The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-06-05
! MARRIAGE OF VENGEANCE

q cnafSeu prisoners alQ society, when
{ nOng other applicants, was one whom
: ] will call John Lock. He was still a
ing man, his age being not more
IN thirty-three, and he had been
c Ivicted of the serious offense of at
{ mpting to poison his wife and con-
mned to ten years penal servitude.
| was certified as "well educated, F"
4 i in prison he had earned all that
Y Is possible in the way of gOod-con-
4 ct money. He was willing to under
[, 'ls any kind of work by which he
n ght get an honest living, and he was
told to call again on the following
Saturday,. On that day | CHANGED to
Loo; in at the office again, and shortly
afterward John Lock appeared. lie
was much altered, and looked as
though he had been much frightened.
Recognizing the Secretary at his desk,
he hastily remarked: Il beg your
paIdon. sir. can't take a job in Lon
don. wish to he sent away, if you
please" "TO be sent where ~
Anywhere" answered John Lock,
desperately, so that it is far enough
far away as the money due to me will
pay passage to. | don't want any
other clothes. sir: these | have on will
do. | only want to get away" "TO
get away from whom ?" From my
vile. sir. She might have been dead
f.: all | know to the contrary, but she
came to me in the street sudden as n
ghost not two hours since. and she has
opened my eyes. / wouldn't have he
| licved that a woman could have so
much of the devil in her" "The fact
is" remarked the Secretary, "yOu have
been looking for your wife and have
found her, and you wish her to live
with You again, and she refuses"
Live with her again ~ the man eX-
ella med with horror. What! after
all she has revealed to me? Good
Lord, no! shall kill her if remain
where she can put herself in my way.
She is mad, | believe. though she does
not look or speak like il. She wishes
me- to Kill her. She swearS that she
will haunt and harasS me until | do it,
so that ! shall end my life on the gal
lows. And so it will be, feel sure and
cCi tain of it. if am not able to put the
SCI wide between us, so that we cannot
conc together again. For the good
IOlFS sake, gentlemen ~ and he
elias ped his hands together and spoke as
hCSeeChingly as man begging for his
life. don't refuse me what | am ask
ing" There were no more prisoners to
he attended to at the Offie that morn
ing. AMI | believe more to crafty me
than that he himself felt particularly
curious in the matter, Mr.. Secretary
remarked, You will have first to make
out that yours was case for uneXcep-
ti0nal treatment To what do you
attribute your wife's bitter resentful-
ness?' Il think she must be mad,
gentlemen" returned John Lock.
Then, after few moments of ponder
ing whe'hCr he Sh aid SGeak ont, and,
if so, +" what cS'enr, he promptly -
solved to tell the whole story. = | Can
not account for it in any other way,
but if YOU will kind, have patience to
listen tC me you will he able to Judge
for yourselves.
" | will be as. brief as l can, but |
must go back % the time when we
were both single, and when she--my |
wife. | mean-was sweethearting with |
fellOw-Clerk of mine in the same |
ofice. young fellow named Taplow.
and we were much of an age. Caroline |
Speed was my wife's maiden name. |
- we were all three members of |
u - httHdHlCS lHSllJuIc, anu UndJ |
is how we made acquaintance. | was
in love with Carry from the first time
saw her. | am not of very bold
disposition, and | kept my feelings to
myself for long time. and until |
thought that / might speak,; and when
! did she laughed in disdainful sort
q way. and said that she must refer
mo to Seth TaplOw, my fellOw-clerk.
! never for moment dreamed that
there was ANYTHING between them. but
when | asked Taplow he informed me
Otherwise. They had been keeping
company in a quiet way. he told me.
Tor six months or more, and it was set
led that they should get married as
SgOn as he had saved money to make n
Cccent home for her. He was getting
only 80 pound sterling year. and my
salary was 1870 pounds sterling. and
feeling, perhaps. a little spiteful of
what he had told me, remarked: q
hope yOG are in no hurry. Seth. How
! ng do you think it will take you to
save enough to buy decent home,
when at the outside YOU can't put mp
mnre than ten shillings week p ;
Well said he q have let you into {
che secret, Jack, and | will tell you
another, but you must promise to keep
il dark, for it would be the sack at a !
notice if it came to the gov
Q nor's ears. | have been doing bit
betting on horse-raceS, and Eve Z
cen lucky at it. But you mustn't sup I
OSe that am such a fool as to believe 2
u it as means of increasing ones in
me. have won few pounds
2 ready, and | mean to give them
harce to win a little more at all t
entS. But "never no more" after t
= are married, | promise you that a
ell, gentlemen" continued Jacl: t
'ck, moiStening his dry lips with his a
ngue-tip, and with anything but a |
&c look in his eyes, knowing me '
.lv as what appear as on your books. n
II may not believe what am going Z
say. / admit that | felt the dis d
pointmect cruelty, and none the less. n
u may depend, because it was one C
nom | might call my bosom friend a
tho had occasioned it. But | felt $
ore on account of the second secret d
eth had cOnfided to me. | said moth
g about it to him at the time. but o
: at same night | wrote him a letter, il
egSing and implOring him to abandon q
ambling, which would be sure. b
,oner or later. to end in his ruin. Nor n
Id think it my duty to keep the 81
or>e-betting secret quite so close as | II
ld promised to. | went frank and q
iSinterested &c Miss Speed and told p
er about it. ] showed her the letter |;
eth had sent me in reply to mine, and a
n which he said it was too late for me ',
. preach for that week anyhow. as he a
ad nut pound sterling on a horse for k
he st. Leger. and hoped to win 30 n
0unds sterling by it. | pointed out t.
0 her the risk she was running in mar iaI
wing such man. She always was ii
nick tempered. | was cowardly. mean d