The morning call., 1892-06-12

tiary and by many citizens All this VAS
unknown to Trusty. who went upon his
way as before. The brown suit was worn
out, and one beautiful spring morning
Trusty appeared. ready for his weekly trip
to town, wearing light gray clothes and
straw hat.
Trusty no longer grew pale as he drove
into town, and he looked right and left
about him. The violence Of temptation was
gone. He still attended swiftly TO his WORK.
talking unnecessarily to no man, but he no
longer feared himself. The express train
was two hours behind time, and TrHsty tel
eDhoned six miles out to the prison whether
he shOul wait for it, and the answer came
back:
"Wait until the express train comes"
He was a free man for two hours y he
took the nUlse to stable, where he usually
had it fed, and then started out for a walk.
How strange, wild, exciting 1t was. The
morning was balmy, and the great elm
trees that nearly met across the street OF
the country town made a fair, green arch
way, under which he walked The intoXi-
cation Of freedom was in his blood. de
knew be could never really be free again,
except for stray hours like this, in long
stretches of years, and therefore would he
drink his bliss drop by drop that not one
should be lost. He strOlled along past the
pretty, galleTied houses, with open win
dows and green vines climbing over them.
past the CAV shops, down into a shady,
shabby street, where the houses were APP
parently uninhabited, and the only sound
was the rustling of the elm trees overhead.
And midway down the street was little
half door, and out of ii leaned a blOwsy
golden head and two reckless, beautiful
blue eyes watched him as he walked
through the dappled shadows of the street.
Hello. my sweetheart cried a merry
voice TO him.
TruSty started az If he had been shot;
then, when his eyes fixed themselves on the
reckless blue ones he could not take them
away.
"Why so solemn ?" she asked bending
still farther out ana pushing her hair back
with two white hands.
Trusty could not speak; but not so Miss
Blue Eyes.
Have you seen the great company of
Swedish lady dancers at the Terpsich0rean
Hall? Well, you ought to. I'm the boss
lady dancer. and you bet | can make the
chandeliers ring"
Not a word spoke Trusty. She and he
lived in different worlds, and how could he
tell her that never again, so long as he
lived, would he ever see anything but the
Nalstta peDitentaIy? However, Miss Blue
Eyes was not bashtul and did most Of the
talking. 1t was nearly eight years since he
had looked into any woman's eyes, except
the dOvelike ones of the WaTden'S wife, but
something in this yellow-haired girl re-
minded him of the little girl that died. He
did not know how long he Stad in Para
disc, for it was Paradise.
But when the girl wondered why he should
be going, he felt as If demons were laughing
al him. when he said. tremblingly, he was
obliged to 90. a change, however, had come
over her Her eyes had lost their b0ldness,
and she did not call him Sweetheart"
The infinite respect with which he treated
her was precious. and all the wOmanhoOd
within her rose up In gratitude. She eX-
planned to him care reiully that Terpschorean
Hall had a license, and as many ladies as
gentlemen met there TO drink beer and other
beverages and TO watch the Swedish dancers
caper; and when she shook hands with him
she east down her eyes mOdestly. AS for
HIM he trembled like leaf at the touch of
her hand, aud then strobe off and got the
horse and buggy and parcels and drove back
like madman, and for the first time in five
years that night the guard reported that
ITUSty had another one Of his almost for
gotten screaming spells.
It came about so that every Saturday
Trusty walked or drove down the shady,
shabby street, and by degrees the ihtoler-
able burden Of knowing that he was pen-
tertiary convict, and she just one day find
il out grew heavier. From the first he had
meant 10 tell her, but he found that not to
save his life could he do il. One day in
midsummer, as he appeared at the end of
the street, he saw the blind pulled down
he had never crossed the threshold of the
house-and the girl keeping back in the
shadow. When he came close to the little
half door and saw her, her eyes were red
with crying and her tangled yellow hair
was more tOused than usual, but Trusty
thought he had never seen so beautiful an
expression on any human face as when she
seized his hand and said brokenly 81 know
i'll know ii. The eXpTessman gave you
away, and he said as you were the best iel-
low that ever lived II you did wear striped
clothes half the time; and though I'll lose
my place and never get another one if Pm
seen with you and be turned out OF this
house, I'll never-never-"
She burst into fresh sobs and tears. AS
for Irusty, the tumult In his soul turned
his face ashy and made him cling weakly
to the jamb Of the door for support. She
knew be was an outcast and yet she did
not dPEpise him-She was like the Warden's
wife and the little girl that was dead. He
thought at that moment that ali women
were angels
You see. he cried under his breath, but
ghsping in his eagerness to be believed, Il
had nothing on earth bnt that dOg-nOthing
on earth. and that other fellow killed him.
But | wont say forgive him for ii yet He
did nothing but torment that dog, and when
the poor thing ID come up to me and whine,
and look at me in his dumb. affectionate
way, like he was saying, Please help me-
il just maddened me against the fellow that
had Scared him all oVeT and made him a
mock. And the awful day-the awful
day seen him and caught him gouging
the dogs eyes cut. and went for him, and
/ beat him as long as | could standard
when / got up he didn't move. and he died
that night. But before they knew how bad
hurt he was everybody said | was right 10
give thH brute licking, But-but-"
He broke down completely. The girl
drew him hastily within the dark, shabby
little room. and he threw himself upon his
knees and buried his head in her lap while
he wept, and then rose IN. feeling as If
there was a new heaven and new earth.
Never mind" she said, Il believe you,
and If we could get away from here to some
place where nobody knows"
At that Trusty gazed at her dumbly,
"Don't You know" he stammered pres
emily, that I'm out-that I'm oct on my
honor? The Warden takes my word every
time / leave the prison grounds She was
mercifu and womanly and ready to sac
Tidce herself, but she could not rise TO the
height of abstract honor. The fact was she
had never heard Of such a thing before.
But Trusty, without waiting to hear more,
fled away from her, and, as usual. drove
madly back to the pententiary. Before that
he had been a perfect type of physical
health and beauty, bat afterward he grew
so thin and haggard and wild-eyed that the
Warden's wife ehded him gently for work
ing too hard. But what made his nights
sleepless and his days a nightmare was that
every Saturday the temg ter said:
IF we could get away we could be to-
gelher and live respectable the rest Of our
lives and nobody would ever be the wiser,
and we'd be prosperous, too, because | be-
lieye you are as good a man as walks, and
amt very good, but | want to be, and don't
drink beer any more"
"But my word?" he would say, at first
sternly, then feebly.
Il love you mOre'n your word" she would
answer, with all her soul shining out of her
eyes.
In the autumn his downfall came. Early
one morning Trusty took the Warden's
buggy and his fastest horse and drove into
town, stopping Mt the express Office 10 tele-
phone that a certain piece of work to be
called for would not be ready until the
afternoon about 4, and should lie wait for ii,
and the Warden telephoned back: