Meanwhile, the prisoner Burke Williams had been awaiting in the county jail the carrying out of the sentence which condemned him to the penitentiary for twenty years. According to the common law in the case, he would be obliged to serve out the time for his first offence before being tried for the second. But various plans had been tried to surprise him into confessing the crime of Claude Vernon's murder, and he was detained in the county jail beyond the regular time. He was still in his cell, sullen and silent. The sheriff had at last made his plans to convey the prisoner to the State prison on the day when Judge Vernon was sitting in a case where another negro from Freetown was under trial for a serious offence against the State. Judge Vernon sat there pale and stern. His emotions were conflicting. The man on trial again represented the lost part of the city, and every time he looked at his stolid, brutal face the judge saw the face of the other man, and pictured him on his way to his twenty years' confinement. Could such a spot as Freetown be redeemed? Was it possible to save such souls as these? The courtroom was crowded. The bailiff had just arisen to proclaim the opening of court. Suddenly, near the door, an unusual disturbance was noticeable. It grew in volume. All eyes were turned in that direction. Judge Vernon half rose from his seat; and the large audience, lawyers, officers, and spectators, seemed to feel as by a united wave of intelligence that something very remarkable had happened. CHAPTER VII. THE FREETOWN SETTLEMENT STARTED. The confusion by the door of the courtroom increased. A word was passed from lip to lip. Faces grew pale. The word went out over the waiting spectators, and reached the bar and the county attorney. The attorney rose, and, lifting his arm, he solemnly said, while the confusion suddenly ceased: "Your honor, Burke Williams's case has been called up to a higher court. He has committed suicide!" Judge Vernon grasped the desk in front of him, and for a moment the courtroom swam before him in confusion. He recovered himself, but the excitement was so great and the tension on his emotions so strong that he was compelled to adjourn the court for the day. As he passed out of the room, the lawyers and spectators quietly made way for him. His recent experiences had given him an added dignity that all men respected. The prisoner had hung himself to one of the bars of his cell. He had left no confession. The mystery of Claude Vernon's death remained a mystery so far as any actual proof was obtained, and the prisoner himself had gone to meet the Judge of all the earth, to be judged for the deeds done in the body. What that judgment is, only the last great day can disclose. The news of the suicide stirred the people of Merton deeply. [Illustration: "_Burke Williams's case has been called up to a higher court._"]