But a movement in the shadows caught his attention. He stepped into the first floor vestibule and walked toward the stairs to the second floor. His mother did not show up, and he returned to work. He worked until about 11:30 A.M., when he left the National Pencil Company factory to meet his mother to watch the Confederate Memorial Day parade. Mann, who is white, did not lend him the money.

Conley early that day when the burly black janitor asked to borrow a dime for beer. Frank in the office that Saturday morning. ''I have laid that burden down and I don't ever want to pick it up again,'' he said. That's what matters most.''Д«ut he is reluctant to tell it again. When my time comes, I hope that God understands me better for telling it. ''I know I don't have a long time to live,'' he said. He now lives in Bristol, Va., where he said he is fond of his friends and his church. His lips trembled, but his clear blue eyes belied his frail physique and failing heart that pumps with the aid of a surgically implanted pacemaker. I've been living with it for a long time. ''Many times I wanted to get it out of my heart,'' the white-haired Mr.

The newspaper reported that a two-month investigation satisfied it of the historical accuracy of his information and the validity of his claims. He submitted to a lie-detector test and a psychological stress evaluation and passed both impressively, The Tennessean said.

None of the authors ever approached him, he said.Д«ut when confronted by two Tennessean reporters, Jerry Thompson and Robert Sherborne, who were acting on a tip, he related his story and supplied them with notes, photographs and other materials. In later years, he said, he would have agreed, even been eager to talk with those who have written some 50 books about events surrounding the infamous trial. He said he continued to heed that advice for several years, except for an occasional confidence to relatives and a rebuffed attempt to tell an Atlanta newspaper reporter 30 years ago. On the advice of his mother, he volunteered no information and told no one in authority what he had seen that Saturday, April 26, 1913. Young Alonzo Mann was called to testify at the trial, but was asked only a few perfunctory questions. He said the janitor, startled by the boy, threatened to kill him if he ever mentioned what he had seen that day. Mann was 14 years old at the time of the murder and was working as Mr. ''She was murdered instead by Jim Conley,'' he asserted, referring to a factory janitor who was the chief witness against Mr.

Pieces 1982 kill