The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1885-05-03
SYLvESTER'S WIFE.

SILVESTEkS WIFE.
After tifln on the second day Of the summer as
sizes for Grquaand West the languid interest
which had hitherto been taken In the proceedings
suddenly developed into something nearly akin TO
excitement. The Jury had lust returned verdict
OF culpable homicide against a dozen out OF some
nfty ShaDgaans who stool acknowledgement, helpless
and frightened, In the Dock charged with particlpa
tion in fatal tribal ARRAY ut the Lone star Diamond
Mining COinpany's compound Tho Judge had duly
sentenced the gaping unfortunates and the jailcfs
were endcavoripg to sort them ont from among their
unConvcted but probably no less guilty comrades
when the Crown Prosecutor, a fresh-colored young
Englishman, with no small Idea OF his own import
ange. turned n MS seat at the barrlsers table and
forward Dirk sylvester. The oncial rose and re-
peated the name aloud; q hum OF expectancy ran
through the little crowd OF spectators and passed on
to the loungcrs outside, who eagerly crowded into
the corrugated iron temple of justice; gentlemen OF
the long robe and members Of the press hurried
from "'rhe Yellow Bar" Just opposite and the stall
wart Zulu, attired In canvas marked with the broad,
o,ack arrow, paused in his monotonous jerking OF
the pupkah cord In order TO catch q glimpse OF
Baas sylvester as he stepped Into the dock.
The prisoner was tall, handsome colonial, with
paeness Of which had been ripcned into swarhness
| by the fierce African sun. He was erect and fear
Ass; ne threw glance OF defiance a. his enemies
the door of a private entrance to the body Of the
| court opened and figure draped In purest white,
| over the shapev shoulders, gllded In softly and
quietly like sunbeam from the free world outside he
and liberty ana hoarseIy wnispered her namethe
| dearest name on earth to him.
| TWAS sylvester's WIFE She responded quickly
with look more eloquent than wOrds and then the
prisoner drew himself up to his full height. folded
hs arms. listened lntently as the clerk OF the court
stering evening in his bachelor days. droned through
the Indictment, and In clear voice replied to the
charge OF willful murder. mot guilty"
The Crown Prosecutor, In slow and measured
tones began to sketch the history OF the crime; the
Judge lomnged back in his chair and lesurely sought
for the clean pages in his record book; the counsel
! for the defense pushed hack his wig from his per-
spiring brow and hunted out reference in an al
spectators hushed their murmuring; the punkan
swayed regularly to and fro overhead; and Syl-
westerns wife, sitting there In the well OF the stiine
court, with her sweet blue eyes rlveted on the
prisoner and her luxuriant locks rising and falling
with the artificial breeze. looked to me even more
| ravished the hearts of susceptible diggers in the
make-shift theatre in the Dutoitspap Road.
nose r pygGhe aays se was a..
theatrical company which, like most other "comhi-
I nations of talent" visiting the diamond fields,
never, as whole, got any further The proprietor
made 30 much money In short season that he left
to assume the lesseeship Of big Australian house,
sheep thus bereft of their shepherd. How dlvinely
she danced and sang how she brought the tears
into the eyes of great rough fellows or made them
shake the rafters with their sonOrous laughter how
she nttered the hearts of the bank magnates and the
Jew diamond merchants, and how she caused the
4
these things written in the tablets Of the memory of
every dweler on the Fields? In the zenith Of her
sne m married. hr b n II ever man
almost to a shadow, and his dark eyes cleaned
dangerously If rival presumed as much as TO speak
to her-and before Dirk came upon the scene there
were rivals In plenty: but though Marie slipped the
champagne they profIered, and even accepted their
diamonds, she laughed openly at all of them. Dirk
| New Rush, and the moment he and Marie met the
host OF more or less hopeful sultcrs saw their
nj ncn Nn hn IN hav fo11 I'm
love with him quite as much as he had with her, and
| would have married him long before she did but
little longer for his benefit AT last the old gentle
man drank himself into the Carnarvon Hospital, and
Tv 10 one r 81 me
berley Cemetery for victims to fever and alcohol;
and then Marie La Cour became to us and all our
They took little villa at the extremity of Dutoit
| span Road, neat veranda-surrounded residence
screened from the dust and heat by tall blue gums
and half covered with creepers and tropical flowers
| After that we saw little OF the once so we-known
or ;ays sW SacheSr az ey
cuded-to witness their bliss, and on such evenings
the great bullfrogs which invaded the garden OF
"The Oasis,' as their place was rightly named
would hush their vile croaking as syivester's wife
trled forth some gay chansonette to the accompani
ment OF the Rroadwood which Dirk specially i'm.
ported for her from Europe or sometimes the happy
pair would ride over to picnic on the banks OF the
meandering Moader River and Mrs Sylvester would
which she could accomplish with the pretty revolver
-ivory-handled and chased with gold-which Drl
one night as strolled into the Albert Saloon for
game Of billiards found knot OF dlggers gathered
who had come to the Fields to look after some claim.
In which II Partisan firm had invested. He was
laughing conceitedly and strosng his carefully
came in and was Immediately hailed by man who
was no friend of his-the manager OF some ground
which was always tumbng Into Dirks claims ant
smashing his gear.
I did not hear exactly what he said, but my atten
at the az and SEIZE Kim Sv b
throat. while his eyes fairly blazed with passion
The Frenchman tried TO elude his grasp, and in
moment Dirk had dashed him to the loor and wal
standing over him, raging with fury.
"You miserable liar and scOundrel," he cried, "i
again I'llk your Then he strobe ont of the sa
loon.
A silence fell on the company standing round tn,
fallen Frenchman, and az he staggered to his fee
and skunk away into a side room, where the ratt
of the dice went on all day long and far into tn
| after him.
met Dirk on several occasions after this curiou
episode, but, as II by mutual consent, we avOide,
the subject one night however, when the moo
was sailing ms}esticaly Overhead and lighting u
with Hood OF lambert light, was riding slow
into camp when I heard the rapid pa:tering of
horse behind ind, me- and turning in the saddle con
without word of greeting plunged into the subjec
uppermost in his mind:
little Frenchmen has been repeating his lies abou
being intimate with my wife in Paris before sh
miniature of her which she gave him set In gold
The unmitigatcd liar! II find time I shall cante
and If he can't produce that souvenir 1t will be har
for him. II he does, 1t won't be in his posessio
"Don't do anything rash, Dirk" said. "Remenl
ber there is another to think Of besides YOURSELF
"That's what 1t Is that bothers me. old fellow" II
| along by my side, he told me his trouble. IL ar
, peared that his wife denied any intimacy with tn
Frenchman, hut stated that her father tried to fore
his attentions on her in the old DAYS when he was
haf-starved ballet-master and she struggling al
az Psrs theatre ns MI TN mn1rs was
myth, but was bent on finding out whether II wa
: or not.
teniion to my entreaties to him to proceed with cal
ton.
words, shouted to me as he galloped OF at the turn
r Ing for "The Oasis" were
az shan't trouble the little Frenchman to-ngh
| but let him Keep ont OF my ay!'
The next morning the body OF Jules Lacroix VIZ
found lying on the floor of his cabin, with an ug
tightly part OF a gold chain and the swivel OF a mini
!. ture There was the fresh spoor of horse not Il
from the door. and the bullet found In the brain Mite
II was not long before Dirk sin custody and II
D. case looked black against him. His threat to sho
demean0r In Ialliss bar at the Pan, when the news
The Frenchman's reiterated assertion OF former i
llmHcy Win MS WIG Whb Drought 10 WIS col
mented upon, and the crcumstantial evidence WI
2 strong.
AS for Dirk himself, he utterly denied going ne
the Frenchmans cabin on the night OF the mnrde
and he accounted for the fact that he did not rea,
home for nearly an hour after leaving me by sayiI
that, feeling hot and excited, he went for scamp
over the yeldt, and the beauty Of the m0onlit mig
caused him to stay ont longer than he intended.
~, He pressed me TO tell all knew about the matte
and reluctantly did 80, making the most OF his e
pressed determination on leaving me not TO visit Il
Frenchman that evening.
The trial dragged on MI late In the night, and
10 O'Clock the jury came into the court with verdi
OF Guilty"
- I shall never forget the look OF mute agony on
wife face Dirk stood up To he sentenced 10 deaf
or the calm, proud way In which he heard his doo
W "Mark my words, boys, sylyester's wife will .
81 him reprieved."
ed the speaker was lounging at the counter of /
)" "Yellow Bar, In the Transvaal Road, and his wor
- evoked murmur of sympathy.
Ever since the conviction efforts had been made
all directions TO prevent the dread sentence Of I
law being carried out, and Sylvesters wife had /
come the heroine OF the camp There were II
who did not believe that he shot the Frenchmap, /
RI. why should he die for an offense which was llp
IN compared with some which lay quite easily on I
mt consciences of not few OF the Inhabitants OF III
Ia berleyf
as Az the hum of approval subsidized some one direct