said; those were his very words, to a
+man that had helped him all he knew how. "I don't want any rough justice
+here, though; and I think I see my way to getting you out of Dunedin."
+
+"I'll never forget you, governor," said I; "and, by God! I never will."
+
+"I don't want your thanks nor your gratitude," he answered; "it's
+not for your sake that I do it, but simply to keep order in the town.
+There's a steamer starts from the West Quay to Melbourne to-morrow, and
+we'll get you aboard it. She is advertised at five in the morning, so
+have yourself in readiness."
+
+I packed up the few things I had, and was smuggled out by a back door,
+just before daybreak. I hurried down, took my ticket under the name
+of Isaac Smith, and got safely aboard the Melbourne boat. I remember
+hearing her screw grinding into the water as the warps were cast loose,
+and looking back at the lights of Dunedin as I leaned upon the bulwarks,
+with the pleasant thought that I was leaving them behind me forever.
+It seemed to me that a new world was before me, and that all my troubles
+had been cast off. I went down below and had some coffee, and came up
+again feeling better than I had done since the morning that I woke
+to find that cursed Irishman that took me standing over me with a
+six-shooter.
+
+Day had dawned by that time, and we were steaming along by the coast,
+well out of sight of Dunedin. I loafed about for a couple of hours, and
+when the sun got well up some of the other passengers came on deck and
+joined me. One of them, a little perky sort of fellow, took a good long
+look at me, and then came over and began talking.
+
+"Mining, I suppose?" says he.
+
+"Yes," I says.
+
+"Made your pile?" he asks.
+
+"Pretty fair," says I.
+
+"I was at it myself," he says; "I worked at the Nelson fields for three
+months, and spent all I made in buying a salted claim which busted up
+the second day. I went at it again, though, and struck it rich; but when
+the gold wagon was going down to the settlements, it was stuck up by
+those cursed rangers, and not a red cent left."
+
+"That was a bad job," I says.
+
+"Broke me--ruined me clean. Never mind, I've seen them all hanged for
+it; that makes it easier to bear. There's only one left--the villain
+that gave the evidence. I'd die happy if I could come across him. There
+are two things I have to do if I meet him."
+
+"What's that?" says I, carelessly.
+
+"I've got to ask him where the money lies--they never had time to make
+away with it, and it's _cach�d_ somewhere in the mountains--and then
+I've got to stretch his neck for him, and send his soul down to join the
+men that he betrayed."
+
+It seemed to me that I knew something about that _cach�_, and I felt
+like laughing; but he was watching me, and it struck me that he had a
+nasty, vindictive kind of mind.
+
+"I'm going up on the bridge," I said, for he was not a man whose
+acquaintance I cared much about making.
+
+He wouldn't hear of my leaving him, though. "We're both miners," he
+says, "and we're pals for the voyage. Come down to the bar. I'm not too
+poor to shout."
+
+I couldn't refuse him well, and we went down together; and that was the
+beginning of the trouble. What harm was I doing any one on the ship?
+All I asked for was a quiet life, leaving others alone and getting left
+alone myself. No man could ask fairer than that. And now just you listen
+to what came of it.
+
+We were passing the front of the ladies' cabin, on our way to
+the saloon, when out comes a servant lass--a freckled currency
+she-devil--with a baby in her arms. We were brushing past her, when she
+gave a scream like a railway whistle, and nearly dropped the kid. My
+nerves gave a sort of a jump when I heard that scream, but I turned and
+begged her pardon, letting on that I thought I might have trod on her
+foot. I knew the game was up, though, when I saw her white face, and her
+leaning against the door and pointing.
+
+"It's him!" she cried; "it's him! I saw him in the court-house. Oh,
+don't let him hurt the baby!"
+
+"Who is it?" asked the steward and half a dozen others in a breath.
+
+"It's him--Maloney--Maloney, the murderer--oh, take him away--take him
+away!"
+
+I don't rightly remember what happened just at that moment. The
+furniture and me seemed to get kind of mixed, and there was cursing,
+and smashing, and some one shouting for his gold, and a general stamping
+round. When I got steadied a bit, I found somebody's hand in my mouth.
+From what I gathered afterward, I concluded that it belonged to that
+same little man with the vicious way of talking. He got some of it out
+again, but that was because the others were choking me. A poor chap can
+get no fair play in this world when once he is down--still, I think he
+will remember me till the day of his death--longer, I hope.
+
+They dragged me out on to the poop and held a damned court-martial--on
+_me_, mind you; _me_, that had thrown over my pals in order to serve
+them. What were they to do with me? Some said this, some said that; but
+it ended by the captain deciding to send me ashore. The ship stopped,
+they lowered a boat, and I was hoisted in, the whole gang of them
+hooting at me from over the bulwarks, I saw the man I spoke of tying up
+his hand, though, and I felt that things might be worse.
+
+I changed my opinion before we got to the land. I had reckoned on the
+shore being deserted, and that I might make my way inland; but the ship
+had stopped too near the Heads, and a dozen beach-combers and such like
+had come down to the water's edge and were staring at us, wondering what
+the boat was after. When we got to the edge of the surf the cockswain
+hailed them, and after singing out who I was, he and his men threw me
+into the water. You may well look surprised--neck and crop into ten feet
+of water, with sharks as thick as green parrots in the bush, and I heard
+them laughing as I floundered to the shore.
+
+I soon saw it was a worse job than ever. As I came scrambling out
+through the weeds, I was collared by a big chap with a velveteen coat,
+and half a dozen others got round me and held me fast. Most of them
+looked simple fellows enough, and I was not afraid of them; but there
+was one in a cabbage-tree hat that had a very nasty expression on his
+face, and the big man seemed to be chummy with him.
+
+They dragged me up the beach, and then they let go their hold of me and
+stood round in a circle.
+
+"Well, mate," says the man with the hat, "we've been looking out for you
+some time in these parts."
+
+"And very good of you, too," I answers.
+
+"None of your jaw," says he. "Come, boys, what shall it be--hanging,
+drowning, or shooting? Look sharp!"
+
+This looked a bit too like business. "No, you don't!" I said. "I've got
+government protection, and it'll be murder."
+
+"That's what they call it," answered the one in the velveteen coat, as
+cheery as a piping crow.
+
+"And you're going to murder me for being a ranger?"
+
+"Ranger be damned!" said the man. "We're going to hang you for peaching
+against your pals; and that's an end of the palaver."
+
+They slung a rope round my neck and dragged me up to the edge of the
+bush. There were some big she-oaks and blue-gums, and they pitched on
+one of these for the wicked deed. They ran the rope over a branch, tied
+my hands, and told me to say my prayers. It seemed as if it was all up;
+but Providence interfered to save me. It sounds nice enough sitting here
+and telling about it, sir; but it was sick work to stand with nothing
+but the beach in front of you, and the long white line of surf, with the
+steamer in the distance, and a set of bloody-minded villains round you
+thirsting for your life.
+
+I never thought I'd owe anything good to the police; but they saved
+me that time. A troop of them were riding from Hawkes Point Station to
+Dunedin, and hearing that something was up, they came down through the
+bush and interrupted the proceedings. I've heard some bands in my time,
+doctor, but I never heard music like the jingle of those traps' spurs
+and harness as they galloped out on to the open. They tried to hang me
+even then, but the police were too quick for them; and the man with the
+hat got one over the head with the flat of a sword. I was clapped on
+to a horse, and before evening I found myself in my old quarters in the
+city jail.
+
+The governor wasn't to be done, though. He was determined to get rid of
+me, and I was equally anxious to see the last of him. He waited a week
+or so until the excitement had begun to die away, and then he smuggled
+me aboard a three-masted schooner bound to Sydney with tallow and hides.
+
+We got far away to sea without a hitch, and things began to look a bit
+more rosy. I made sure that I had seen the last of the prison, anyway.
+The crew had a sort of an idea who I was, and if there'd been any rough
+weather, they'd have hove me overboard, like enough; for they were a
+rough, ignorant lot, and had a notion that I brought bad luck to the
+ship. We had a good passage, however, and I was landed safe and sound
+upon Sydney Quay.
+
+Now just you listen to what happened next. You'd have thought they would
+have been sick of ill-using me and following me by this time--wouldn't
+you, now? Well, just you listen. It seems that a cursed steamer started
+from Dunedin to Sydney on the very day we left, and got in before
+us, bringing news that I was coming. Blessed if they hadn't called a
+meeting--a regular mass-meeting--at the docks to discuss about it, and
+I marched right into it when I landed. They didn't take long about
+arresting me, and I listened to all the speeches and resolutions. If I'd
+been a prince there couldn't have been more excitement. The end of all
+was that they agreed that it wasn't right that New Zealand should be
+allowed to foist her criminals upon her neighbors, and that I was to be
+sent back again by the next boat. So they posted me off again as if
+I was a damned parcel; and after another eight-hundred-mile journey I
+found myself back for the third time moving in the place that I started
+from.
+
+By this time I had begun to think that I was going to spend the rest of
+my existence traveling about from one port to another. Every man's
+hand seemed turned against me, and there was no peace or quiet in any
+direction. I was about sick of it by the time I had come back; and if
+I could have taken to the bush I'd have done it, and chanced it with my
+old pals. They were too quick for me, though, and kept me under lock and
+key; but I managed, in spite of them, to negotiate that _cach�_ I told
+you of, and sewed the gold up in my belt. I spent another month in jail,
+and then they slipped me aboard a bark that was bound for England.
+
+This time the crew never knew who I was, but the captain had a pretty
+good idea, though he didn't let on to me that he had any suspicions.
+I guessed from the first that the man was a villain. We had a fair
+passage, except a gale or two off the Cape; and I began to feel like
+a free man when I saw the blue loom of the old country, and the saucy
+little pilot-boat from Falmouth dancing toward us over the waves. We ran
+down the Channel, and before we reached Gravesend I had agreed with the
+pilot that he should take me ashore with him when he left. It was at
+this time that the captain showed me that I was right in thinking him a
+meddling, disagreeable man. I got my things packed, such as they were,
+and left him talking earnestly to the pilot, while I went below for my
+breakfast. When I came up again we were fairly into the mouth of the
+river, and the boat in which I was to have gone ashore had left us. The
+skipper said the pilot had forgotten me; but that was too thin, and I
+began to fear that all my old troubles were going to commence once more.
+
+It was not long before my suspicions were confirmed. A boat darted out
+from the side of the river, and a tall cove with a long black beard came
+aboard. I heard him ask the mate whether they didn't need a mud-pilot to
+take them up in the reaches, but it seemed to me that he was a man who
+would know a deal more about handcuffs than he did about steering, so
+I kept away from him. He came across the deck, however, and made
+some remark to me, taking a good look at me the while. I don't like
+inquisitive people at any time, but an inquisitive stranger with glue
+about the roots of his beard is the worst of all to stand, especially
+under the circumstances. I began to feel that it was time for me to go.
+
+I soon got a chance, and made good use of it. A big collier came athwart
+the bows of our steamer, and we had to slacken down to dead slow. There
+was a barge astern, and I slipped down by a rope and was into the barge
+before any one missed me. Of course I had to leave my luggage behind me,
+but I had the belt with the nuggets round my waist, and the chance of
+shaking the police off my track was worth more than a couple of boxes.
+It was clear to me now that the pilot had been a traitor, as well as the
+captain, and had set the detectives after me. I often wish I could drop
+across those two men again.
+
+I hung about the barge all day as she drifted down the stream. There was
+one man in her, but she was a big, ugly craft, and his hands were too
+full for much looking about. Toward evening, when it got a bit dusky, I
+struck out for the shore, and found myself in a sort of marsh place, a
+good many miles to the east of London. I was soaking wet and half
+dead with hunger, but I trudged into the town, got a new rig-out at a
+slop-shop, and after having some supper, engaged a bed at the quietest
+lodgings I could find.
+
+I woke pretty early--a habit you pick up in the bush--and lucky for me
+that I did so. The very first thing I saw when I took a look through a
+chink in the shutter was one of these infernal policemen standing right
+opposite and staring up at the windows. He hadn't epaulets nor a sword,
+like our traps, but for all that there was a sort of family likeness,
+and the same busybody expression. Whether they followed me all the time,
+or whether the woman that let me the bed didn't like the looks of me,
+is more than I have ever been able to find out. He came across as I was
+watching him, and noted down the address of the house in a book. I was
+afraid that he was going to ring at the bell, but I suppose his orders
+were simply to keep an eye on me, for after another good look at the
+windows he moved on down the street.
+
+I saw that my only chance was to act at once. I threw on my clothes,
+opened the window softly, and, after making sure that there was nobody
+about, dropped out onto the ground and made off as hard as I could run.
+I traveled a matter of two or three miles, when my wind gave out; and
+as I saw a big building with people going in and out, I went in too,
+and found that it was a railway station. A train was just going off
+for Dover to meet the French boat, so I took a ticket and jumped into a
+third-class carriage.
+
+There were a couple of other chaps in the carriage, innocent-looking
+young beggars, both of them. They began speaking about this and that,
+while I sat quiet in the corner and listened. Then they started on
+England and foreign countries, and such like. Look ye now, doctor, this
+is a fact. One of them begins jawing about the justice of England's
+laws. "It's all fair and above-board," says he; "there ain't any secret
+police, nor spying, like they have abroad," and a lot more of the same
+sort of wash. Rather rough on me, wasn't it, listening to the damned
+young fool, with the police following me about like my shadow?
+
+I got to Paris right enough, and there I changed some of my gold, and
+for a few days I imagined I'd shaken them off, and began to think of
+settling down for a bit of rest. I needed it by that time, for I was
+looking more like a ghost than a man. You've never had the police after
+you, I suppose? Well, you needn't look offended, I didn't mean any harm.
+If ever you had you'd know that it wastes a man away like a sheep with
+the rot.
+
+I went to the opera one night and took a box, for I was very flush. I
+was coming out between the acts when I met a fellow lounging along
+in the passage. The light fell on his face, and I saw that it was the
+mud-pilot that had boarded us in the Thames. His beard was gone, but I
+recognized the man at a glance, for I've a good memory for faces.
+
+I tell you, doctor, I felt desperate for a moment. I could have knifed
+him if we had been alone, but he knew me well enough never to give me
+the chance. It was more than I could stand any longer, so I went right
+up to him and drew him aside, where we'd be free from all the loungers
+and theater-goers.
+
+"How long are you going to keep it up?" I asked him.
+
+He seemed a bit flustered for a moment, but then he saw there was no use
+beating about the bush, so he answered straight:
+
+"Until you go back to Australia," he said.
+
+"Don't you know," I said, "that I have served the government and got a
+free pardon?"
+
+He grinned all over his ugly face when I said this.
+
+"We know all about you, Maloney," he answered. "If you want a quiet
+life, just you go back where you came from. If you stay here, you're a
+marked man; and when you are found tripping it'll be a lifer for you,
+at the least. Free trade's a fine thing but the market's too full of men
+like you for us to need to import any."
+
+It seemed to me that there was something in what he said, though he had
+a nasty way of putting it. For some days back I'd been feeling a sort of
+homesick. The ways of the people weren't my ways. They stared at me in
+the street; and if I dropped into a bar, they'd stop talking and edge
+away a bit, as if I was a wild beast. I'd sooner have had a pint of old
+Stringybark, too, than a bucketful of their rot-gut liquors. There
+was too much damned propriety. What was the use of having money if you
+couldn't dress as you liked, nor bust in properly? There was no sympathy
+for a man if he shot about a little when he was half-over, I've seen a
+man dropped at Nelson many a time with less row than they'd make over a
+broken window-pane. The thing was slow, and I was sick of it.
+
+"You want me to go back?" I said.
+
+"I've my order to stick fast to you until you do," he answered.
+
+"Well," I said, "I don't care if I do. All I bargain is that you keep
+your mouth shut and don't let on who I am, so that I may have a fair
+start when I get there."
+
+He agreed to this, and we went over to Southampton the very next
+day, where he saw me safely off once more. I took a passage round to
+Adelaide, where no one was likely to know me; and there I settled, right
+under the nose of the police. I'd been there ever since, leading a quiet
+life, but for little difficulties like the one I'm in for now, and for
+that devil, Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury. I don't know what made me
+tell you all this, doctor, unless it is that being lonely makes a man
+inclined to jaw when he gets a chance. Just you take warning from me,
+though. Never put yourself out to serve your country; for your country
+will do precious little for you. Just you let them look after their own
+affairs; and if they find difficulty in hanging a set of scoundrels,
+never mind chipping in, but let them alone to do as best they can. Maybe
+they'll remember how they treated me after I'm dead, and be sorry for
+neglecting me, I was rude to you when you came in, and swore a trifle
+promiscuous: but don't you mind me, it's only my way. You'll allow,
+though, that I have cause to be a bit touchy now and again when I think
+of all that's passed. You're not going, are you? Well, if you must, you
+must; but I hope you will look me up at odd times when you are going
+your rounds. Oh, I say, you've left the balance of that cake of tobacco
+behind you, haven't you? No; it's in your pocket--that's all right.
+Thank ye, doctor, you're a good sort, and as quick at a hint as any man
+I've met.
+
+A couple of months after narrating his experiences, Wolf Tone Maloney
+finished his term, and was released. For a long time I neither saw him
+nor heard of him, and he had almost slipped from my memory, until I
+was reminded, in a somewhat tragic manner, of his existence. I had been
+attending a patient some distance off in the country, and was riding
+back, guiding my tired horse among the boulders which strewed the
+pathway, and endeavoring to see my way through the gathering darkness,
+when I came suddenly upon a little wayside inn. As I walked my horse up
+toward the door, intending to make sure of my bearings before proceeding
+further, I heard the sound of a violent altercation within the little
+bar.
+
+There seemed to be a chorus of expostulation or remonstrance, above
+which two powerful voices rang out loud and angry. As I listened, there
+was a momentary hush, two pistol shots sounded almost simultaneously,
+and with a crash the door burst open and a pair of dark figures
+staggered out into the moonlight. They struggled for a moment in a
+deadly wrestle, and then went down together among the loose stones.
+I had sprung off my horse, and, with the help of half a dozen rough
+fellows from the bar, dragged them away from one another.
+
+A glance was sufficient to convince me that one of them was dying fast.
+He was a thick-set burly fellow, with a determined cast of countenance.
+The blood was welling from a deep stab in his throat, and it was evident
+that an important artery had been divided. I turned away from him in
+despair, and walked over to where his antagonist was lying. He was shot
+through the lungs, but managed to raise himself up on his hand as I
+approached, and peered anxiously up into my face. To my surprise, I
+saw before me the haggard features and flaxen hair of my prison
+acquaintance, Maloney.
+
+"Ah, doctor!" he said, recognizing me. "How is he? Will he die?"
+
+He asked the question so earnestly that I imagined he had softened at
+the last moment, and feared to leave the world with another homicide
+upon his conscience. Truth, however, compelled me to shake my head
+mournfully, and to intimate that the wound would prove a mortal one.
+
+Maloney gave a wild cry of triumph, which brought the blood welling
+out from between his lips. "Here, boys," he gasped to the little group
+around him. "There's money in my inside pocket. Damn the expense! Drinks
+round. There's nothing mean about me. I'd drink with you, but I'm going.
+Give the doc my share, for he's as good--" Here his head fell back
+with a thud, his eye glazed, and the soul of Wolf Tone Maloney, forger,
+convict, ranger, murderer, and government peach, drifted away into the
+Great Unknown.
+
+I cannot conclude without borrowing the account of the fatal quarrel
+which appeared in the column of the _West Australian Sentinel_. The
+curious will find it in the issue of October 4,1881:
+
+     "Fatal Affray.--W. T. Maloney, a well-know citizen of New
+     Montrose, and proprietor of the Yellow Boy gambling saloon,
+     has met with his death under rather painful circumstances.
+     Mr. Maloney was a man who had led a checkered existence, and
+     whose past history is replete with interest. Some of our
+     readers may recall the Lena Valley murders, in which he
+     figured as the principal criminal. It is conjectured that
+     during the seven months that he owned a bar in that region,
+     from twenty to thirty travelers were hocussed and made away
+     with.   He succeeded, however, in evading the vigilance of
+     the officers of the law, and allied himself with the
+     bushrangers of Bluemansdyke, whose heroic capture and
+     subsequent execution are matters of history. Maloney
+     extricated himself from the fate which awaited him by
+     turning Queen's evidence. He afterward visited Europe, but
+     returned to West Australia, where he has long played a
+     prominent part in local matters. On Friday evening he
+     encountered an old enemy, Thomas Grimthorpe, commonly known
+     as Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury.
+
+     "Shots were exchanged, and both were badly wounded, only
+     surviving a few minutes. Mr. Maloney had the reputation of
+     being not only the most wholesale murderer that ever lived,
+     but also of having a finish and attention to detail in
+     matters of evidence which has been unapproached by any
+     European criminal. _Sic transit gloria mundi!_"
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's My Friend The Murderer, by A. Conan Doyle
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+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
+    <title>
+      My Friend the Murderer, by A. Conan Doyle
+    </title>
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+
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+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
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+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
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+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of My Friend The Murderer, by A. Conan Doyle
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: My Friend The Murderer
+
+Author: A. Conan Doyle
+
+Release Date: October 17, 2007 [EBook #23059]
+Last Updated: September 30, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY FRIEND THE MURDERER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      MY FRIEND THE MURDERER
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By A. Conan Doyle
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Number 481 is no better, doctor,&rdquo; said the head-warder, in a slightly
+      reproachful accent, looking in round the corner of my door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Confound 481&rdquo; I responded from behind the pages of the <i>Australian
+      Sketcher</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And 61 says his tubes are paining him. Couldn&rsquo;t you do anything for him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He is a walking drug-shop,&rdquo; said I. &ldquo;He has the whole British pharmacopaæ
+      inside him. I believe his tubes are as sound as yours are.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then there&rsquo;s 7 and 108, they are chronic,&rdquo; continued the warder, glancing
+      down a blue slip of paper. &ldquo;And 28 knocked off work yesterday&mdash;said
+      lifting things gave him a stitch in the side. I want you to have a look at
+      him, if you don&rsquo;t mind, doctor. There&rsquo;s 81, too&mdash;him that killed John
+      Adamson in the Corinthian brig&mdash;he&rsquo;s been carrying on awful in the
+      night, shrieking and yelling, he has, and no stopping him either.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, I&rsquo;ll have a look at him afterward,&rdquo; I said, tossing my paper
+      carelessly aside, and pouring myself out a cup of coffee. &ldquo;Nothing else to
+      report, I suppose, warder?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The official protruded his head a little further into the room. &ldquo;Beg
+      pardon, doctor,&rdquo; he said, in a confidential tone, &ldquo;but I notice as 82 has
+      a bit of a cold, and it would be a good excuse for you to visit him and
+      have a chat, maybe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The cup of coffee was arrested half-way to my lips as I stared in
+      amazement at the man&rsquo;s serious face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An excuse?&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;An excuse? What the deuce are you talking about,
+      McPherson? You see me trudging about all day at my practise, when I&rsquo;m not
+      looking after the prisoners, and coming back every night as tired as a
+      dog, and you talk about finding an excuse for doing more work.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;d like it, doctor,&rdquo; said Warder McPherson, insinuating one of his
+      shoulders into the room. &ldquo;That man&rsquo;s story&rsquo;s worth listening to if you
+      could get him to tell it, though he&rsquo;s not what you&rsquo;d call free in his
+      speech. Maybe you don&rsquo;t know who 82 is?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I don&rsquo;t, and I don&rsquo;t care either,&rdquo; I answered, in the conviction that
+      some local ruffian was about to be foisted upon me as a celebrity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He&rsquo;s Maloney,&rdquo; said the warder, &ldquo;him that turned Queen&rsquo;s evidence after
+      the murders at Bluemansdyke.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t say so?&rdquo; I ejaculated, laying down my cup in astonishment. I
+      had heard of this ghastly series of murders, and read an account of them
+      in a London magazine long before setting foot in the colony. I remembered
+      that the atrocities committed had thrown the Burke and Hare crimes
+      completely into the shade, and that one of the most villainous of the gang
+      had saved his own skin by betraying his companions. &ldquo;Are you sure?&rdquo; I
+      asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes, it&rsquo;s him right enough. Just you draw him out a bit, and he&rsquo;ll
+      astonish you. He&rsquo;s a man to know, is Maloney; that&rsquo;s to say, in
+      moderation;&rdquo; and the head grinned, bobbed, and disappeared, leaving me to
+      finish my breakfast and ruminate over what I had heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The surgeonship of an Australian prison is not an enviable position. It
+      may be endurable in Melbourne or Sydney, but the little town of Perth has
+      few attractions to recommend it, and those few had been long exhausted.
+      The climate was detestable, and the society far from congenial. Sheep and
+      cattle were the staple support of the community; and their prices,
+      breeding, and diseases the principal topic of conversation. Now as I,
+      being an outsider, possessed neither the one nor the other, and was
+      utterly callous to the new &ldquo;dip&rdquo; and the &ldquo;rot&rdquo; and other kindred topics, I
+      found myself in a state of mental isolation, and was ready to hail
+      anything which might relieve the monotony of my existence. Maloney, the
+      murderer, had at least some distinctiveness and individuality in his
+      character, and might act as a tonic to a mind sick of the commonplaces of
+      existence. I determined that I should follow the warder&rsquo;s advice, and take
+      the excuse for making his acquaintance. When, therefore, I went upon my
+      usual matutinal round, I turned the lock of the door which bore the
+      convict&rsquo;s number upon it, and walked into the cell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man was lying in a heap upon his rough bed as I entered, but,
+      uncoiling his long limbs, he started up and stared at me with an insolent
+      look of defiance on his face which augured badly for our interview. He had
+      a pale, set face, with sandy hair and a steely-blue eye, with something
+      feline in its expression. His frame was tall and muscular, though there
+      was a curious bend in his shoulders, which almost amounted to a deformity.
+      An ordinary observer meeting him in the street might have put him down as
+      a well-developed man, fairly handsome, and of studious habits&mdash;even
+      in the hideous uniform of the rottenest convict establishment he imparted
+      a certain refinement to his carriage which marked him out among the
+      inferior ruffians around him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not on the sick-list,&rdquo; he said, gruffly. There was something in the
+      hard, rasping voice which dispelled all softer illusions, and made me
+      realize that I was face to face with the man of the Lena Valley and
+      Bluemansdyke, the bloodiest bushranger that ever stuck up a farm or cut
+      the throats of its occupants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know you&rsquo;re not,&rdquo; I answered. &ldquo;Warder McPherson told me you had a cold,
+      though, and I thought I&rsquo;d look in and see you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Blast Warder McPherson, and blast you, too!&rdquo; yelled the convict, in a
+      paroxysm of rage. &ldquo;Oh, that&rsquo;s right,&rdquo; he added in a quieter voice; &ldquo;hurry
+      away; report me to the governor, do! Get me another six months or so&mdash;that&rsquo;s
+      your game.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to report you,&rdquo; I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Eight square feet of ground,&rdquo; he went on, disregarding my protest, and
+      evidently working himself into a fury again. &ldquo;Eight square feet, and I
+      can&rsquo;t have that without being talked to and stared at, and&mdash;oh, blast
+      the whole crew of you!&rdquo; and he raised his two clinched hands above, his
+      head and shook them in passionate invective.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got a curious idea of hospitality,&rdquo; I remarked, determined not to
+      lose my temper, and saying almost the first thing that came to my tongue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To my surprise the words had an extraordinary effect upon him. He seemed
+      completely staggered at my assuming the proposition for which he had been
+      so fiercely contending&mdash;namely, that the room in which he stood was
+      his own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I beg your pardon,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t mean to be rude. Won&rsquo;t you take a
+      seat?&rdquo; and he motioned toward a rough trestle, which formed the head-piece
+      of his couch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I sat down, rather astonished at the sudden change. I don&rsquo;t know that I
+      liked Maloney better under this new aspect. The murderer had, it is true,
+      disappeared for the nonce, but there was something in the smooth tones and
+      obsequious manner which powerfully suggested the witness of the queen, who
+      had stood up and sworn away the lives of his companions in crime.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How&rsquo;s your chest?&rdquo; I asked, putting on my professional air.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come, drop it, doctor&mdash;drop it!&rdquo; he answered, showing a row of white
+      teeth as he resumed his seat upon the side of the bed. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t anxiety
+      after my precious health that brought you along here; that story won&rsquo;t
+      wash at all. You came to have a look at Wolf Tone Maloney, forger,
+      murderer, Sydney-slider, ranger, and government peach. That&rsquo;s about my
+      figure, ain&rsquo;t it? There it is, plain and straight; there&rsquo;s nothing mean
+      about me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He paused as if he expected me to say something; but as I remained silent,
+      he repeated once or twice, &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing mean about me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And why shouldn&rsquo;t I?&rdquo; he suddenly yelled, his eyes gleaming and his whole
+      satanic nature reasserting itself. &ldquo;We were bound to swing, one and all,
+      and they were none the worse if I saved myself by turning against them.
+      Every man for himself, say I, and the devil take the luckiest. You haven&rsquo;t
+      a plug of tobacco, doctor, have you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He tore at the piece of &ldquo;Barrett&rsquo;s&rdquo; which I handed him, as ravenously as a
+      wild beast. It seemed to have the effect of soothing his nerves, for he
+      settled himself down in the bed and re-assumed his former deprecating
+      manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You wouldn&rsquo;t like it yourself, you know, doctor,&rdquo; he said: &ldquo;it&rsquo;s enough
+      to make any man a little queer in his temper. I&rsquo;m in for six months this
+      time for assault, and very sorry I shall be to go out again, I can tell
+      you. My mind&rsquo;s at ease in here; but when I&rsquo;m outside, what with the
+      government and what with Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury, there&rsquo;s no chance of
+      a quiet life.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who is he?&rdquo; I asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the brother of John Grimthorpe, the same that was condemned on my
+      evidence; and an infernal scamp he was, too! Spawn of the devil, both of
+      them! This tattooed one is a murderous ruffian, and he swore to have my
+      blood after that trial. It&rsquo;s seven year ago, and he&rsquo;s following me yet; I
+      know he is, though he lies low and keeps dark. He came up to me in
+      Ballarat in &lsquo;75; you can see on the back of my hand here where the bullet
+      clipped me. He tried again in &lsquo;76, at Port Philip, but I got the drop on
+      him and wounded him badly. He knifed me in &lsquo;79, though, in a bar at
+      Adelaide, and that made our account about level. He&rsquo;s loafing round again
+      now, and he&rsquo;ll let daylight into me&mdash;unless&mdash;unless by some
+      extraordinary chance some one does as much for him.&rdquo; And Maloney gave a
+      very ugly smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t complain of <i>him</i> so much,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Looking at it in
+      his way, no doubt it is a sort of family matter that can hardly be
+      neglected. It&rsquo;s the government that fetches me. When I think of what I&rsquo;ve
+      done for this country, and then of what this country has done for me, it
+      makes me fairly wild&mdash;clean drives me off my head. There&rsquo;s no
+      gratitude nor common decency left, doctor!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He brooded over his wrongs for a few minutes, and then proceeded to lay
+      them before me in detail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s nine men,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;they&rsquo;ve been murdering and killing for a
+      matter of three years, and maybe a life a week wouldn&rsquo;t more than average
+      the work that they&rsquo;ve done. The government catches them and the government
+      tries them, but they can&rsquo;t convict; and why?&mdash;because the witnesses
+      have all had their throats cut, and the whole job&rsquo;s been very neatly done.
+      What happens then? Up comes a citizen called Wolf Tone Maloney; he says,
+      &lsquo;The country needs me, and here I am.&rsquo; And with that he gives his
+      evidence, convicts the lot, and enables the beaks to hang them. That&rsquo;s
+      what I did. There&rsquo;s nothing mean about me! And now what does the country
+      do in return? Dogs me, sir, spies on me, watches me night and day, turns
+      against the very man that worked so very hard for it. There&rsquo;s something
+      mean about that, anyway. I didn&rsquo;t expect them to knight me, nor to make me
+      colonial secretary; but, damn it! I did expect that they would let me
+      alone!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; I remonstrated, &ldquo;if you choose to break laws and assault people,
+      you can&rsquo;t expect it to be looked over on account of former services.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t refer to my present imprisonment, sir,&rdquo; said Maloney, with
+      dignity. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the life I&rsquo;ve been leading since that cursed trial that
+      takes the soul out of me. Just you sit there on that trestle, and I&rsquo;ll
+      tell you all about it, and then look me in the face and tell me that I&rsquo;ve
+      been treated fair by the police.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I shall endeavor to transcribe the experience of the convict in his own
+      words, as far as I can remember them, preserving his curious perversions
+      of right and wrong. I can answer for the truth of his facts, whatever may
+      be said for his deductions from them. Months afterward, Inspector H. W.
+      Hann, formerly governor of the jail at Dunedin, showed me entries in his
+      ledger which corroborated every statement Maloney reeled the story off in
+      a dull, monotonous voice, with his head sunk upon his breast and his hands
+      between his knees. The glitter of his serpentlike eyes was the only sign
+      of the emotions which were stirred up by the recollection of the events
+      which he narrated.
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      You&rsquo;ve read of Bluemansdyke (he began, with some pride in his tone). We
+      made it hot while it lasted; but they ran us to earth at last, and a trap
+      called Braxton, with a damned Yankee, took the lot of us. That was in New
+      Zealand, of course, and they took us down to Dunedin, and there they were
+      convicted and hanged. One and all they put up their hands in the dock, and
+      cursed me till your blood would have run cold to hear them&mdash;which was
+      scurvy treatment, seeing that we had all been pals together; but they were
+      a blackguard lot, and thought only of themselves. I think it is as well
+      that they were hung.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They took me back to Dunedin Jail, and clapped me into the old cell. The
+      only difference they made was, that I had no work to do and was well fed.
+      I stood this for a week or two, until one day the governor was making his
+      rounds, and I put the matter to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How&rsquo;s this?&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;My conditions were a free pardon, and you&rsquo;re
+      keeping me here against the law.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He gave a sort of a smile. &ldquo;Should you like very much to get out?&rdquo; he
+      asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So much,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;that unless you open that door I&rsquo;ll have an action
+      against you for illegal detention.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He seemed a bit astonished by my resolution.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re very anxious to meet your death,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What d&rsquo;ye mean?&rdquo; I asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come here, and you&rsquo;ll know what I mean,&rdquo; he answered. And he led me down
+      the passage to a window that overlooked the door of the prison. &ldquo;Look at
+      that!&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I looked out, and there were a dozen or so rough-looking fellows standing
+      outside the street, some of them smoking, some playing cards on the
+      pavement. When they saw me they gave a yell and crowded round the door,
+      shaking their fists and hooting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They wait for you, watch and watch about,&rdquo; said the governor. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re
+      the executive of the vigilance committee. However, since you are
+      determined to go, I can&rsquo;t stop you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;D&rsquo;ye call this a civilized land,&rdquo; I cried, &ldquo;and let a man be murdered in
+      cold blood in open daylight?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      When I said this the governor and the warder and every fool in the place
+      grinned, as if a man&rsquo;s life was a rare good joke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got the law on your side,&rdquo; says the governor; &ldquo;so we won&rsquo;t detain
+      you any longer. Show him out, warder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He&rsquo;d have done it, too, the black-hearted villain, if I hadn&rsquo;t begged and
+      prayed and offered to pay for my board and lodging, which is more than any
+      prisoner ever did before me. He let me stay on those conditions; and for
+      three months I was caged up there with every larrikin in the township
+      clamoring at the other side of the wall. That was pretty treatment for a
+      man that had served his country!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, one morning up came the governor again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Maloney,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;how long are you going to honor us with your
+      society?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I could have put a knife into his cursed body, and would, too, if we had
+      been alone in the bush; but I had to smile, and smooth him and flatter,
+      for I feared that he might have me sent out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re an infernal rascal,&rdquo; he said; those were his very words, to a man
+      that had helped him all he knew how. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want any rough justice here,
+      though; and I think I see my way to getting you out of Dunedin.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never forget you, governor,&rdquo; said I; &ldquo;and, by God! I never will.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want your thanks nor your gratitude,&rdquo; he answered; &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not for
+      your sake that I do it, but simply to keep order in the town. There&rsquo;s a
+      steamer starts from the West Quay to Melbourne to-morrow, and we&rsquo;ll get
+      you aboard it. She is advertised at five in the morning, so have yourself
+      in readiness.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I packed up the few things I had, and was smuggled out by a back door,
+      just before daybreak. I hurried down, took my ticket under the name of
+      Isaac Smith, and got safely aboard the Melbourne boat. I remember hearing
+      her screw grinding into the water as the warps were cast loose, and
+      looking back at the lights of Dunedin as I leaned upon the bulwarks, with
+      the pleasant thought that I was leaving them behind me forever. It seemed
+      to me that a new world was before me, and that all my troubles had been
+      cast off. I went down below and had some coffee, and came up again feeling
+      better than I had done since the morning that I woke to find that cursed
+      Irishman that took me standing over me with a six-shooter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Day had dawned by that time, and we were steaming along by the coast, well
+      out of sight of Dunedin. I loafed about for a couple of hours, and when
+      the sun got well up some of the other passengers came on deck and joined
+      me. One of them, a little perky sort of fellow, took a good long look at
+      me, and then came over and began talking.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mining, I suppose?&rdquo; says he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; I says.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Made your pile?&rdquo; he asks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pretty fair,&rdquo; says I.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was at it myself,&rdquo; he says; &ldquo;I worked at the Nelson fields for three
+      months, and spent all I made in buying a salted claim which busted up the
+      second day. I went at it again, though, and struck it rich; but when the
+      gold wagon was going down to the settlements, it was stuck up by those
+      cursed rangers, and not a red cent left.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was a bad job,&rdquo; I says.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Broke me&mdash;ruined me clean. Never mind, I&rsquo;ve seen them all hanged for
+      it; that makes it easier to bear. There&rsquo;s only one left&mdash;the villain
+      that gave the evidence. I&rsquo;d die happy if I could come across him. There
+      are two things I have to do if I meet him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s that?&rdquo; says I, carelessly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to ask him where the money lies&mdash;they never had time to
+      make away with it, and it&rsquo;s <i>cachéd</i> somewhere in the mountains&mdash;and
+      then I&rsquo;ve got to stretch his neck for him, and send his soul down to join
+      the men that he betrayed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It seemed to me that I knew something about that <i>caché</i>, and I felt
+      like laughing; but he was watching me, and it struck me that he had a
+      nasty, vindictive kind of mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going up on the bridge,&rdquo; I said, for he was not a man whose
+      acquaintance I cared much about making.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He wouldn&rsquo;t hear of my leaving him, though. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re both miners,&rdquo; he says,
+      &ldquo;and we&rsquo;re pals for the voyage. Come down to the bar. I&rsquo;m not too poor to
+      shout.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I couldn&rsquo;t refuse him well, and we went down together; and that was the
+      beginning of the trouble. What harm was I doing any one on the ship? All I
+      asked for was a quiet life, leaving others alone and getting left alone
+      myself. No man could ask fairer than that. And now just you listen to what
+      came of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were passing the front of the ladies&rsquo; cabin, on our way to the saloon,
+      when out comes a servant lass&mdash;a freckled currency she-devil&mdash;with
+      a baby in her arms. We were brushing past her, when she gave a scream like
+      a railway whistle, and nearly dropped the kid. My nerves gave a sort of a
+      jump when I heard that scream, but I turned and begged her pardon, letting
+      on that I thought I might have trod on her foot. I knew the game was up,
+      though, when I saw her white face, and her leaning against the door and
+      pointing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s him!&rdquo; she cried; &ldquo;it&rsquo;s him! I saw him in the court-house. Oh, don&rsquo;t
+      let him hurt the baby!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who is it?&rdquo; asked the steward and half a dozen others in a breath.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s him&mdash;Maloney&mdash;Maloney, the murderer&mdash;oh, take him
+      away&mdash;take him away!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I don&rsquo;t rightly remember what happened just at that moment. The furniture
+      and me seemed to get kind of mixed, and there was cursing, and smashing,
+      and some one shouting for his gold, and a general stamping round. When I
+      got steadied a bit, I found somebody&rsquo;s hand in my mouth. From what I
+      gathered afterward, I concluded that it belonged to that same little man
+      with the vicious way of talking. He got some of it out again, but that was
+      because the others were choking me. A poor chap can get no fair play in
+      this world when once he is down&mdash;still, I think he will remember me
+      till the day of his death&mdash;longer, I hope.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They dragged me out on to the poop and held a damned court-martial&mdash;on
+      <i>me</i>, mind you; <i>me</i>, that had thrown over my pals in order to
+      serve them. What were they to do with me? Some said this, some said that;
+      but it ended by the captain deciding to send me ashore. The ship stopped,
+      they lowered a boat, and I was hoisted in, the whole gang of them hooting
+      at me from over the bulwarks, I saw the man I spoke of tying up his hand,
+      though, and I felt that things might be worse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I changed my opinion before we got to the land. I had reckoned on the
+      shore being deserted, and that I might make my way inland; but the ship
+      had stopped too near the Heads, and a dozen beach-combers and such like
+      had come down to the water&rsquo;s edge and were staring at us, wondering what
+      the boat was after. When we got to the edge of the surf the cockswain
+      hailed them, and after singing out who I was, he and his men threw me into
+      the water. You may well look surprised&mdash;neck and crop into ten feet
+      of water, with sharks as thick as green parrots in the bush, and I heard
+      them laughing as I floundered to the shore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I soon saw it was a worse job than ever. As I came scrambling out through
+      the weeds, I was collared by a big chap with a velveteen coat, and half a
+      dozen others got round me and held me fast. Most of them looked simple
+      fellows enough, and I was not afraid of them; but there was one in a
+      cabbage-tree hat that had a very nasty expression on his face, and the big
+      man seemed to be chummy with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They dragged me up the beach, and then they let go their hold of me and
+      stood round in a circle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, mate,&rdquo; says the man with the hat, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ve been looking out for you
+      some time in these parts.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And very good of you, too,&rdquo; I answers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;None of your jaw,&rdquo; says he. &ldquo;Come, boys, what shall it be&mdash;hanging,
+      drowning, or shooting? Look sharp!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This looked a bit too like business. &ldquo;No, you don&rsquo;t!&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got
+      government protection, and it&rsquo;ll be murder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what they call it,&rdquo; answered the one in the velveteen coat, as
+      cheery as a piping crow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you&rsquo;re going to murder me for being a ranger?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ranger be damned!&rdquo; said the man. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to hang you for peaching
+      against your pals; and that&rsquo;s an end of the palaver.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They slung a rope round my neck and dragged me up to the edge of the bush.
+      There were some big she-oaks and blue-gums, and they pitched on one of
+      these for the wicked deed. They ran the rope over a branch, tied my hands,
+      and told me to say my prayers. It seemed as if it was all up; but
+      Providence interfered to save me. It sounds nice enough sitting here and
+      telling about it, sir; but it was sick work to stand with nothing but the
+      beach in front of you, and the long white line of surf, with the steamer
+      in the distance, and a set of bloody-minded villains round you thirsting
+      for your life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I never thought I&rsquo;d owe anything good to the police; but they saved me
+      that time. A troop of them were riding from Hawkes Point Station to
+      Dunedin, and hearing that something was up, they came down through the
+      bush and interrupted the proceedings. I&rsquo;ve heard some bands in my time,
+      doctor, but I never heard music like the jingle of those traps&rsquo; spurs and
+      harness as they galloped out on to the open. They tried to hang me even
+      then, but the police were too quick for them; and the man with the hat got
+      one over the head with the flat of a sword. I was clapped on to a horse,
+      and before evening I found myself in my old quarters in the city jail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The governor wasn&rsquo;t to be done, though. He was determined to get rid of
+      me, and I was equally anxious to see the last of him. He waited a week or
+      so until the excitement had begun to die away, and then he smuggled me
+      aboard a three-masted schooner bound to Sydney with tallow and hides.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We got far away to sea without a hitch, and things began to look a bit
+      more rosy. I made sure that I had seen the last of the prison, anyway. The
+      crew had a sort of an idea who I was, and if there&rsquo;d been any rough
+      weather, they&rsquo;d have hove me overboard, like enough; for they were a
+      rough, ignorant lot, and had a notion that I brought bad luck to the ship.
+      We had a good passage, however, and I was landed safe and sound upon
+      Sydney Quay.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now just you listen to what happened next. You&rsquo;d have thought they would
+      have been sick of ill-using me and following me by this time&mdash;wouldn&rsquo;t
+      you, now? Well, just you listen. It seems that a cursed steamer started
+      from Dunedin to Sydney on the very day we left, and got in before us,
+      bringing news that I was coming. Blessed if they hadn&rsquo;t called a meeting&mdash;a
+      regular mass-meeting&mdash;at the docks to discuss about it, and I marched
+      right into it when I landed. They didn&rsquo;t take long about arresting me, and
+      I listened to all the speeches and resolutions. If I&rsquo;d been a prince there
+      couldn&rsquo;t have been more excitement. The end of all was that they agreed
+      that it wasn&rsquo;t right that New Zealand should be allowed to foist her
+      criminals upon her neighbors, and that I was to be sent back again by the
+      next boat. So they posted me off again as if I was a damned parcel; and
+      after another eight-hundred-mile journey I found myself back for the third
+      time moving in the place that I started from.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time I had begun to think that I was going to spend the rest of my
+      existence traveling about from one port to another. Every man&rsquo;s hand
+      seemed turned against me, and there was no peace or quiet in any
+      direction. I was about sick of it by the time I had come back; and if I
+      could have taken to the bush I&rsquo;d have done it, and chanced it with my old
+      pals. They were too quick for me, though, and kept me under lock and key;
+      but I managed, in spite of them, to negotiate that <i>caché</i> I told you
+      of, and sewed the gold up in my belt. I spent another month in jail, and
+      then they slipped me aboard a bark that was bound for England.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This time the crew never knew who I was, but the captain had a pretty good
+      idea, though he didn&rsquo;t let on to me that he had any suspicions. I guessed
+      from the first that the man was a villain. We had a fair passage, except a
+      gale or two off the Cape; and I began to feel like a free man when I saw
+      the blue loom of the old country, and the saucy little pilot-boat from
+      Falmouth dancing toward us over the waves. We ran down the Channel, and
+      before we reached Gravesend I had agreed with the pilot that he should
+      take me ashore with him when he left. It was at this time that the captain
+      showed me that I was right in thinking him a meddling, disagreeable man. I
+      got my things packed, such as they were, and left him talking earnestly to
+      the pilot, while I went below for my breakfast. When I came up again we
+      were fairly into the mouth of the river, and the boat in which I was to
+      have gone ashore had left us. The skipper said the pilot had forgotten me;
+      but that was too thin, and I began to fear that all my old troubles were
+      going to commence once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was not long before my suspicions were confirmed. A boat darted out
+      from the side of the river, and a tall cove with a long black beard came
+      aboard. I heard him ask the mate whether they didn&rsquo;t need a mud-pilot to
+      take them up in the reaches, but it seemed to me that he was a man who
+      would know a deal more about handcuffs than he did about steering, so I
+      kept away from him. He came across the deck, however, and made some remark
+      to me, taking a good look at me the while. I don&rsquo;t like inquisitive people
+      at any time, but an inquisitive stranger with glue about the roots of his
+      beard is the worst of all to stand, especially under the circumstances. I
+      began to feel that it was time for me to go.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I soon got a chance, and made good use of it. A big collier came athwart
+      the bows of our steamer, and we had to slacken down to dead slow. There
+      was a barge astern, and I slipped down by a rope and was into the barge
+      before any one missed me. Of course I had to leave my luggage behind me,
+      but I had the belt with the nuggets round my waist, and the chance of
+      shaking the police off my track was worth more than a couple of boxes. It
+      was clear to me now that the pilot had been a traitor, as well as the
+      captain, and had set the detectives after me. I often wish I could drop
+      across those two men again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I hung about the barge all day as she drifted down the stream. There was
+      one man in her, but she was a big, ugly craft, and his hands were too full
+      for much looking about. Toward evening, when it got a bit dusky, I struck
+      out for the shore, and found myself in a sort of marsh place, a good many
+      miles to the east of London. I was soaking wet and half dead with hunger,
+      but I trudged into the town, got a new rig-out at a slop-shop, and after
+      having some supper, engaged a bed at the quietest lodgings I could find.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I woke pretty early&mdash;a habit you pick up in the bush&mdash;and lucky
+      for me that I did so. The very first thing I saw when I took a look
+      through a chink in the shutter was one of these infernal policemen
+      standing right opposite and staring up at the windows. He hadn&rsquo;t epaulets
+      nor a sword, like our traps, but for all that there was a sort of family
+      likeness, and the same busybody expression. Whether they followed me all
+      the time, or whether the woman that let me the bed didn&rsquo;t like the looks
+      of me, is more than I have ever been able to find out. He came across as I
+      was watching him, and noted down the address of the house in a book. I was
+      afraid that he was going to ring at the bell, but I suppose his orders
+      were simply to keep an eye on me, for after another good look at the
+      windows he moved on down the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I saw that my only chance was to act at once. I threw on my clothes,
+      opened the window softly, and, after making sure that there was nobody
+      about, dropped out onto the ground and made off as hard as I could run. I
+      traveled a matter of two or three miles, when my wind gave out; and as I
+      saw a big building with people going in and out, I went in too, and found
+      that it was a railway station. A train was just going off for Dover to
+      meet the French boat, so I took a ticket and jumped into a third-class
+      carriage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were a couple of other chaps in the carriage, innocent-looking young
+      beggars, both of them. They began speaking about this and that, while I
+      sat quiet in the corner and listened. Then they started on England and
+      foreign countries, and such like. Look ye now, doctor, this is a fact. One
+      of them begins jawing about the justice of England&rsquo;s laws. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all fair
+      and above-board,&rdquo; says he; &ldquo;there ain&rsquo;t any secret police, nor spying,
+      like they have abroad,&rdquo; and a lot more of the same sort of wash. Rather
+      rough on me, wasn&rsquo;t it, listening to the damned young fool, with the
+      police following me about like my shadow?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I got to Paris right enough, and there I changed some of my gold, and for
+      a few days I imagined I&rsquo;d shaken them off, and began to think of settling
+      down for a bit of rest. I needed it by that time, for I was looking more
+      like a ghost than a man. You&rsquo;ve never had the police after you, I suppose?
+      Well, you needn&rsquo;t look offended, I didn&rsquo;t mean any harm. If ever you had
+      you&rsquo;d know that it wastes a man away like a sheep with the rot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I went to the opera one night and took a box, for I was very flush. I was
+      coming out between the acts when I met a fellow lounging along in the
+      passage. The light fell on his face, and I saw that it was the mud-pilot
+      that had boarded us in the Thames. His beard was gone, but I recognized
+      the man at a glance, for I&rsquo;ve a good memory for faces.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I tell you, doctor, I felt desperate for a moment. I could have knifed him
+      if we had been alone, but he knew me well enough never to give me the
+      chance. It was more than I could stand any longer, so I went right up to
+      him and drew him aside, where we&rsquo;d be free from all the loungers and
+      theater-goers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long are you going to keep it up?&rdquo; I asked him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He seemed a bit flustered for a moment, but then he saw there was no use
+      beating about the bush, so he answered straight:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Until you go back to Australia,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you know,&rdquo; I said, &ldquo;that I have served the government and got a
+      free pardon?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He grinned all over his ugly face when I said this.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We know all about you, Maloney,&rdquo; he answered. &ldquo;If you want a quiet life,
+      just you go back where you came from. If you stay here, you&rsquo;re a marked
+      man; and when you are found tripping it&rsquo;ll be a lifer for you, at the
+      least. Free trade&rsquo;s a fine thing but the market&rsquo;s too full of men like you
+      for us to need to import any.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It seemed to me that there was something in what he said, though he had a
+      nasty way of putting it. For some days back I&rsquo;d been feeling a sort of
+      homesick. The ways of the people weren&rsquo;t my ways. They stared at me in the
+      street; and if I dropped into a bar, they&rsquo;d stop talking and edge away a
+      bit, as if I was a wild beast. I&rsquo;d sooner have had a pint of old
+      Stringybark, too, than a bucketful of their rot-gut liquors. There was too
+      much damned propriety. What was the use of having money if you couldn&rsquo;t
+      dress as you liked, nor bust in properly? There was no sympathy for a man
+      if he shot about a little when he was half-over, I&rsquo;ve seen a man dropped
+      at Nelson many a time with less row than they&rsquo;d make over a broken
+      window-pane. The thing was slow, and I was sick of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You want me to go back?&rdquo; I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve my order to stick fast to you until you do,&rdquo; he answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; I said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if I do. All I bargain is that you keep your
+      mouth shut and don&rsquo;t let on who I am, so that I may have a fair start when
+      I get there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He agreed to this, and we went over to Southampton the very next day,
+      where he saw me safely off once more. I took a passage round to Adelaide,
+      where no one was likely to know me; and there I settled, right under the
+      nose of the police. I&rsquo;d been there ever since, leading a quiet life, but
+      for little difficulties like the one I&rsquo;m in for now, and for that devil,
+      Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury. I don&rsquo;t know what made me tell you all this,
+      doctor, unless it is that being lonely makes a man inclined to jaw when he
+      gets a chance. Just you take warning from me, though. Never put yourself
+      out to serve your country; for your country will do precious little for
+      you. Just you let them look after their own affairs; and if they find
+      difficulty in hanging a set of scoundrels, never mind chipping in, but let
+      them alone to do as best they can. Maybe they&rsquo;ll remember how they treated
+      me after I&rsquo;m dead, and be sorry for neglecting me, I was rude to you when
+      you came in, and swore a trifle promiscuous: but don&rsquo;t you mind me, it&rsquo;s
+      only my way. You&rsquo;ll allow, though, that I have cause to be a bit touchy
+      now and again when I think of all that&rsquo;s passed. You&rsquo;re not going, are
+      you? Well, if you must, you must; but I hope you will look me up at odd
+      times when you are going your rounds. Oh, I say, you&rsquo;ve left the balance
+      of that cake of tobacco behind you, haven&rsquo;t you? No; it&rsquo;s in your pocket&mdash;that&rsquo;s
+      all right. Thank ye, doctor, you&rsquo;re a good sort, and as quick at a hint as
+      any man I&rsquo;ve met.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couple of months after narrating his experiences, Wolf Tone Maloney
+      finished his term, and was released. For a long time I neither saw him nor
+      heard of him, and he had almost slipped from my memory, until I was
+      reminded, in a somewhat tragic manner, of his existence. I had been
+      attending a patient some distance off in the country, and was riding back,
+      guiding my tired horse among the boulders which strewed the pathway, and
+      endeavoring to see my way through the gathering darkness, when I came
+      suddenly upon a little wayside inn. As I walked my horse up toward the
+      door, intending to make sure of my bearings before proceeding further, I
+      heard the sound of a violent altercation within the little bar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There seemed to be a chorus of expostulation or remonstrance, above which
+      two powerful voices rang out loud and angry. As I listened, there was a
+      momentary hush, two pistol shots sounded almost simultaneously, and with a
+      crash the door burst open and a pair of dark figures staggered out into
+      the moonlight. They struggled for a moment in a deadly wrestle, and then
+      went down together among the loose stones. I had sprung off my horse, and,
+      with the help of half a dozen rough fellows from the bar, dragged them
+      away from one another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A glance was sufficient to convince me that one of them was dying fast. He
+      was a thick-set burly fellow, with a determined cast of countenance. The
+      blood was welling from a deep stab in his throat, and it was evident that
+      an important artery had been divided. I turned away from him in despair,
+      and walked over to where his antagonist was lying. He was shot through the
+      lungs, but managed to raise himself up on his hand as I approached, and
+      peered anxiously up into my face. To my surprise, I saw before me the
+      haggard features and flaxen hair of my prison acquaintance, Maloney.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, doctor!&rdquo; he said, recognizing me. &ldquo;How is he? Will he die?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He asked the question so earnestly that I imagined he had softened at the
+      last moment, and feared to leave the world with another homicide upon his
+      conscience. Truth, however, compelled me to shake my head mournfully, and
+      to intimate that the wound would prove a mortal one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Maloney gave a wild cry of triumph, which brought the blood welling out
+      from between his lips. &ldquo;Here, boys,&rdquo; he gasped to the little group around
+      him. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s money in my inside pocket. Damn the expense! Drinks round.
+      There&rsquo;s nothing mean about me. I&rsquo;d drink with you, but I&rsquo;m going. Give the
+      doc my share, for he&rsquo;s as good&mdash;&rdquo; Here his head fell back with a
+      thud, his eye glazed, and the soul of Wolf Tone Maloney, forger, convict,
+      ranger, murderer, and government peach, drifted away into the Great
+      Unknown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I cannot conclude without borrowing the account of the fatal quarrel which
+      appeared in the column of the <i>West Australian Sentinel</i>. The curious
+      will find it in the issue of October 4,1881:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     &ldquo;Fatal Affray.&mdash;W. T. Maloney, a well-know citizen of New
+     Montrose, and proprietor of the Yellow Boy gambling saloon,
+     has met with his death under rather painful circumstances.
+     Mr. Maloney was a man who had led a checkered existence, and
+     whose past history is replete with interest. Some of our
+     readers may recall the Lena Valley murders, in which he
+     figured as the principal criminal. It is conjectured that
+     during the seven months that he owned a bar in that region,
+     from twenty to thirty travelers were hocussed and made away
+     with.   He succeeded, however, in evading the vigilance of
+     the officers of the law, and allied himself with the
+     bushrangers of Bluemansdyke, whose heroic capture and
+     subsequent execution are matters of history. Maloney
+     extricated himself from the fate which awaited him by
+     turning Queen&rsquo;s evidence. He afterward visited Europe, but
+     returned to West Australia, where he has long played a
+     prominent part in local matters. On Friday evening he
+     encountered an old enemy, Thomas Grimthorpe, commonly known
+     as Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury.
+
+     &ldquo;Shots were exchanged, and both were badly wounded, only
+     surviving a few minutes. Mr. Maloney had the reputation of
+     being not only the most wholesale murderer that ever lived,
+     but also of having a finish and attention to detail in
+     matters of evidence which has been unapproached by any
+     European criminal. <i>Sic transit gloria mundi!</i>&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
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+</pre>
+  </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/23059.txt b/23059.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de7dc8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/23059.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1139 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of My Friend The Murderer, by A. Conan Doyle
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: My Friend The Murderer
+
+Author: A. Conan Doyle
+
+Release Date: October 17, 2007 [EBook #23059]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY FRIEND THE MURDERER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+MY FRIEND THE MURDERER
+
+By A. Conan Doyle
+
+
+"Number 481 is no better, doctor," said the head-warder, in a slightly
+reproachful accent, looking in round the corner of my door.
+
+"Confound 481" I responded from behind the pages of the _Australian
+Sketcher_.
+
+"And 61 says his tubes are paining him. Couldn't you do anything for
+him?"
+
+"He is a walking drug-shop," said I. "He has the whole British
+pharmacopaae inside him. I believe his tubes are as sound as yours are."
+
+"Then there's 7 and 108, they are chronic," continued the warder,
+glancing down a blue slip of paper. "And 28 knocked off work
+yesterday--said lifting things gave him a stitch in the side. I want you
+to have a look at him, if you don't mind, doctor. There's 81, too--him
+that killed John Adamson in the Corinthian brig--he's been carrying on
+awful in the night, shrieking and yelling, he has, and no stopping him
+either."
+
+"All right, I'll have a look at him afterward," I said, tossing my paper
+carelessly aside, and pouring myself out a cup of coffee. "Nothing else
+to report, I suppose, warder?"
+
+The official protruded his head a little further into the room. "Beg
+pardon, doctor," he said, in a confidential tone, "but I notice as 82
+has a bit of a cold, and it would be a good excuse for you to visit him
+and have a chat, maybe."
+
+The cup of coffee was arrested half-way to my lips as I stared in
+amazement at the man's serious face.
+
+"An excuse?" I said. "An excuse? What the deuce are you talking about,
+McPherson? You see me trudging about all day at my practise, when I'm
+not looking after the prisoners, and coming back every night as tired as
+a dog, and you talk about finding an excuse for doing more work."
+
+"You'd like it, doctor," said Warder McPherson, insinuating one of his
+shoulders into the room. "That man's story's worth listening to if you
+could get him to tell it, though he's not what you'd call free in his
+speech. Maybe you don't know who 82 is?"
+
+"No, I don't, and I don't care either," I answered, in the conviction
+that some local ruffian was about to be foisted upon me as a celebrity.
+
+"He's Maloney," said the warder, "him that turned Queen's evidence after
+the murders at Bluemansdyke."
+
+"You don't say so?" I ejaculated, laying down my cup in astonishment. I
+had heard of this ghastly series of murders, and read an account of
+them in a London magazine long before setting foot in the colony. I
+remembered that the atrocities committed had thrown the Burke and Hare
+crimes completely into the shade, and that one of the most villainous
+of the gang had saved his own skin by betraying his companions. "Are you
+sure?" I asked.
+
+"Oh, yes, it's him right enough. Just you draw him out a bit, and
+he'll astonish you. He's a man to know, is Maloney; that's to say, in
+moderation;" and the head grinned, bobbed, and disappeared, leaving me
+to finish my breakfast and ruminate over what I had heard.
+
+The surgeonship of an Australian prison is not an enviable position. It
+may be endurable in Melbourne or Sydney, but the little town of Perth
+has few attractions to recommend it, and those few had been long
+exhausted. The climate was detestable, and the society far from
+congenial. Sheep and cattle were the staple support of the community;
+and their prices, breeding, and diseases the principal topic of
+conversation. Now as I, being an outsider, possessed neither the one nor
+the other, and was utterly callous to the new "dip" and the "rot" and
+other kindred topics, I found myself in a state of mental isolation,
+and was ready to hail anything which might relieve the monotony of my
+existence. Maloney, the murderer, had at least some distinctiveness and
+individuality in his character, and might act as a tonic to a mind sick
+of the commonplaces of existence. I determined that I should follow the
+warder's advice, and take the excuse for making his acquaintance. When,
+therefore, I went upon my usual matutinal round, I turned the lock of
+the door which bore the convict's number upon it, and walked into the
+cell.
+
+The man was lying in a heap upon his rough bed as I entered, but,
+uncoiling his long limbs, he started up and stared at me with an
+insolent look of defiance on his face which augured badly for our
+interview. He had a pale, set face, with sandy hair and a steely-blue
+eye, with something feline in its expression. His frame was tall and
+muscular, though there was a curious bend in his shoulders, which almost
+amounted to a deformity. An ordinary observer meeting him in the street
+might have put him down as a well-developed man, fairly handsome, and
+of studious habits--even in the hideous uniform of the rottenest convict
+establishment he imparted a certain refinement to his carriage which
+marked him out among the inferior ruffians around him.
+
+"I'm not on the sick-list," he said, gruffly. There was something in the
+hard, rasping voice which dispelled all softer illusions, and made me
+realize that I was face to face with the man of the Lena Valley and
+Bluemansdyke, the bloodiest bushranger that ever stuck up a farm or cut
+the throats of its occupants.
+
+"I know you're not," I answered. "Warder McPherson told me you had a
+cold, though, and I thought I'd look in and see you."
+
+"Blast Warder McPherson, and blast you, too!" yelled the convict, in
+a paroxysm of rage. "Oh, that's right," he added in a quieter voice;
+"hurry away; report me to the governor, do! Get me another six months or
+so--that's your game."
+
+"I'm not going to report you," I said.
+
+"Eight square feet of ground," he went on, disregarding my protest, and
+evidently working himself into a fury again. "Eight square feet, and I
+can't have that without being talked to and stared at, and--oh, blast
+the whole crew of you!" and he raised his two clinched hands above, his
+head and shook them in passionate invective.
+
+"You've got a curious idea of hospitality," I remarked, determined not
+to lose my temper, and saying almost the first thing that came to my
+tongue.
+
+To my surprise the words had an extraordinary effect upon him. He seemed
+completely staggered at my assuming the proposition for which he had
+been so fiercely contending--namely, that the room in which he stood was
+his own.
+
+"I beg your pardon," he said; "I didn't mean to be rude. Won't you
+take a seat?" and he motioned toward a rough trestle, which formed the
+head-piece of his couch.
+
+I sat down, rather astonished at the sudden change. I don't know that
+I liked Maloney better under this new aspect. The murderer had, it is
+true, disappeared for the nonce, but there was something in the smooth
+tones and obsequious manner which powerfully suggested the witness of
+the queen, who had stood up and sworn away the lives of his companions
+in crime.
+
+"How's your chest?" I asked, putting on my professional air.
+
+"Come, drop it, doctor--drop it!" he answered, showing a row of white
+teeth as he resumed his seat upon the side of the bed. "It wasn't
+anxiety after my precious health that brought you along here; that story
+won't wash at all. You came to have a look at Wolf Tone Maloney, forger,
+murderer, Sydney-slider, ranger, and government peach. That's about my
+figure, ain't it? There it is, plain and straight; there's nothing mean
+about me."
+
+He paused as if he expected me to say something; but as I remained
+silent, he repeated once or twice, "There's nothing mean about me."
+
+"And why shouldn't I?" he suddenly yelled, his eyes gleaming and his
+whole satanic nature reasserting itself. "We were bound to swing, one
+and all, and they were none the worse if I saved myself by turning
+against them. Every man for himself, say I, and the devil take the
+luckiest. You haven't a plug of tobacco, doctor, have you?"
+
+He tore at the piece of "Barrett's" which I handed him, as ravenously as
+a wild beast. It seemed to have the effect of soothing his nerves, for
+he settled himself down in the bed and re-assumed his former deprecating
+manner.
+
+"You wouldn't like it yourself, you know, doctor," he said: "it's enough
+to make any man a little queer in his temper. I'm in for six months this
+time for assault, and very sorry I shall be to go out again, I can tell
+you. My mind's at ease in here; but when I'm outside, what with the
+government and what with Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury, there's no chance
+of a quiet life."
+
+"Who is he?" I asked.
+
+"He's the brother of John Grimthorpe, the same that was condemned on my
+evidence; and an infernal scamp he was, too! Spawn of the devil, both of
+them! This tattooed one is a murderous ruffian, and he swore to have my
+blood after that trial. It's seven year ago, and he's following me yet;
+I know he is, though he lies low and keeps dark. He came up to me in
+Ballarat in '75; you can see on the back of my hand here where the
+bullet clipped me. He tried again in '76, at Port Philip, but I got the
+drop on him and wounded him badly. He knifed me in '79, though, in a bar
+at Adelaide, and that made our account about level. He's loafing round
+again now, and he'll let daylight into me--unless--unless by some
+extraordinary chance some one does as much for him." And Maloney gave a
+very ugly smile.
+
+"I don't complain of _him_ so much," he continued. "Looking at it in
+his way, no doubt it is a sort of family matter that can hardly be
+neglected. It's the government that fetches me. When I think of what
+I've done for this country, and then of what this country has done for
+me, it makes me fairly wild--clean drives me off my head. There's no
+gratitude nor common decency left, doctor!"
+
+He brooded over his wrongs for a few minutes, and then proceeded to lay
+them before me in detail.
+
+"Here's nine men," he said; "they've been murdering and killing for
+a matter of three years, and maybe a life a week wouldn't more than
+average the work that they've done. The government catches them and the
+government tries them, but they can't convict; and why?--because the
+witnesses have all had their throats cut, and the whole job's been very
+neatly done. What happens then? Up comes a citizen called Wolf Tone
+Maloney; he says, 'The country needs me, and here I am.' And with that
+he gives his evidence, convicts the lot, and enables the beaks to hang
+them. That's what I did. There's nothing mean about me! And now what
+does the country do in return? Dogs me, sir, spies on me, watches me
+night and day, turns against the very man that worked so very hard for
+it. There's something mean about that, anyway. I didn't expect them to
+knight me, nor to make me colonial secretary; but, damn it! I did expect
+that they would let me alone!"
+
+"Well," I remonstrated, "if you choose to break laws and assault people,
+you can't expect it to be looked over on account of former services."
+
+"I don't refer to my present imprisonment, sir," said Maloney, with
+dignity. "It's the life I've been leading since that cursed trial that
+takes the soul out of me. Just you sit there on that trestle, and I'll
+tell you all about it, and then look me in the face and tell me that
+I've been treated fair by the police."
+
+I shall endeavor to transcribe the experience of the convict in his own
+words, as far as I can remember them, preserving his curious perversions
+of right and wrong. I can answer for the truth of his facts, whatever
+may be said for his deductions from them. Months afterward, Inspector H.
+W. Hann, formerly governor of the jail at Dunedin, showed me entries in
+his ledger which corroborated every statement Maloney reeled the story
+off in a dull, monotonous voice, with his head sunk upon his breast and
+his hands between his knees. The glitter of his serpentlike eyes was the
+only sign of the emotions which were stirred up by the recollection of
+the events which he narrated.
+
+*****
+
+You've read of Bluemansdyke (he began, with some pride in his tone).
+We made it hot while it lasted; but they ran us to earth at last, and a
+trap called Braxton, with a damned Yankee, took the lot of us. That was
+in New Zealand, of course, and they took us down to Dunedin, and there
+they were convicted and hanged. One and all they put up their hands
+in the dock, and cursed me till your blood would have run cold to hear
+them--which was scurvy treatment, seeing that we had all been
+pals together; but they were a blackguard lot, and thought only of
+themselves. I think it is as well that they were hung.
+
+They took me back to Dunedin Jail, and clapped me into the old cell.
+The only difference they made was, that I had no work to do and was
+well fed. I stood this for a week or two, until one day the governor was
+making his rounds, and I put the matter to him.
+
+"How's this?" I said. "My conditions were a free pardon, and you're
+keeping me here against the law."
+
+He gave a sort of a smile. "Should you like very much to get out?" he
+asked.
+
+"So much," said I, "that unless you open that door I'll have an action
+against you for illegal detention."
+
+He seemed a bit astonished by my resolution.
+
+"You're very anxious to meet your death," he said.
+
+"What d'ye mean?" I asked.
+
+"Come here, and you'll know what I mean," he answered. And he led me
+down the passage to a window that overlooked the door of the prison.
+"Look at that!" said he.
+
+I looked out, and there were a dozen or so rough-looking fellows
+standing outside the street, some of them smoking, some playing cards
+on the pavement. When they saw me they gave a yell and crowded round the
+door, shaking their fists and hooting.
+
+"They wait for you, watch and watch about," said the governor. "They're
+the executive of the vigilance committee. However, since you are
+determined to go, I can't stop you."
+
+"D'ye call this a civilized land," I cried, "and let a man be murdered
+in cold blood in open daylight?"
+
+When I said this the governor and the warder and every fool in the place
+grinned, as if a man's life was a rare good joke.
+
+"You've got the law on your side," says the governor; "so we won't
+detain you any longer. Show him out, warder."
+
+He'd have done it, too, the black-hearted villain, if I hadn't begged
+and prayed and offered to pay for my board and lodging, which is
+more than any prisoner ever did before me. He let me stay on those
+conditions; and for three months I was caged up there with every
+larrikin in the township clamoring at the other side of the wall. That
+was pretty treatment for a man that had served his country!
+
+At last, one morning up came the governor again.
+
+"Well, Maloney," he said, "how long are you going to honor us with your
+society?"
+
+I could have put a knife into his cursed body, and would, too, if we had
+been alone in the bush; but I had to smile, and smooth him and flatter,
+for I feared that he might have me sent out.
+
+"You're an infernal rascal," he said; those were his very words, to a
+man that had helped him all he knew how. "I don't want any rough justice
+here, though; and I think I see my way to getting you out of Dunedin."
+
+"I'll never forget you, governor," said I; "and, by God! I never will."
+
+"I don't want your thanks nor your gratitude," he answered; "it's
+not for your sake that I do it, but simply to keep order in the town.
+There's a steamer starts from the West Quay to Melbourne to-morrow, and
+we'll get you aboard it. She is advertised at five in the morning, so
+have yourself in readiness."
+
+I packed up the few things I had, and was smuggled out by a back door,
+just before daybreak. I hurried down, took my ticket under the name
+of Isaac Smith, and got safely aboard the Melbourne boat. I remember
+hearing her screw grinding into the water as the warps were cast loose,
+and looking back at the lights of Dunedin as I leaned upon the bulwarks,
+with the pleasant thought that I was leaving them behind me forever.
+It seemed to me that a new world was before me, and that all my troubles
+had been cast off. I went down below and had some coffee, and came up
+again feeling better than I had done since the morning that I woke
+to find that cursed Irishman that took me standing over me with a
+six-shooter.
+
+Day had dawned by that time, and we were steaming along by the coast,
+well out of sight of Dunedin. I loafed about for a couple of hours, and
+when the sun got well up some of the other passengers came on deck and
+joined me. One of them, a little perky sort of fellow, took a good long
+look at me, and then came over and began talking.
+
+"Mining, I suppose?" says he.
+
+"Yes," I says.
+
+"Made your pile?" he asks.
+
+"Pretty fair," says I.
+
+"I was at it myself," he says; "I worked at the Nelson fields for three
+months, and spent all I made in buying a salted claim which busted up
+the second day. I went at it again, though, and struck it rich; but when
+the gold wagon was going down to the settlements, it was stuck up by
+those cursed rangers, and not a red cent left."
+
+"That was a bad job," I says.
+
+"Broke me--ruined me clean. Never mind, I've seen them all hanged for
+it; that makes it easier to bear. There's only one left--the villain
+that gave the evidence. I'd die happy if I could come across him. There
+are two things I have to do if I meet him."
+
+"What's that?" says I, carelessly.
+
+"I've got to ask him where the money lies--they never had time to make
+away with it, and it's _cached_ somewhere in the mountains--and then
+I've got to stretch his neck for him, and send his soul down to join the
+men that he betrayed."
+
+It seemed to me that I knew something about that _cache_, and I felt
+like laughing; but he was watching me, and it struck me that he had a
+nasty, vindictive kind of mind.
+
+"I'm going up on the bridge," I said, for he was not a man whose
+acquaintance I cared much about making.
+
+He wouldn't hear of my leaving him, though. "We're both miners," he
+says, "and we're pals for the voyage. Come down to the bar. I'm not too
+poor to shout."
+
+I couldn't refuse him well, and we went down together; and that was the
+beginning of the trouble. What harm was I doing any one on the ship?
+All I asked for was a quiet life, leaving others alone and getting left
+alone myself. No man could ask fairer than that. And now just you listen
+to what came of it.
+
+We were passing the front of the ladies' cabin, on our way to
+the saloon, when out comes a servant lass--a freckled currency
+she-devil--with a baby in her arms. We were brushing past her, when she
+gave a scream like a railway whistle, and nearly dropped the kid. My
+nerves gave a sort of a jump when I heard that scream, but I turned and
+begged her pardon, letting on that I thought I might have trod on her
+foot. I knew the game was up, though, when I saw her white face, and her
+leaning against the door and pointing.
+
+"It's him!" she cried; "it's him! I saw him in the court-house. Oh,
+don't let him hurt the baby!"
+
+"Who is it?" asked the steward and half a dozen others in a breath.
+
+"It's him--Maloney--Maloney, the murderer--oh, take him away--take him
+away!"
+
+I don't rightly remember what happened just at that moment. The
+furniture and me seemed to get kind of mixed, and there was cursing,
+and smashing, and some one shouting for his gold, and a general stamping
+round. When I got steadied a bit, I found somebody's hand in my mouth.
+From what I gathered afterward, I concluded that it belonged to that
+same little man with the vicious way of talking. He got some of it out
+again, but that was because the others were choking me. A poor chap can
+get no fair play in this world when once he is down--still, I think he
+will remember me till the day of his death--longer, I hope.
+
+They dragged me out on to the poop and held a damned court-martial--on
+_me_, mind you; _me_, that had thrown over my pals in order to serve
+them. What were they to do with me? Some said this, some said that; but
+it ended by the captain deciding to send me ashore. The ship stopped,
+they lowered a boat, and I was hoisted in, the whole gang of them
+hooting at me from over the bulwarks, I saw the man I spoke of tying up
+his hand, though, and I felt that things might be worse.
+
+I changed my opinion before we got to the land. I had reckoned on the
+shore being deserted, and that I might make my way inland; but the ship
+had stopped too near the Heads, and a dozen beach-combers and such like
+had come down to the water's edge and were staring at us, wondering what
+the boat was after. When we got to the edge of the surf the cockswain
+hailed them, and after singing out who I was, he and his men threw me
+into the water. You may well look surprised--neck and crop into ten feet
+of water, with sharks as thick as green parrots in the bush, and I heard
+them laughing as I floundered to the shore.
+
+I soon saw it was a worse job than ever. As I came scrambling out
+through the weeds, I was collared by a big chap with a velveteen coat,
+and half a dozen others got round me and held me fast. Most of them
+looked simple fellows enough, and I was not afraid of them; but there
+was one in a cabbage-tree hat that had a very nasty expression on his
+face, and the big man seemed to be chummy with him.
+
+They dragged me up the beach, and then they let go their hold of me and
+stood round in a circle.
+
+"Well, mate," says the man with the hat, "we've been looking out for you
+some time in these parts."
+
+"And very good of you, too," I answers.
+
+"None of your jaw," says he. "Come, boys, what shall it be--hanging,
+drowning, or shooting? Look sharp!"
+
+This looked a bit too like business. "No, you don't!" I said. "I've got
+government protection, and it'll be murder."
+
+"That's what they call it," answered the one in the velveteen coat, as
+cheery as a piping crow.
+
+"And you're going to murder me for being a ranger?"
+
+"Ranger be damned!" said the man. "We're going to hang you for peaching
+against your pals; and that's an end of the palaver."
+
+They slung a rope round my neck and dragged me up to the edge of the
+bush. There were some big she-oaks and blue-gums, and they pitched on
+one of these for the wicked deed. They ran the rope over a branch, tied
+my hands, and told me to say my prayers. It seemed as if it was all up;
+but Providence interfered to save me. It sounds nice enough sitting here
+and telling about it, sir; but it was sick work to stand with nothing
+but the beach in front of you, and the long white line of surf, with the
+steamer in the distance, and a set of bloody-minded villains round you
+thirsting for your life.
+
+I never thought I'd owe anything good to the police; but they saved
+me that time. A troop of them were riding from Hawkes Point Station to
+Dunedin, and hearing that something was up, they came down through the
+bush and interrupted the proceedings. I've heard some bands in my time,
+doctor, but I never heard music like the jingle of those traps' spurs
+and harness as they galloped out on to the open. They tried to hang me
+even then, but the police were too quick for them; and the man with the
+hat got one over the head with the flat of a sword. I was clapped on
+to a horse, and before evening I found myself in my old quarters in the
+city jail.
+
+The governor wasn't to be done, though. He was determined to get rid of
+me, and I was equally anxious to see the last of him. He waited a week
+or so until the excitement had begun to die away, and then he smuggled
+me aboard a three-masted schooner bound to Sydney with tallow and hides.
+
+We got far away to sea without a hitch, and things began to look a bit
+more rosy. I made sure that I had seen the last of the prison, anyway.
+The crew had a sort of an idea who I was, and if there'd been any rough
+weather, they'd have hove me overboard, like enough; for they were a
+rough, ignorant lot, and had a notion that I brought bad luck to the
+ship. We had a good passage, however, and I was landed safe and sound
+upon Sydney Quay.
+
+Now just you listen to what happened next. You'd have thought they would
+have been sick of ill-using me and following me by this time--wouldn't
+you, now? Well, just you listen. It seems that a cursed steamer started
+from Dunedin to Sydney on the very day we left, and got in before
+us, bringing news that I was coming. Blessed if they hadn't called a
+meeting--a regular mass-meeting--at the docks to discuss about it, and
+I marched right into it when I landed. They didn't take long about
+arresting me, and I listened to all the speeches and resolutions. If I'd
+been a prince there couldn't have been more excitement. The end of all
+was that they agreed that it wasn't right that New Zealand should be
+allowed to foist her criminals upon her neighbors, and that I was to be
+sent back again by the next boat. So they posted me off again as if
+I was a damned parcel; and after another eight-hundred-mile journey I
+found myself back for the third time moving in the place that I started
+from.
+
+By this time I had begun to think that I was going to spend the rest of
+my existence traveling about from one port to another. Every man's
+hand seemed turned against me, and there was no peace or quiet in any
+direction. I was about sick of it by the time I had come back; and if
+I could have taken to the bush I'd have done it, and chanced it with my
+old pals. They were too quick for me, though, and kept me under lock and
+key; but I managed, in spite of them, to negotiate that _cache_ I told
+you of, and sewed the gold up in my belt. I spent another month in jail,
+and then they slipped me aboard a bark that was bound for England.
+
+This time the crew never knew who I was, but the captain had a pretty
+good idea, though he didn't let on to me that he had any suspicions.
+I guessed from the first that the man was a villain. We had a fair
+passage, except a gale or two off the Cape; and I began to feel like
+a free man when I saw the blue loom of the old country, and the saucy
+little pilot-boat from Falmouth dancing toward us over the waves. We ran
+down the Channel, and before we reached Gravesend I had agreed with the
+pilot that he should take me ashore with him when he left. It was at
+this time that the captain showed me that I was right in thinking him a
+meddling, disagreeable man. I got my things packed, such as they were,
+and left him talking earnestly to the pilot, while I went below for my
+breakfast. When I came up again we were fairly into the mouth of the
+river, and the boat in which I was to have gone ashore had left us. The
+skipper said the pilot had forgotten me; but that was too thin, and I
+began to fear that all my old troubles were going to commence once more.
+
+It was not long before my suspicions were confirmed. A boat darted out
+from the side of the river, and a tall cove with a long black beard came
+aboard. I heard him ask the mate whether they didn't need a mud-pilot to
+take them up in the reaches, but it seemed to me that he was a man who
+would know a deal more about handcuffs than he did about steering, so
+I kept away from him. He came across the deck, however, and made
+some remark to me, taking a good look at me the while. I don't like
+inquisitive people at any time, but an inquisitive stranger with glue
+about the roots of his beard is the worst of all to stand, especially
+under the circumstances. I began to feel that it was time for me to go.
+
+I soon got a chance, and made good use of it. A big collier came athwart
+the bows of our steamer, and we had to slacken down to dead slow. There
+was a barge astern, and I slipped down by a rope and was into the barge
+before any one missed me. Of course I had to leave my luggage behind me,
+but I had the belt with the nuggets round my waist, and the chance of
+shaking the police off my track was worth more than a couple of boxes.
+It was clear to me now that the pilot had been a traitor, as well as the
+captain, and had set the detectives after me. I often wish I could drop
+across those two men again.
+
+I hung about the barge all day as she drifted down the stream. There was
+one man in her, but she was a big, ugly craft, and his hands were too
+full for much looking about. Toward evening, when it got a bit dusky, I
+struck out for the shore, and found myself in a sort of marsh place, a
+good many miles to the east of London. I was soaking wet and half
+dead with hunger, but I trudged into the town, got a new rig-out at a
+slop-shop, and after having some supper, engaged a bed at the quietest
+lodgings I could find.
+
+I woke pretty early--a habit you pick up in the bush--and lucky for me
+that I did so. The very first thing I saw when I took a look through a
+chink in the shutter was one of these infernal policemen standing right
+opposite and staring up at the windows. He hadn't epaulets nor a sword,
+like our traps, but for all that there was a sort of family likeness,
+and the same busybody expression. Whether they followed me all the time,
+or whether the woman that let me the bed didn't like the looks of me,
+is more than I have ever been able to find out. He came across as I was
+watching him, and noted down the address of the house in a book. I was
+afraid that he was going to ring at the bell, but I suppose his orders
+were simply to keep an eye on me, for after another good look at the
+windows he moved on down the street.
+
+I saw that my only chance was to act at once. I threw on my clothes,
+opened the window softly, and, after making sure that there was nobody
+about, dropped out onto the ground and made off as hard as I could run.
+I traveled a matter of two or three miles, when my wind gave out; and
+as I saw a big building with people going in and out, I went in too,
+and found that it was a railway station. A train was just going off
+for Dover to meet the French boat, so I took a ticket and jumped into a
+third-class carriage.
+
+There were a couple of other chaps in the carriage, innocent-looking
+young beggars, both of them. They began speaking about this and that,
+while I sat quiet in the corner and listened. Then they started on
+England and foreign countries, and such like. Look ye now, doctor, this
+is a fact. One of them begins jawing about the justice of England's
+laws. "It's all fair and above-board," says he; "there ain't any secret
+police, nor spying, like they have abroad," and a lot more of the same
+sort of wash. Rather rough on me, wasn't it, listening to the damned
+young fool, with the police following me about like my shadow?
+
+I got to Paris right enough, and there I changed some of my gold, and
+for a few days I imagined I'd shaken them off, and began to think of
+settling down for a bit of rest. I needed it by that time, for I was
+looking more like a ghost than a man. You've never had the police after
+you, I suppose? Well, you needn't look offended, I didn't mean any harm.
+If ever you had you'd know that it wastes a man away like a sheep with
+the rot.
+
+I went to the opera one night and took a box, for I was very flush. I
+was coming out between the acts when I met a fellow lounging along
+in the passage. The light fell on his face, and I saw that it was the
+mud-pilot that had boarded us in the Thames. His beard was gone, but I
+recognized the man at a glance, for I've a good memory for faces.
+
+I tell you, doctor, I felt desperate for a moment. I could have knifed
+him if we had been alone, but he knew me well enough never to give me
+the chance. It was more than I could stand any longer, so I went right
+up to him and drew him aside, where we'd be free from all the loungers
+and theater-goers.
+
+"How long are you going to keep it up?" I asked him.
+
+He seemed a bit flustered for a moment, but then he saw there was no use
+beating about the bush, so he answered straight:
+
+"Until you go back to Australia," he said.
+
+"Don't you know," I said, "that I have served the government and got a
+free pardon?"
+
+He grinned all over his ugly face when I said this.
+
+"We know all about you, Maloney," he answered. "If you want a quiet
+life, just you go back where you came from. If you stay here, you're a
+marked man; and when you are found tripping it'll be a lifer for you,
+at the least. Free trade's a fine thing but the market's too full of men
+like you for us to need to import any."
+
+It seemed to me that there was something in what he said, though he had
+a nasty way of putting it. For some days back I'd been feeling a sort of
+homesick. The ways of the people weren't my ways. They stared at me in
+the street; and if I dropped into a bar, they'd stop talking and edge
+away a bit, as if I was a wild beast. I'd sooner have had a pint of old
+Stringybark, too, than a bucketful of their rot-gut liquors. There
+was too much damned propriety. What was the use of having money if you
+couldn't dress as you liked, nor bust in properly? There was no sympathy
+for a man if he shot about a little when he was half-over, I've seen a
+man dropped at Nelson many a time with less row than they'd make over a
+broken window-pane. The thing was slow, and I was sick of it.
+
+"You want me to go back?" I said.
+
+"I've my order to stick fast to you until you do," he answered.
+
+"Well," I said, "I don't care if I do. All I bargain is that you keep
+your mouth shut and don't let on who I am, so that I may have a fair
+start when I get there."
+
+He agreed to this, and we went over to Southampton the very next
+day, where he saw me safely off once more. I took a passage round to
+Adelaide, where no one was likely to know me; and there I settled, right
+under the nose of the police. I'd been there ever since, leading a quiet
+life, but for little difficulties like the one I'm in for now, and for
+that devil, Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury. I don't know what made me
+tell you all this, doctor, unless it is that being lonely makes a man
+inclined to jaw when he gets a chance. Just you take warning from me,
+though. Never put yourself out to serve your country; for your country
+will do precious little for you. Just you let them look after their own
+affairs; and if they find difficulty in hanging a set of scoundrels,
+never mind chipping in, but let them alone to do as best they can. Maybe
+they'll remember how they treated me after I'm dead, and be sorry for
+neglecting me, I was rude to you when you came in, and swore a trifle
+promiscuous: but don't you mind me, it's only my way. You'll allow,
+though, that I have cause to be a bit touchy now and again when I think
+of all that's passed. You're not going, are you? Well, if you must, you
+must; but I hope you will look me up at odd times when you are going
+your rounds. Oh, I say, you've left the balance of that cake of tobacco
+behind you, haven't you? No; it's in your pocket--that's all right.
+Thank ye, doctor, you're a good sort, and as quick at a hint as any man
+I've met.
+
+A couple of months after narrating his experiences, Wolf Tone Maloney
+finished his term, and was released. For a long time I neither saw him
+nor heard of him, and he had almost slipped from my memory, until I
+was reminded, in a somewhat tragic manner, of his existence. I had been
+attending a patient some distance off in the country, and was riding
+back, guiding my tired horse among the boulders which strewed the
+pathway, and endeavoring to see my way through the gathering darkness,
+when I came suddenly upon a little wayside inn. As I walked my horse up
+toward the door, intending to make sure of my bearings before proceeding
+further, I heard the sound of a violent altercation within the little
+bar.
+
+There seemed to be a chorus of expostulation or remonstrance, above
+which two powerful voices rang out loud and angry. As I listened, there
+was a momentary hush, two pistol shots sounded almost simultaneously,
+and with a crash the door burst open and a pair of dark figures
+staggered out into the moonlight. They struggled for a moment in a
+deadly wrestle, and then went down together among the loose stones.
+I had sprung off my horse, and, with the help of half a dozen rough
+fellows from the bar, dragged them away from one another.
+
+A glance was sufficient to convince me that one of them was dying fast.
+He was a thick-set burly fellow, with a determined cast of countenance.
+The blood was welling from a deep stab in his throat, and it was evident
+that an important artery had been divided. I turned away from him in
+despair, and walked over to where his antagonist was lying. He was shot
+through the lungs, but managed to raise himself up on his hand as I
+approached, and peered anxiously up into my face. To my surprise, I
+saw before me the haggard features and flaxen hair of my prison
+acquaintance, Maloney.
+
+"Ah, doctor!" he said, recognizing me. "How is he? Will he die?"
+
+He asked the question so earnestly that I imagined he had softened at
+the last moment, and feared to leave the world with another homicide
+upon his conscience. Truth, however, compelled me to shake my head
+mournfully, and to intimate that the wound would prove a mortal one.
+
+Maloney gave a wild cry of triumph, which brought the blood welling
+out from between his lips. "Here, boys," he gasped to the little group
+around him. "There's money in my inside pocket. Damn the expense! Drinks
+round. There's nothing mean about me. I'd drink with you, but I'm going.
+Give the doc my share, for he's as good--" Here his head fell back
+with a thud, his eye glazed, and the soul of Wolf Tone Maloney, forger,
+convict, ranger, murderer, and government peach, drifted away into the
+Great Unknown.
+
+I cannot conclude without borrowing the account of the fatal quarrel
+which appeared in the column of the _West Australian Sentinel_. The
+curious will find it in the issue of October 4,1881:
+
+     "Fatal Affray.--W. T. Maloney, a well-know citizen of New
+     Montrose, and proprietor of the Yellow Boy gambling saloon,
+     has met with his death under rather painful circumstances.
+     Mr. Maloney was a man who had led a checkered existence, and
+     whose past history is replete with interest. Some of our
+     readers may recall the Lena Valley murders, in which he
+     figured as the principal criminal. It is conjectured that
+     during the seven months that he owned a bar in that region,
+     from twenty to thirty travelers were hocussed and made away
+     with.   He succeeded, however, in evading the vigilance of
+     the officers of the law, and allied himself with the
+     bushrangers of Bluemansdyke, whose heroic capture and
+     subsequent execution are matters of history. Maloney
+     extricated himself from the fate which awaited him by
+     turning Queen's evidence. He afterward visited Europe, but
+     returned to West Australia, where he has long played a
+     prominent part in local matters. On Friday evening he
+     encountered an old enemy, Thomas Grimthorpe, commonly known
+     as Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury.
+
+     "Shots were exchanged, and both were badly wounded, only
+     surviving a few minutes. Mr. Maloney had the reputation of
+     being not only the most wholesale murderer that ever lived,
+     but also of having a finish and attention to detail in
+     matters of evidence which has been unapproached by any
+     European criminal. _Sic transit gloria mundi!_"
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's My Friend The Murderer, by A. Conan Doyle
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
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+  <head>
+    <title>
+      My Friend the Murderer, by A. Conan Doyle
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
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+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of My Friend The Murderer, by A. Conan Doyle
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: My Friend The Murderer
+
+Author: A. Conan Doyle
+
+Release Date: October 17, 2007 [EBook #23059]
+Last Updated: September 30, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY FRIEND THE MURDERER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      MY FRIEND THE MURDERER
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By A. Conan Doyle
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Number 481 is no better, doctor,&rdquo; said the head-warder, in a slightly
+      reproachful accent, looking in round the corner of my door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Confound 481&rdquo; I responded from behind the pages of the <i>Australian
+      Sketcher</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And 61 says his tubes are paining him. Couldn&rsquo;t you do anything for him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He is a walking drug-shop,&rdquo; said I. &ldquo;He has the whole British pharmacopaæ
+      inside him. I believe his tubes are as sound as yours are.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then there&rsquo;s 7 and 108, they are chronic,&rdquo; continued the warder, glancing
+      down a blue slip of paper. &ldquo;And 28 knocked off work yesterday&mdash;said
+      lifting things gave him a stitch in the side. I want you to have a look at
+      him, if you don&rsquo;t mind, doctor. There&rsquo;s 81, too&mdash;him that killed John
+      Adamson in the Corinthian brig&mdash;he&rsquo;s been carrying on awful in the
+      night, shrieking and yelling, he has, and no stopping him either.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right, I&rsquo;ll have a look at him afterward,&rdquo; I said, tossing my paper
+      carelessly aside, and pouring myself out a cup of coffee. &ldquo;Nothing else to
+      report, I suppose, warder?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The official protruded his head a little further into the room. &ldquo;Beg
+      pardon, doctor,&rdquo; he said, in a confidential tone, &ldquo;but I notice as 82 has
+      a bit of a cold, and it would be a good excuse for you to visit him and
+      have a chat, maybe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The cup of coffee was arrested half-way to my lips as I stared in
+      amazement at the man&rsquo;s serious face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An excuse?&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;An excuse? What the deuce are you talking about,
+      McPherson? You see me trudging about all day at my practise, when I&rsquo;m not
+      looking after the prisoners, and coming back every night as tired as a
+      dog, and you talk about finding an excuse for doing more work.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;d like it, doctor,&rdquo; said Warder McPherson, insinuating one of his
+      shoulders into the room. &ldquo;That man&rsquo;s story&rsquo;s worth listening to if you
+      could get him to tell it, though he&rsquo;s not what you&rsquo;d call free in his
+      speech. Maybe you don&rsquo;t know who 82 is?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I don&rsquo;t, and I don&rsquo;t care either,&rdquo; I answered, in the conviction that
+      some local ruffian was about to be foisted upon me as a celebrity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He&rsquo;s Maloney,&rdquo; said the warder, &ldquo;him that turned Queen&rsquo;s evidence after
+      the murders at Bluemansdyke.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t say so?&rdquo; I ejaculated, laying down my cup in astonishment. I
+      had heard of this ghastly series of murders, and read an account of them
+      in a London magazine long before setting foot in the colony. I remembered
+      that the atrocities committed had thrown the Burke and Hare crimes
+      completely into the shade, and that one of the most villainous of the gang
+      had saved his own skin by betraying his companions. &ldquo;Are you sure?&rdquo; I
+      asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes, it&rsquo;s him right enough. Just you draw him out a bit, and he&rsquo;ll
+      astonish you. He&rsquo;s a man to know, is Maloney; that&rsquo;s to say, in
+      moderation;&rdquo; and the head grinned, bobbed, and disappeared, leaving me to
+      finish my breakfast and ruminate over what I had heard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The surgeonship of an Australian prison is not an enviable position. It
+      may be endurable in Melbourne or Sydney, but the little town of Perth has
+      few attractions to recommend it, and those few had been long exhausted.
+      The climate was detestable, and the society far from congenial. Sheep and
+      cattle were the staple support of the community; and their prices,
+      breeding, and diseases the principal topic of conversation. Now as I,
+      being an outsider, possessed neither the one nor the other, and was
+      utterly callous to the new &ldquo;dip&rdquo; and the &ldquo;rot&rdquo; and other kindred topics, I
+      found myself in a state of mental isolation, and was ready to hail
+      anything which might relieve the monotony of my existence. Maloney, the
+      murderer, had at least some distinctiveness and individuality in his
+      character, and might act as a tonic to a mind sick of the commonplaces of
+      existence. I determined that I should follow the warder&rsquo;s advice, and take
+      the excuse for making his acquaintance. When, therefore, I went upon my
+      usual matutinal round, I turned the lock of the door which bore the
+      convict&rsquo;s number upon it, and walked into the cell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man was lying in a heap upon his rough bed as I entered, but,
+      uncoiling his long limbs, he started up and stared at me with an insolent
+      look of defiance on his face which augured badly for our interview. He had
+      a pale, set face, with sandy hair and a steely-blue eye, with something
+      feline in its expression. His frame was tall and muscular, though there
+      was a curious bend in his shoulders, which almost amounted to a deformity.
+      An ordinary observer meeting him in the street might have put him down as
+      a well-developed man, fairly handsome, and of studious habits&mdash;even
+      in the hideous uniform of the rottenest convict establishment he imparted
+      a certain refinement to his carriage which marked him out among the
+      inferior ruffians around him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not on the sick-list,&rdquo; he said, gruffly. There was something in the
+      hard, rasping voice which dispelled all softer illusions, and made me
+      realize that I was face to face with the man of the Lena Valley and
+      Bluemansdyke, the bloodiest bushranger that ever stuck up a farm or cut
+      the throats of its occupants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know you&rsquo;re not,&rdquo; I answered. &ldquo;Warder McPherson told me you had a cold,
+      though, and I thought I&rsquo;d look in and see you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Blast Warder McPherson, and blast you, too!&rdquo; yelled the convict, in a
+      paroxysm of rage. &ldquo;Oh, that&rsquo;s right,&rdquo; he added in a quieter voice; &ldquo;hurry
+      away; report me to the governor, do! Get me another six months or so&mdash;that&rsquo;s
+      your game.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to report you,&rdquo; I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Eight square feet of ground,&rdquo; he went on, disregarding my protest, and
+      evidently working himself into a fury again. &ldquo;Eight square feet, and I
+      can&rsquo;t have that without being talked to and stared at, and&mdash;oh, blast
+      the whole crew of you!&rdquo; and he raised his two clinched hands above, his
+      head and shook them in passionate invective.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got a curious idea of hospitality,&rdquo; I remarked, determined not to
+      lose my temper, and saying almost the first thing that came to my tongue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To my surprise the words had an extraordinary effect upon him. He seemed
+      completely staggered at my assuming the proposition for which he had been
+      so fiercely contending&mdash;namely, that the room in which he stood was
+      his own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I beg your pardon,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t mean to be rude. Won&rsquo;t you take a
+      seat?&rdquo; and he motioned toward a rough trestle, which formed the head-piece
+      of his couch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I sat down, rather astonished at the sudden change. I don&rsquo;t know that I
+      liked Maloney better under this new aspect. The murderer had, it is true,
+      disappeared for the nonce, but there was something in the smooth tones and
+      obsequious manner which powerfully suggested the witness of the queen, who
+      had stood up and sworn away the lives of his companions in crime.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How&rsquo;s your chest?&rdquo; I asked, putting on my professional air.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come, drop it, doctor&mdash;drop it!&rdquo; he answered, showing a row of white
+      teeth as he resumed his seat upon the side of the bed. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t anxiety
+      after my precious health that brought you along here; that story won&rsquo;t
+      wash at all. You came to have a look at Wolf Tone Maloney, forger,
+      murderer, Sydney-slider, ranger, and government peach. That&rsquo;s about my
+      figure, ain&rsquo;t it? There it is, plain and straight; there&rsquo;s nothing mean
+      about me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He paused as if he expected me to say something; but as I remained silent,
+      he repeated once or twice, &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing mean about me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And why shouldn&rsquo;t I?&rdquo; he suddenly yelled, his eyes gleaming and his whole
+      satanic nature reasserting itself. &ldquo;We were bound to swing, one and all,
+      and they were none the worse if I saved myself by turning against them.
+      Every man for himself, say I, and the devil take the luckiest. You haven&rsquo;t
+      a plug of tobacco, doctor, have you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He tore at the piece of &ldquo;Barrett&rsquo;s&rdquo; which I handed him, as ravenously as a
+      wild beast. It seemed to have the effect of soothing his nerves, for he
+      settled himself down in the bed and re-assumed his former deprecating
+      manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You wouldn&rsquo;t like it yourself, you know, doctor,&rdquo; he said: &ldquo;it&rsquo;s enough
+      to make any man a little queer in his temper. I&rsquo;m in for six months this
+      time for assault, and very sorry I shall be to go out again, I can tell
+      you. My mind&rsquo;s at ease in here; but when I&rsquo;m outside, what with the
+      government and what with Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury, there&rsquo;s no chance of
+      a quiet life.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who is he?&rdquo; I asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the brother of John Grimthorpe, the same that was condemned on my
+      evidence; and an infernal scamp he was, too! Spawn of the devil, both of
+      them! This tattooed one is a murderous ruffian, and he swore to have my
+      blood after that trial. It&rsquo;s seven year ago, and he&rsquo;s following me yet; I
+      know he is, though he lies low and keeps dark. He came up to me in
+      Ballarat in &lsquo;75; you can see on the back of my hand here where the bullet
+      clipped me. He tried again in &lsquo;76, at Port Philip, but I got the drop on
+      him and wounded him badly. He knifed me in &lsquo;79, though, in a bar at
+      Adelaide, and that made our account about level. He&rsquo;s loafing round again
+      now, and he&rsquo;ll let daylight into me&mdash;unless&mdash;unless by some
+      extraordinary chance some one does as much for him.&rdquo; And Maloney gave a
+      very ugly smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t complain of <i>him</i> so much,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Looking at it in
+      his way, no doubt it is a sort of family matter that can hardly be
+      neglected. It&rsquo;s the government that fetches me. When I think of what I&rsquo;ve
+      done for this country, and then of what this country has done for me, it
+      makes me fairly wild&mdash;clean drives me off my head. There&rsquo;s no
+      gratitude nor common decency left, doctor!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He brooded over his wrongs for a few minutes, and then proceeded to lay
+      them before me in detail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s nine men,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;they&rsquo;ve been murdering and killing for a
+      matter of three years, and maybe a life a week wouldn&rsquo;t more than average
+      the work that they&rsquo;ve done. The government catches them and the government
+      tries them, but they can&rsquo;t convict; and why?&mdash;because the witnesses
+      have all had their throats cut, and the whole job&rsquo;s been very neatly done.
+      What happens then? Up comes a citizen called Wolf Tone Maloney; he says,
+      &lsquo;The country needs me, and here I am.&rsquo; And with that he gives his
+      evidence, convicts the lot, and enables the beaks to hang them. That&rsquo;s
+      what I did. There&rsquo;s nothing mean about me! And now what does the country
+      do in return? Dogs me, sir, spies on me, watches me night and day, turns
+      against the very man that worked so very hard for it. There&rsquo;s something
+      mean about that, anyway. I didn&rsquo;t expect them to knight me, nor to make me
+      colonial secretary; but, damn it! I did expect that they would let me
+      alone!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; I remonstrated, &ldquo;if you choose to break laws and assault people,
+      you can&rsquo;t expect it to be looked over on account of former services.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t refer to my present imprisonment, sir,&rdquo; said Maloney, with
+      dignity. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the life I&rsquo;ve been leading since that cursed trial that
+      takes the soul out of me. Just you sit there on that trestle, and I&rsquo;ll
+      tell you all about it, and then look me in the face and tell me that I&rsquo;ve
+      been treated fair by the police.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I shall endeavor to transcribe the experience of the convict in his own
+      words, as far as I can remember them, preserving his curious perversions
+      of right and wrong. I can answer for the truth of his facts, whatever may
+      be said for his deductions from them. Months afterward, Inspector H. W.
+      Hann, formerly governor of the jail at Dunedin, showed me entries in his
+      ledger which corroborated every statement Maloney reeled the story off in
+      a dull, monotonous voice, with his head sunk upon his breast and his hands
+      between his knees. The glitter of his serpentlike eyes was the only sign
+      of the emotions which were stirred up by the recollection of the events
+      which he narrated.
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      You&rsquo;ve read of Bluemansdyke (he began, with some pride in his tone). We
+      made it hot while it lasted; but they ran us to earth at last, and a trap
+      called Braxton, with a damned Yankee, took the lot of us. That was in New
+      Zealand, of course, and they took us down to Dunedin, and there they were
+      convicted and hanged. One and all they put up their hands in the dock, and
+      cursed me till your blood would have run cold to hear them&mdash;which was
+      scurvy treatment, seeing that we had all been pals together; but they were
+      a blackguard lot, and thought only of themselves. I think it is as well
+      that they were hung.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They took me back to Dunedin Jail, and clapped me into the old cell. The
+      only difference they made was, that I had no work to do and was well fed.
+      I stood this for a week or two, until one day the governor was making his
+      rounds, and I put the matter to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How&rsquo;s this?&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;My conditions were a free pardon, and you&rsquo;re
+      keeping me here against the law.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He gave a sort of a smile. &ldquo;Should you like very much to get out?&rdquo; he
+      asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So much,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;that unless you open that door I&rsquo;ll have an action
+      against you for illegal detention.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He seemed a bit astonished by my resolution.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re very anxious to meet your death,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What d&rsquo;ye mean?&rdquo; I asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come here, and you&rsquo;ll know what I mean,&rdquo; he answered. And he led me down
+      the passage to a window that overlooked the door of the prison. &ldquo;Look at
+      that!&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I looked out, and there were a dozen or so rough-looking fellows standing
+      outside the street, some of them smoking, some playing cards on the
+      pavement. When they saw me they gave a yell and crowded round the door,
+      shaking their fists and hooting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They wait for you, watch and watch about,&rdquo; said the governor. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re
+      the executive of the vigilance committee. However, since you are
+      determined to go, I can&rsquo;t stop you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;D&rsquo;ye call this a civilized land,&rdquo; I cried, &ldquo;and let a man be murdered in
+      cold blood in open daylight?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      When I said this the governor and the warder and every fool in the place
+      grinned, as if a man&rsquo;s life was a rare good joke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got the law on your side,&rdquo; says the governor; &ldquo;so we won&rsquo;t detain
+      you any longer. Show him out, warder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He&rsquo;d have done it, too, the black-hearted villain, if I hadn&rsquo;t begged and
+      prayed and offered to pay for my board and lodging, which is more than any
+      prisoner ever did before me. He let me stay on those conditions; and for
+      three months I was caged up there with every larrikin in the township
+      clamoring at the other side of the wall. That was pretty treatment for a
+      man that had served his country!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, one morning up came the governor again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Maloney,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;how long are you going to honor us with your
+      society?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I could have put a knife into his cursed body, and would, too, if we had
+      been alone in the bush; but I had to smile, and smooth him and flatter,
+      for I feared that he might have me sent out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re an infernal rascal,&rdquo; he said; those were his very words, to a man
+      that had helped him all he knew how. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want any rough justice here,
+      though; and I think I see my way to getting you out of Dunedin.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never forget you, governor,&rdquo; said I; &ldquo;and, by God! I never will.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want your thanks nor your gratitude,&rdquo; he answered; &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not for
+      your sake that I do it, but simply to keep order in the town. There&rsquo;s a
+      steamer starts from the West Quay to Melbourne to-morrow, and we&rsquo;ll get
+      you aboard it. She is advertised at five in the morning, so have yourself
+      in readiness.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I packed up the few things I had, and was smuggled out by a back door,
+      just before daybreak. I hurried down, took my ticket under the name of
+      Isaac Smith, and got safely aboard the Melbourne boat. I remember hearing
+      her screw grinding into the water as the warps were cast loose, and
+      looking back at the lights of Dunedin as I leaned upon the bulwarks, with
+      the pleasant thought that I was leaving them behind me forever. It seemed
+      to me that a new world was before me, and that all my troubles had been
+      cast off. I went down below and had some coffee, and came up again feeling
+      better than I had done since the morning that I woke to find that cursed
+      Irishman that took me standing over me with a six-shooter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Day had dawned by that time, and we were steaming along by the coast, well
+      out of sight of Dunedin. I loafed about for a couple of hours, and when
+      the sun got well up some of the other passengers came on deck and joined
+      me. One of them, a little perky sort of fellow, took a good long look at
+      me, and then came over and began talking.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mining, I suppose?&rdquo; says he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; I says.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Made your pile?&rdquo; he asks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pretty fair,&rdquo; says I.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was at it myself,&rdquo; he says; &ldquo;I worked at the Nelson fields for three
+      months, and spent all I made in buying a salted claim which busted up the
+      second day. I went at it again, though, and struck it rich; but when the
+      gold wagon was going down to the settlements, it was stuck up by those
+      cursed rangers, and not a red cent left.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was a bad job,&rdquo; I says.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Broke me&mdash;ruined me clean. Never mind, I&rsquo;ve seen them all hanged for
+      it; that makes it easier to bear. There&rsquo;s only one left&mdash;the villain
+      that gave the evidence. I&rsquo;d die happy if I could come across him. There
+      are two things I have to do if I meet him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s that?&rdquo; says I, carelessly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to ask him where the money lies&mdash;they never had time to
+      make away with it, and it&rsquo;s <i>cachéd</i> somewhere in the mountains&mdash;and
+      then I&rsquo;ve got to stretch his neck for him, and send his soul down to join
+      the men that he betrayed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It seemed to me that I knew something about that <i>caché</i>, and I felt
+      like laughing; but he was watching me, and it struck me that he had a
+      nasty, vindictive kind of mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going up on the bridge,&rdquo; I said, for he was not a man whose
+      acquaintance I cared much about making.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He wouldn&rsquo;t hear of my leaving him, though. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re both miners,&rdquo; he says,
+      &ldquo;and we&rsquo;re pals for the voyage. Come down to the bar. I&rsquo;m not too poor to
+      shout.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I couldn&rsquo;t refuse him well, and we went down together; and that was the
+      beginning of the trouble. What harm was I doing any one on the ship? All I
+      asked for was a quiet life, leaving others alone and getting left alone
+      myself. No man could ask fairer than that. And now just you listen to what
+      came of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We were passing the front of the ladies&rsquo; cabin, on our way to the saloon,
+      when out comes a servant lass&mdash;a freckled currency she-devil&mdash;with
+      a baby in her arms. We were brushing past her, when she gave a scream like
+      a railway whistle, and nearly dropped the kid. My nerves gave a sort of a
+      jump when I heard that scream, but I turned and begged her pardon, letting
+      on that I thought I might have trod on her foot. I knew the game was up,
+      though, when I saw her white face, and her leaning against the door and
+      pointing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s him!&rdquo; she cried; &ldquo;it&rsquo;s him! I saw him in the court-house. Oh, don&rsquo;t
+      let him hurt the baby!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who is it?&rdquo; asked the steward and half a dozen others in a breath.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s him&mdash;Maloney&mdash;Maloney, the murderer&mdash;oh, take him
+      away&mdash;take him away!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      I don&rsquo;t rightly remember what happened just at that moment. The furniture
+      and me seemed to get kind of mixed, and there was cursing, and smashing,
+      and some one shouting for his gold, and a general stamping round. When I
+      got steadied a bit, I found somebody&rsquo;s hand in my mouth. From what I
+      gathered afterward, I concluded that it belonged to that same little man
+      with the vicious way of talking. He got some of it out again, but that was
+      because the others were choking me. A poor chap can get no fair play in
+      this world when once he is down&mdash;still, I think he will remember me
+      till the day of his death&mdash;longer, I hope.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They dragged me out on to the poop and held a damned court-martial&mdash;on
+      <i>me</i>, mind you; <i>me</i>, that had thrown over my pals in order to
+      serve them. What were they to do with me? Some said this, some said that;
+      but it ended by the captain deciding to send me ashore. The ship stopped,
+      they lowered a boat, and I was hoisted in, the whole gang of them hooting
+      at me from over the bulwarks, I saw the man I spoke of tying up his hand,
+      though, and I felt that things might be worse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I changed my opinion before we got to the land. I had reckoned on the
+      shore being deserted, and that I might make my way inland; but the ship
+      had stopped too near the Heads, and a dozen beach-combers and such like
+      had come down to the water&rsquo;s edge and were staring at us, wondering what
+      the boat was after. When we got to the edge of the surf the cockswain
+      hailed them, and after singing out who I was, he and his men threw me into
+      the water. You may well look surprised&mdash;neck and crop into ten feet
+      of water, with sharks as thick as green parrots in the bush, and I heard
+      them laughing as I floundered to the shore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I soon saw it was a worse job than ever. As I came scrambling out through
+      the weeds, I was collared by a big chap with a velveteen coat, and half a
+      dozen others got round me and held me fast. Most of them looked simple
+      fellows enough, and I was not afraid of them; but there was one in a
+      cabbage-tree hat that had a very nasty expression on his face, and the big
+      man seemed to be chummy with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They dragged me up the beach, and then they let go their hold of me and
+      stood round in a circle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, mate,&rdquo; says the man with the hat, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ve been looking out for you
+      some time in these parts.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And very good of you, too,&rdquo; I answers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;None of your jaw,&rdquo; says he. &ldquo;Come, boys, what shall it be&mdash;hanging,
+      drowning, or shooting? Look sharp!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This looked a bit too like business. &ldquo;No, you don&rsquo;t!&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got
+      government protection, and it&rsquo;ll be murder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what they call it,&rdquo; answered the one in the velveteen coat, as
+      cheery as a piping crow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you&rsquo;re going to murder me for being a ranger?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ranger be damned!&rdquo; said the man. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to hang you for peaching
+      against your pals; and that&rsquo;s an end of the palaver.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They slung a rope round my neck and dragged me up to the edge of the bush.
+      There were some big she-oaks and blue-gums, and they pitched on one of
+      these for the wicked deed. They ran the rope over a branch, tied my hands,
+      and told me to say my prayers. It seemed as if it was all up; but
+      Providence interfered to save me. It sounds nice enough sitting here and
+      telling about it, sir; but it was sick work to stand with nothing but the
+      beach in front of you, and the long white line of surf, with the steamer
+      in the distance, and a set of bloody-minded villains round you thirsting
+      for your life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I never thought I&rsquo;d owe anything good to the police; but they saved me
+      that time. A troop of them were riding from Hawkes Point Station to
+      Dunedin, and hearing that something was up, they came down through the
+      bush and interrupted the proceedings. I&rsquo;ve heard some bands in my time,
+      doctor, but I never heard music like the jingle of those traps&rsquo; spurs and
+      harness as they galloped out on to the open. They tried to hang me even
+      then, but the police were too quick for them; and the man with the hat got
+      one over the head with the flat of a sword. I was clapped on to a horse,
+      and before evening I found myself in my old quarters in the city jail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The governor wasn&rsquo;t to be done, though. He was determined to get rid of
+      me, and I was equally anxious to see the last of him. He waited a week or
+      so until the excitement had begun to die away, and then he smuggled me
+      aboard a three-masted schooner bound to Sydney with tallow and hides.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We got far away to sea without a hitch, and things began to look a bit
+      more rosy. I made sure that I had seen the last of the prison, anyway. The
+      crew had a sort of an idea who I was, and if there&rsquo;d been any rough
+      weather, they&rsquo;d have hove me overboard, like enough; for they were a
+      rough, ignorant lot, and had a notion that I brought bad luck to the ship.
+      We had a good passage, however, and I was landed safe and sound upon
+      Sydney Quay.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now just you listen to what happened next. You&rsquo;d have thought they would
+      have been sick of ill-using me and following me by this time&mdash;wouldn&rsquo;t
+      you, now? Well, just you listen. It seems that a cursed steamer started
+      from Dunedin to Sydney on the very day we left, and got in before us,
+      bringing news that I was coming. Blessed if they hadn&rsquo;t called a meeting&mdash;a
+      regular mass-meeting&mdash;at the docks to discuss about it, and I marched
+      right into it when I landed. They didn&rsquo;t take long about arresting me, and
+      I listened to all the speeches and resolutions. If I&rsquo;d been a prince there
+      couldn&rsquo;t have been more excitement. The end of all was that they agreed
+      that it wasn&rsquo;t right that New Zealand should be allowed to foist her
+      criminals upon her neighbors, and that I was to be sent back again by the
+      next boat. So they posted me off again as if I was a damned parcel; and
+      after another eight-hundred-mile journey I found myself back for the third
+      time moving in the place that I started from.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time I had begun to think that I was going to spend the rest of my
+      existence traveling about from one port to another. Every man&rsquo;s hand
+      seemed turned against me, and there was no peace or quiet in any
+      direction. I was about sick of it by the time I had come back; and if I
+      could have taken to the bush I&rsquo;d have done it, and chanced it with my old
+      pals. They were too quick for me, though, and kept me under lock and key;
+      but I managed, in spite of them, to negotiate that <i>caché</i> I told you
+      of, and sewed the gold up in my belt. I spent another month in jail, and
+      then they slipped me aboard a bark that was bound for England.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This time the crew never knew who I was, but the captain had a pretty good
+      idea, though he didn&rsquo;t let on to me that he had any suspicions. I guessed
+      from the first that the man was a villain. We had a fair passage, except a
+      gale or two off the Cape; and I began to feel like a free man when I saw
+      the blue loom of the old country, and the saucy little pilot-boat from
+      Falmouth dancing toward us over the waves. We ran down the Channel, and
+      before we reached Gravesend I had agreed with the pilot that he should
+      take me ashore with him when he left. It was at this time that the captain
+      showed me that I was right in thinking him a meddling, disagreeable man. I
+      got my things packed, such as they were, and left him talking earnestly to
+      the pilot, while I went below for my breakfast. When I came up again we
+      were fairly into the mouth of the river, and the boat in which I was to
+      have gone ashore had left us. The skipper said the pilot had forgotten me;
+      but that was too thin, and I began to fear that all my old troubles were
+      going to commence once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was not long before my suspicions were confirmed. A boat darted out
+      from the side of the river, and a tall cove with a long black beard came
+      aboard. I heard him ask the mate whether they didn&rsquo;t need a mud-pilot to
+      take them up in the reaches, but it seemed to me that he was a man who
+      would know a deal more about handcuffs than he did about steering, so I
+      kept away from him. He came across the deck, however, and made some remark
+      to me, taking a good look at me the while. I don&rsquo;t like inquisitive people
+      at any time, but an inquisitive stranger with glue about the roots of his
+      beard is the worst of all to stand, especially under the circumstances. I
+      began to feel that it was time for me to go.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I soon got a chance, and made good use of it. A big collier came athwart
+      the bows of our steamer, and we had to slacken down to dead slow. There
+      was a barge astern, and I slipped down by a rope and was into the barge
+      before any one missed me. Of course I had to leave my luggage behind me,
+      but I had the belt with the nuggets round my waist, and the chance of
+      shaking the police off my track was worth more than a couple of boxes. It
+      was clear to me now that the pilot had been a traitor, as well as the
+      captain, and had set the detectives after me. I often wish I could drop
+      across those two men again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I hung about the barge all day as she drifted down the stream. There was
+      one man in her, but she was a big, ugly craft, and his hands were too full
+      for much looking about. Toward evening, when it got a bit dusky, I struck
+      out for the shore, and found myself in a sort of marsh place, a good many
+      miles to the east of London. I was soaking wet and half dead with hunger,
+      but I trudged into the town, got a new rig-out at a slop-shop, and after
+      having some supper, engaged a bed at the quietest lodgings I could find.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I woke pretty early&mdash;a habit you pick up in the bush&mdash;and lucky
+      for me that I did so. The very first thing I saw when I took a look
+      through a chink in the shutter was one of these infernal policemen
+      standing right opposite and staring up at the windows. He hadn&rsquo;t epaulets
+      nor a sword, like our traps, but for all that there was a sort of family
+      likeness, and the same busybody expression. Whether they followed me all
+      the time, or whether the woman that let me the bed didn&rsquo;t like the looks
+      of me, is more than I have ever been able to find out. He came across as I
+      was watching him, and noted down the address of the house in a book. I was
+      afraid that he was going to ring at the bell, but I suppose his orders
+      were simply to keep an eye on me, for after another good look at the
+      windows he moved on down the street.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I saw that my only chance was to act at once. I threw on my clothes,
+      opened the window softly, and, after making sure that there was nobody
+      about, dropped out onto the ground and made off as hard as I could run. I
+      traveled a matter of two or three miles, when my wind gave out; and as I
+      saw a big building with people going in and out, I went in too, and found
+      that it was a railway station. A train was just going off for Dover to
+      meet the French boat, so I took a ticket and jumped into a third-class
+      carriage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were a couple of other chaps in the carriage, innocent-looking young
+      beggars, both of them. They began speaking about this and that, while I
+      sat quiet in the corner and listened. Then they started on England and
+      foreign countries, and such like. Look ye now, doctor, this is a fact. One
+      of them begins jawing about the justice of England&rsquo;s laws. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all fair
+      and above-board,&rdquo; says he; &ldquo;there ain&rsquo;t any secret police, nor spying,
+      like they have abroad,&rdquo; and a lot more of the same sort of wash. Rather
+      rough on me, wasn&rsquo;t it, listening to the damned young fool, with the
+      police following me about like my shadow?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I got to Paris right enough, and there I changed some of my gold, and for
+      a few days I imagined I&rsquo;d shaken them off, and began to think of settling
+      down for a bit of rest. I needed it by that time, for I was looking more
+      like a ghost than a man. You&rsquo;ve never had the police after you, I suppose?
+      Well, you needn&rsquo;t look offended, I didn&rsquo;t mean any harm. If ever you had
+      you&rsquo;d know that it wastes a man away like a sheep with the rot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I went to the opera one night and took a box, for I was very flush. I was
+      coming out between the acts when I met a fellow lounging along in the
+      passage. The light fell on his face, and I saw that it was the mud-pilot
+      that had boarded us in the Thames. His beard was gone, but I recognized
+      the man at a glance, for I&rsquo;ve a good memory for faces.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I tell you, doctor, I felt desperate for a moment. I could have knifed him
+      if we had been alone, but he knew me well enough never to give me the
+      chance. It was more than I could stand any longer, so I went right up to
+      him and drew him aside, where we&rsquo;d be free from all the loungers and
+      theater-goers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long are you going to keep it up?&rdquo; I asked him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He seemed a bit flustered for a moment, but then he saw there was no use
+      beating about the bush, so he answered straight:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Until you go back to Australia,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you know,&rdquo; I said, &ldquo;that I have served the government and got a
+      free pardon?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He grinned all over his ugly face when I said this.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We know all about you, Maloney,&rdquo; he answered. &ldquo;If you want a quiet life,
+      just you go back where you came from. If you stay here, you&rsquo;re a marked
+      man; and when you are found tripping it&rsquo;ll be a lifer for you, at the
+      least. Free trade&rsquo;s a fine thing but the market&rsquo;s too full of men like you
+      for us to need to import any.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It seemed to me that there was something in what he said, though he had a
+      nasty way of putting it. For some days back I&rsquo;d been feeling a sort of
+      homesick. The ways of the people weren&rsquo;t my ways. They stared at me in the
+      street; and if I dropped into a bar, they&rsquo;d stop talking and edge away a
+      bit, as if I was a wild beast. I&rsquo;d sooner have had a pint of old
+      Stringybark, too, than a bucketful of their rot-gut liquors. There was too
+      much damned propriety. What was the use of having money if you couldn&rsquo;t
+      dress as you liked, nor bust in properly? There was no sympathy for a man
+      if he shot about a little when he was half-over, I&rsquo;ve seen a man dropped
+      at Nelson many a time with less row than they&rsquo;d make over a broken
+      window-pane. The thing was slow, and I was sick of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You want me to go back?&rdquo; I said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve my order to stick fast to you until you do,&rdquo; he answered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; I said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if I do. All I bargain is that you keep your
+      mouth shut and don&rsquo;t let on who I am, so that I may have a fair start when
+      I get there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He agreed to this, and we went over to Southampton the very next day,
+      where he saw me safely off once more. I took a passage round to Adelaide,
+      where no one was likely to know me; and there I settled, right under the
+      nose of the police. I&rsquo;d been there ever since, leading a quiet life, but
+      for little difficulties like the one I&rsquo;m in for now, and for that devil,
+      Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury. I don&rsquo;t know what made me tell you all this,
+      doctor, unless it is that being lonely makes a man inclined to jaw when he
+      gets a chance. Just you take warning from me, though. Never put yourself
+      out to serve your country; for your country will do precious little for
+      you. Just you let them look after their own affairs; and if they find
+      difficulty in hanging a set of scoundrels, never mind chipping in, but let
+      them alone to do as best they can. Maybe they&rsquo;ll remember how they treated
+      me after I&rsquo;m dead, and be sorry for neglecting me, I was rude to you when
+      you came in, and swore a trifle promiscuous: but don&rsquo;t you mind me, it&rsquo;s
+      only my way. You&rsquo;ll allow, though, that I have cause to be a bit touchy
+      now and again when I think of all that&rsquo;s passed. You&rsquo;re not going, are
+      you? Well, if you must, you must; but I hope you will look me up at odd
+      times when you are going your rounds. Oh, I say, you&rsquo;ve left the balance
+      of that cake of tobacco behind you, haven&rsquo;t you? No; it&rsquo;s in your pocket&mdash;that&rsquo;s
+      all right. Thank ye, doctor, you&rsquo;re a good sort, and as quick at a hint as
+      any man I&rsquo;ve met.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A couple of months after narrating his experiences, Wolf Tone Maloney
+      finished his term, and was released. For a long time I neither saw him nor
+      heard of him, and he had almost slipped from my memory, until I was
+      reminded, in a somewhat tragic manner, of his existence. I had been
+      attending a patient some distance off in the country, and was riding back,
+      guiding my tired horse among the boulders which strewed the pathway, and
+      endeavoring to see my way through the gathering darkness, when I came
+      suddenly upon a little wayside inn. As I walked my horse up toward the
+      door, intending to make sure of my bearings before proceeding further, I
+      heard the sound of a violent altercation within the little bar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There seemed to be a chorus of expostulation or remonstrance, above which
+      two powerful voices rang out loud and angry. As I listened, there was a
+      momentary hush, two pistol shots sounded almost simultaneously, and with a
+      crash the door burst open and a pair of dark figures staggered out into
+      the moonlight. They struggled for a moment in a deadly wrestle, and then
+      went down together among the loose stones. I had sprung off my horse, and,
+      with the help of half a dozen rough fellows from the bar, dragged them
+      away from one another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A glance was sufficient to convince me that one of them was dying fast. He
+      was a thick-set burly fellow, with a determined cast of countenance. The
+      blood was welling from a deep stab in his throat, and it was evident that
+      an important artery had been divided. I turned away from him in despair,
+      and walked over to where his antagonist was lying. He was shot through the
+      lungs, but managed to raise himself up on his hand as I approached, and
+      peered anxiously up into my face. To my surprise, I saw before me the
+      haggard features and flaxen hair of my prison acquaintance, Maloney.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, doctor!&rdquo; he said, recognizing me. &ldquo;How is he? Will he die?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He asked the question so earnestly that I imagined he had softened at the
+      last moment, and feared to leave the world with another homicide upon his
+      conscience. Truth, however, compelled me to shake my head mournfully, and
+      to intimate that the wound would prove a mortal one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Maloney gave a wild cry of triumph, which brought the blood welling out
+      from between his lips. &ldquo;Here, boys,&rdquo; he gasped to the little group around
+      him. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s money in my inside pocket. Damn the expense! Drinks round.
+      There&rsquo;s nothing mean about me. I&rsquo;d drink with you, but I&rsquo;m going. Give the
+      doc my share, for he&rsquo;s as good&mdash;&rdquo; Here his head fell back with a
+      thud, his eye glazed, and the soul of Wolf Tone Maloney, forger, convict,
+      ranger, murderer, and government peach, drifted away into the Great
+      Unknown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I cannot conclude without borrowing the account of the fatal quarrel which
+      appeared in the column of the <i>West Australian Sentinel</i>. The curious
+      will find it in the issue of October 4,1881:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     &ldquo;Fatal Affray.&mdash;W. T. Maloney, a well-know citizen of New
+     Montrose, and proprietor of the Yellow Boy gambling saloon,
+     has met with his death under rather painful circumstances.
+     Mr. Maloney was a man who had led a checkered existence, and
+     whose past history is replete with interest. Some of our
+     readers may recall the Lena Valley murders, in which he
+     figured as the principal criminal. It is conjectured that
+     during the seven months that he owned a bar in that region,
+     from twenty to thirty travelers were hocussed and made away
+     with.   He succeeded, however, in evading the vigilance of
+     the officers of the law, and allied himself with the
+     bushrangers of Bluemansdyke, whose heroic capture and
+     subsequent execution are matters of history. Maloney
+     extricated himself from the fate which awaited him by
+     turning Queen&rsquo;s evidence. He afterward visited Europe, but
+     returned to West Australia, where he has long played a
+     prominent part in local matters. On Friday evening he
+     encountered an old enemy, Thomas Grimthorpe, commonly known
+     as Tattooed Tom, of Hawkesbury.
+
+     &ldquo;Shots were exchanged, and both were badly wounded, only
+     surviving a few minutes. Mr. Maloney had the reputation of
+     being not only the most wholesale murderer that ever lived,
+     but also of having a finish and attention to detail in
+     matters of evidence which has been unapproached by any
+     European criminal. <i>Sic transit gloria mundi!</i>&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
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+</pre>
+  </body>
+</html>