Budd Boyd's Triumph; or, The Boy-Firm of Fox Island

by John Kendrick Bangs

  CHAPTER XX.--THE CONFESSION.

  "The burglars are captured!" "They are now in the lock-up!" "Avery,the constable, and those boys of Fox Island, brought them here in theSea Witch!" "They say every dollar's worth of the stolen goods isrecovered!" "The examination is at two o'clock this afternoon!"

  These and a hundred other similar exclamations ran along the streets ofthe village, were repeated in shop and store and house, discussed on thestreet-corners, and carried out into the surrounding country, within twohours after the sloop had tied up at the public wharf.

  And yet very little was really known, for on arriving at the dock Mr.Avery had left the sloop and prisoners in charge of the two lads whilehe went quietly up the street and sought an interview with Clapp & St.John, the jewelers. The immediate outcome of that interview was thattwo closely-covered carriages were driven down to the wharf, and theprisoners were hastily put into these and driven rapidly up to thelock-up, where they were quickly incarcerated. Almost as quickly, ahuge express wagon went down to the dock, and bags, gripsacks andbundles, containing the robbers' booty and traps, were transferred fromthe sloop to the waiting vehicle, covered with a large sail-cloth, anddriven off to Clapp & St. John's place of business, where they weresafely stored. Then warrants were sworn out in rapid succession byClapp & St. John, by Mr. Johnson, for he had arrived at the villagealmost as soon as the Sea Witch, and by the lads themselves, against thecriminals.

  Just what the specific charges were, and how the burglars had beenfound, was not generally known; but enough had been seen by theinhabitants of that staid community to excite their curiosity, and toset their tongues a-wagging with a velocity that in any other bodilymember would have been absolutely dangerous.

  So it happened that when the hour of the burglars' examination came acrowd had gathered in the court-room that filled it to its utmostcapacity, and a larger crowd was in the court-yard and the adjacentstreet. Through this assembly the prisoners were with great difficultytaken, and their trial began.

  But if the eager audience were expecting any special developments theywere doomed to disappointment, for when the warrant charging theprisoners with feloniously entering and robbing Clapp & St. John's storewas read, each burglar in his turn waived examination, and was boundover, without bonds, to the higher court.

  Something of a surprise swept over the audience, however, when theprisoners were again arraigned and a second warrant was read, chargingthem with the burglary of Mr. Johnson's house on Hope Island. To this,as in the first instance, the accused responded by waiving anexamination, and were again bound over, without bonds, to the next termof the superior court.

  Many of the audience evidently thought this ended the judicialproceedings, and they arose to leave the room. The prisoners, too,apparently thought the same, for they turned toward the officers whowere guarding them as though expecting to be immediately taken away.

  But for the third time they were called to the bar, and a deathlikestillness fell upon the throng as a third warrant was read, chargingthree of the prisoners with having forcibly entered, with the intent ofrobbing, the house on Fox Island, on Saturday night, June 17th. Thenthere was a hurried consultation between the leader of the gang, who hadgiven the name of Brill, and Bagsley and the third man of the party whowas accused of this crime, and who answered to the name of Hawkins.

  The result of the consultation was that the three men for the third timewaived an examination, and for the third time were bound over to thehigher court.

  As though getting impatient with the whole proceedings, the Justiceimmediately called the five men to the bar to listen to the reading of afourth warrant, which charged the entire party with "having taken thesloop Sea Witch, with force of arms, from her lawful owner, and having,with great detriment to said owner's bodily health and disadvantage tohis property and business, run off with the same." With hopeless facesand sinking hearts the prisoners no longer waived an examination butpleaded guilty to the charge, and, as on the three former charges, werebound over to the superior court.

  While the audience was slowly dispersing, the papers for the commitmentof the prisoners to the county jail were filled out by the presidingJustice, and then, under a strong guard, they were taken out to thewaiting carriages and driven rapidly off toward the county-seat. Beforesunset this had been reached, and the criminals placed in separate cellswithin the strong walls of the jail.

  Mr. Johnson and Budd had both agreed that it would be wiser to postponetheir interview with Bagsley until he had been committed to jail andknew the full consequences of the criminal acts with which he and hisconfederates had been charged. They hoped, too, that his solitaryconfinement might subdue his resentful spirit to such an extent that hewould be willing to listen to the proposition they had to make. Theytherefore arranged to go up to Kingston together early in the comingweek for the interview, on which their hopes so largely centered. Butunknown to them a series of circumstances were already beginning to workin their behalf.

  The first step in the series began right in the court-room. While theaudience was dispersing and the Justice was filling out thecommitment-papers the prisoners were huddled close together within thecourt-room railing. The officers allowed them to converse together,thinking, doubtless, it would be the last time they could do so for anumber of weeks, if not for a number of years. Brill, the leader of thegang, changed his position a little so as to bring him beside Bagsley,and then he said, in a low tone:

  "It is a hard outlook for us, Tom."

  "Yes," his companion replied, gloomily.

  "It can't be less than twenty years on all the charges," continuedBrill, cautiously, lest his words should be overheard by the attendingofficers.

  "Do you think so?" asked Bagsley.

  "Yes, unless you can work on the sympathies of old Johnson and that boyto let us off on some of the charges," remarked the leader,significantly.

  "What do you mean? They are more bitter against me than all the rest ofyou," responded Bagsley, with some irritation in his tones.

  "Yes, and for cause; but suppose you remove that cause?" said Brill,pointedly.

  "And get myself in a worse scrape," snapped Bagsley.

  "Not necessarily; you can put your conditions, and help yourself and therest of us," was the hasty reply; for the papers were now completed, andthe officers were handcuffing the prisoners together previous to leadingthem from the room.

  Enough had been said, however, to excite in Bagsley's heart a hope hewould not be slow to follow up.

  The next step in the series of circumstances working favorably for thefulfillment of Budd's purpose occurred the next day, way off among thehills of New Hampshire. Bagsley, it will be remembered, was known, andhowever it may have been with his companions, he was not able to concealhis identity under a false name. The newspapers, therefore, recordingthe capture of the burglars, gave his name in full; and one of thosepapers went into the boyhood home of the unfortunate man, carryingdismay to his aged father and mother still abiding there. The name wasthat of their only son, from whom they had not heard in long months, andof whose career they had for a long time had misgiving.

  So the aged father sat down, and with trembling hand wrote to the keeperof the jail asking for further particulars as to the robbery, and acomplete identification, if possible, of the prisoner who bore his son'sname. This letter in due time reached the jailer, and was at once takento Bagsley's cell. He bore up bravely under the words the father hadpenned, but when he read at the bottom of the sheet a single line in themother's handwriting--that line reading "If you are our Tommy, let usknow at once, and we'll come to you and spare no expense to saveyou"--he broke completely down. The memory of his mother--of her love,that had ever stood ready to shield him--had touched his heart. He wasnot as hardened as he himself had thought, and a desire to see hismother once more before the prison-walls closed upon him for long years,and to hear from her own lips that she forgave her wayward boy, led himto answer his father's lett
er.

  So the third and last step in this chain of circumstances began when hisletter, two days later, reached the little mountain village. Closing uptheir little home, the aged father and mother drew from the savings banktheir small hoard of hard-earned money and set out for the place oftheir son's incarceration. Everyone they met seemed to understand thatsome heavy affliction had fallen upon the gray-haired couple, and withkind words and willing hands they were helped on their way, and on theMonday following the arrest of the criminals they reached the door ofthe Kingston jail and asked to see their boy.

  Without delay they were taken to Bagsley's cell, and then ensued aninterview too sacred but for the angels of heaven to have witnessed. Inhumble contrition the penitent man disclosed to his broken-heartedparents the whole story of his criminal life, and acknowledged thatthere was no possible escape from long years of confinement unless Mr.Johnson and Budd Boyd could be persuaded to withdraw their chargesagainst him. So the next morning the father started off to find the ladand the gentleman who held so much of his son's fate in their hands, andmet them on their way up to the county-seat to hold an interview withhis son. Under these circumstances it was not hard to effect anagreement, and Bagsley consented to make a full and complete vindicationof Henry Boyd if Mr. Johnson's charge and the two charges of Boyd &Floyd against him and his associates were withdrawn. This was what bothMr. Johnson and Budd were willing to do, and the confession of suchvital importance to two persons at least--Budd and his father--was dulydrawn up and signed.

  It stated in substance that Bagsley, on entering Mr. Johnson's employ,had been detected in light pilfering by Mr. Boyd, but upon his makingfull restitution and promising to never be guilty of such an act againMr. Boyd had consented to keep the matter from Mr. Johnson. Instead ofbeing grateful to Mr. Boyd for thus shielding him from Mr. Johnson'sanger, Bagsley had resolved to have his revenge for what he termedBoyd's unwarranted interference with that which was none of hisbusiness. The opportunity came when Mr. Johnson carelessly left thecombination-number of the safe upon his private desk. Making a copy ofit, Bagsley had taken the thousand dollars for himself, and forged thecheck and sent it with the accompanying letter to Mr. Boyd's house justas he was about to start for the South with his invalid wife. He hadopened and destroyed the letter of thanks that Mr. Boyd had sent Mr.Johnson upon receiving the check, and the result of his plans had beenexactly what he had anticipated. Mr. Boyd was arrested, tried andconvicted of the two crimes, forgery and theft, while he who had reallycommitted the acts had been unsuspected.

  The confession went on to state that Bagsley had overheard all thatpassed between Budd and Mr. Johnson in the private office, and believingthat Budd was working to prove his guilt he had assaulted him on thenext day. Not content with this, he had sought for the lad repeatedlyto frighten him into silence, but at length learned he had left thecity.

  His connection with the criminals had come about in a perfectly naturalway through the dissipated habits he had formed. When in agambling-saloon one night he had run in with Brill, who, finding thatBagsley had plenty of money, accused him of having taken the thousanddollars for which Henry Boyd had been arrested. Bagsley at first deniedthis, but being unable to account for the money in any other way, hefinally admitted it.

  From that hour Brill had a hold upon him, and led him from one crime toanother until the series of crimes for which he and his companions hadnow been arrested.

  There was a particularity of detail throughout the whole confession thatevinced its truth, and with the document in his pocket Mr. Johnson tookthe first train for Boston, to place in the hands of the Governor andhis Council, the matter of Henry Boyd's pardon for a crime he had nevercommitted; while Budd drove off home, to immediately write and send tohis father a letter giving a full account of the events that hadtranspired in the last few days, and setting forth the prospect ofhis--the father's--release, as soon as the legal steps necessary for itcould be complied with.

  As we shall now lose sight of Bagsley in our story, it may be statedhere that he and his companions in crime were duly arraigned for theburglary of Clapp & St. John's jewelry store, at the November term ofthe superior court, and knowing that the evidence of their guilt wasabsolute, they thought it wiser to plead guilty and throw themselvesupon the mercy of the Court. The other charges were not brought upagainst them, but they were known, and without doubt had much to do withthe heavy sentence that was pronounced upon them, namely--ten years eachat hard labor in the State Penitentiary.

  The reward offered for their arrest and conviction was in due time paidover to Mr. Avery and the two lads. Mr. Avery, finding the part he hadplayed in the affair had obtained for him a popularity that was destinedto give him the office of County Sheriff at the next election,magnanimously insisted that the hundred dollars paid the captain of thetug should come out of his portion of the reward alone; so that theyoung firm received an even thousand dollars as their compensation forthe trying experiences they had undergone in discovering and bringing tojustice the gang of criminals.

  But a full month before this money was paid over, an event happened thatto Budd at least far transcended any amount of pecuniary gain. It wasthe reception, through the post-office, of a large official documentfrom the Governor of Massachusetts, announcing the full pardon andordering the immediate release of Henry Boyd. Along with it came apersonal note from the Governor pleasantly suggesting that the son, whohad so thoroughly believed in and worked for the establishment of thefather's innocence, should be the one to first carry the good news tothe pardoned man.