The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1869-05-13
Margaret explained that tie msies,

give you my name ana place OF resi-.
dence with the proofs, and you disturb
me at your peril This gentleman
her conscience smote her for the subter-
tugc, IL not Eugene De Baum. He is
too i'll to be disturbed, and cannot
escape. We will remain here until Won
are convinced of your mistake, and 1
wish YOU" she said, addressing mine
hoste, "to have physician called and
to send telegraphic dispatch for me,
20 our friends in Arabia Petea:"
Her manner was so assured that the
officers were doubtful but there cer-
tainly was some mystery about the
Strangers, and mystery is Suspicious.
She knew something of the principles
If law, but of its practices by which
thousands of persons ara arrested and
imprisoned, simply that the officers may
obtain the small fees paid BY, the pub
lie for such services, she was utterly
ignorant. The man who had charge of
| ''the magnesty Of the Law" expected
dollar each for locking them up fer the
night. Mine hoste enquired once more,
is the gentleman your husband
ma'am? ?''
"No sir, he is not, but of what in
tcrcst can this be to you? We only
wish to stay until the westward traia
arrives"
otis considerable interest ma'am.
We keep a respectable house and when
gentleman and lady takes private
room we want to know who they may
De. 1 advise you to go quietly with
these gentlemen. You'll be safe
enough where they take You, aud we
keep no suspicious characters here"
Zslia had kept her face buried in
the pillow, and lay shivering in an ague
tit Of terror. Margaret bent over be,
and said:
'Lst us 60 With them. 1t will only
De for little while"
"No, no." she criedfrauticaly, raising
herself, and throwing be. arms about
the bed post, "let them kill me here.
| will never 20 to that herrid place.
Oh if you had staid At homeland let me
60. 1t is all your fault, all your fault"
Margaret tried to quiet her, by:assur-
ances that this vas not the time OF place
for fault finding The second officer,
who had not spoken, motioned his COM
panion, and the landlord, to confer
encc in the hall. When outside the door
and it closed be said: "We're off the
track, Bob. That's galin mems clothes,
of on some sky larking. The old lady's
overlook her, ans bent on takin'' 'er home.
That's watts the matter-every time.
You may bet your life on it. III 20
my pile that she's been to boarding
school ans been THROWN letters on: O.
the winder to some feller, she's started
to jine him and get buckled. Some
body's blowed on 'er and the school
marm's caught her. Blamed if I
wouldn't like to take that old sal to the
lock up, and let the young 'un jine her
lover, but 1 'sposc he's lost the trail by
this time. They amt none of the fancy
an We better back out"
This probable solution of the myster:-
GUS appearance of the strangers. was
one to touch the rudest human heart.
which never quite loses interest in the
love troubles Of the young. 1t was 80
far received as to cali up visions of the
probable wealth and family position of
the heroine, and the persistent Bob con-
cluded to compromise on the question
ofcommitment, by permitting his prison
ers to send dispatch, remaining
in the hall and requiring the door Of
their room to be kept open, to prevent
escape by the windows This arrange
meut was sufficiently humil,atipg, and
yet it was such mitigation of the sen.
teuce of imprisonment that they were
overpowered by feeling Of gratitude,
showing that the effect Of calamity de-
rends on the direction from which it
comes. The wave which falls on the
boat may swamp it and that which rolls
under may lift it safely over the rocks.
When this arrangement had been
agreed upon, Margaret wrote her dis
patch.
"Come to US immediataly.y' and
signed it and directed it to Nh. Win
stoc. but was informed that it could
not b" sen: until morning, as the Office
vas closed. Everything conspired to
prevent their return before Mrs. Ken
don's absence should become . public
scandal; and Margaret began to doubt
the wisdom of her pursuit. She reas-
sured herself by the reflection that the
desertion Of the erriug woman, by her
betrayer was but = question of time ::
and that if she were 80 wretched With
ill the assistance she could give. she
would have been more so if called up.
on to meet that crisis alone. Apart
from the moral question Of continued
crime, the rescue of a woman from the
almost certain ruin of body and soul
which follows the frst wrong step, she
felt that the present discomfort was a
small matter compared to that she must
heve endured if her desertion had been
postponed to . later period. Anxious
to avoid further exposure, sbe counter
manded her order for physician and
busted herself with such remedies q
the landlord could furnish, in irving to
overcome tho spasms into which her
charge continued to relapse. Before
midnight she was seriously alarmed and
sent for a doctor. She never before
realized the public benefit Of those in-
| stitutions which send into every town