Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-29
THE SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 1884,

It brought her feverish dreams Of her hus-
band. fOotsore and weary, staggering for
ward under its pitiless lash and clamorous
cutlery; she would have gone to his as
sistance, but when she reached his side
and held out her arms to him, it hurried
her past with merciless power, and bear
ing her away, left him hepel essly behind.
1t was broad day when she awOke. The
usual night showers or the waning rainy
season had left no trace in sky or meadow;
the fervid morning sun had already dried
the patio; only the restless harrying wind
remained.
Mrs. Tucker arose with a resolve. She
had learned from Concha on the previous
evening that a part of the shanty was used
as tieada, or shop for the labOrers and
rdRcherOS. Under the necessity OF pur-
chasing some articles, she would so there
and for moment mingle with those peo-
pie, who would not recognize her. Even
if they did, her instinct told her it would
be less to be feared than the hopeless I'M
certainty of another day. AS she left the
house the wind seemed to seize her, as in
her dream. and hurry her along with IT,
until in few moments the walls of the
low casa sank into the earth again and
she was alone, but for the breeze on the
solitary plain. The level distance gilt
IeIeQ III the lASlt, q lew NAO0o WIN
slant wings dipped and ran down the
wind before her, and a passing CLEAN on
the marsh was explained by the far-off
cry of a curlew.
She had walked for an hour. upheld by
the stimulus of light and morning air,
when the cluster Of scrub oaks, which was
her destination, opened enough to show
two rambling sheds, before one of which
was a wooden platform containing few
barrels and bones. AS she approached
nearer she could see that one or two horses
were tethered under the trees, that their
riders were lounging by horse trough,
and that over an open door the word
IiendG was rudely painted on board,
and as rUdely illustrated by the wares
displayed at door and window. Accus-
TONED as she was to the poverty OF non
| tier architecture, even the crumbling walls
| of the old hacienda she had just left seemed
picturesque to the rigid angles of the thin.
blank, implanted shell before her. One Of
the Ioungers, who was reading newspa-
per aloud as she advanced, put it aside
| and stared at her; there was an evident
connection in the shop as she stepped
upon the platform, and when she entered,
with GREATNESS lips and beating heart,
she found herself the object of a dozen
curious eyes. Her quick pride resented
the scrutiny and recalled her courage,
and it was with a slight GOODNESS in her
over the counter and asked for the articles
she wanted.
The request was followed by a dead ST.
lence. Mrs. Tucker repeated it with some
| hduteur
81 reckon you don't seem to know this
store is in the hands OF the Sheriff." said
one of the loungers.
Mrs. Tucker was not aware of it.
s'Well, don't know any one who's a
to fhnr hi
wife, said another with a coarse laugh.
The laugh was echoed by the others. Mrs.
! Tucker saw the pit into which she had
deliberately walked, but did not finch.
sis there any one to serve hereW she
asked, turning her clear eyes fun upon
the bystanders.
YOU'D better ask the Sheriff. He was
the last one to SdrUe here. He sarved an
attachment" replied the inevitable hui
morist OF all Californian assemblages.
sis he herepv asked Mrs. Tucker, dis
regarding the renewed laughter which
followed this subtle witticism.
The loungers at the door made way for
one of their party. who was half dragged,
half pushed into the shop. "Here he is"
said half dozen eager voices, in the fond
| belief that his presence might impart adj
| ditional humOr to the situation. He cast
| a deprecating glance at Mrs. Tucker and
| said: t'It's so, madam! This yer place is
/ aIIdC0RQ. IL
wanting, why l reckon, boys'-he turned
| half appealingly to the crowd-''we could
oblige a lady" There was a vague sound
1 of angry opposition and remOnstrance
! from the back door of the shop, but the
! majority, partly overcome by Mrs. Tuck
| er's beauty, assented. "Only," continued
! the officer explanatory, ''ez these yer
goods are in the hands of the creditors,
| they ought to be represented by an equiv
alent in money. If you're expecting they
| should be charged"
"But wish to pap for them,' inter-
rupted Mrs. Tucker with slight flush of
| Indignation. 81 have the money"
| ooh. | bet YOU havep' screamed aYoice,
as, overturning all opposition, the NAL
content at the back door, in the shape of
an Infatuated woman, forced her way into
| the shop. stI'll bet you have the money.
Look at her, boys. Look at the wife of the
| thief, with the stolen money, in diamonds
in her ears and rings on her fingers. She's
got money if lUe'Ue none. She can pay for
what she fancies, if we haven't cent TO
redeem the bed that's stolen from under
! us. sob, yes, buy it all. Mrs. Spencer
| Tucker! buy the whole shop, Mrs. Spen-
Ger Tuckerl do you hear? And if you
amt satisfied then, buy my clothes, my
wedding ring, the only things your hus
| band hasn't stolen"
| 81 don't understand YOU" said Mrs.
Tucker coldly, turning toward the door.
| But with a flying leap across the counter,
her relentless adversary stood between
her and retreat.
sYou don't understand! Perhaps you
| don't understand that your husband not
| only stole the hard labor of these men, but
| even the little money they brought here
| and trusted to his thieVing hands. Per-
| haps you don't know that he stole my
| husbands hard earnings, mortgaged these
very goods you want to buy and that he
is to-day a convicted thief, a forger and a
| runaway coward. Perhaps, if you can't
understand me, you can read the news
paper. Lookr She eXultingly opened
! the paper the Sheriff had been reading
aloud and pointed to the displayed head
| lines s'Look there are the very words.
! Forgery, Swindling, EmbeZzlementp Do
! you see? And perhaps you can't under
| stand this. Look shameful Flight.
| Abandons His Wife. Runs OF with a
| Notorious
'.Easy, old gal, easy now. On it!
! VIII you dry up? / say. Stop"
/ 1t was too late! The Sheriff had dashed
| the paper from the woman's hand, but not
! until Mrs. Tucker had read a single line,
! a line such as she had sometimes turned
] from with weary scorn in her careless pc
/ rusal of the daily shameful chronicle of
/ domestic infelicity. Then she had coldly
| wondered if there could be any such men
| and women; and nowl The crowd fell
| back before her; even the yirago was ST.
/ fenced as she looked at her face. The
humorists face was as white, but not as
immoble, as he gasped, 9'Christi-if
don't believe she knew nothin' ofit!'
For moment the full force OF such
/ supposition, with all its poignancy, its
dramatic intensity, and its pataos, pos
sessed the crowd. In the momentary
! clairvoyance of enthusiasm they caught
! glimpse of the truth, and by one of the
! strange reactions of human passion they
only waited for word of appeal or ex-
PLANTATION from her lips to throw them
selves at her feet. Had she simply told
her story they would have believed her;
had she cried, tainted or gone into hyster-
1 ics, they would have pitied her. She did
Leither. Perhaps she thought of neither
/ or indeed of anything that was then be-
fore her eyes. She walked erect TO the
! door and turned upon the threshold. 81
mean what / say" she said calmly. ~
| don't understand you. But whatever just
claims you have upon my husband will
be paid by me-or by his lawyer, Captain
| Poindexter.'
She had lost the sympathy but not the
respect of her hearers. They made way
/ for her with sullen Difference as she passed
/ ont IN the riatf0rTn RUf her adVQrgary