which
might be attempted by the bold and desperate ruffian, the overseer kept
his eyes almost constantly upon him, being resolved that no second
chance should be afforded him to 'take French leave.' The Dead Man soon
became conscious that he was watched with extraordinary vigilance; he
was sagacious as well as criminal, and he deemed it to be good policy to
assume the air of a man who was resigned to his fate, knowing it to be
inevitable. He therefore worked with alacrity and endeavored to wear
upon his villainous face an expression of contentment almost amounting
to cheerfulness.

Near him labored a prisoner whose countenance indicated good-nature and
courage;--and to him the Dead Man said, in an almost inaudible whisper,
but without raising his eyes from his work, or moving his lips:--

'My friend, there is something in your appearance which assures me that
you can be trusted; listen to me with attention, but do not look towards
me. I am sentenced here for life: I am anxious to escape, and a plan has
suggested itself to my mind, but you must assist me--will you do it?'

'Yes, poor fellow, I will, if it lies in my power, provided you were not
sent here for any offence which I disapprove of,' replied the other, in
a similar tone. 'I was sentenced here for the term of seven years, for
manslaughter; a villain seduced my daughter, and I shot him dead--the
honor of my child was worth a million of such accursed lives as his.--I
consider myself guilty of no crime; he sacrificed my daughter to his
lust, and then abandoned her--I sacrificed him to my vengeance, and
never regretted the deed. The term of imprisonment will expire the day
after to-morrow, and I shall then be a free man; therefore, I can assist
you without running any great risk of myself. But you shall not have my
aid if you were sent here for any deliberate villainy or black
crime--for, thank God! I have a conscience, and that conscience permits
me, though a prisoner, to call myself an honest man.'

'Be assured,' whispered the Dead Man, perceiving the necessity of using
a falsehood to accomplish his ends--'that I am neither a deliberate
villain nor hardened criminal; an enemy attacked me, and in _self
defense_ I slew him, for which I was sentenced here for life.'

'In that case,' rejoined the other--'I will cheerfully assist you to
escape from this earthly hell--for self-defense is Nature's first law.
Had you been a willful murderer, a robber, or aught of that