San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-12-06
THE END OF HIS TIME.
By JAMES KNAPP REEVE.

OppOSlUeS, the eluer representing Inc ldV
ter and more fortunate class. From this
it must not be inferred, however, that
prison life and discipline sat lightly upon
him. Yet it was not in regard to its
physical aspects that he was compelled
to summon all his fortitude in order to
endure without complaint. 1t was only
when he found himself reduced TO a
mere machine with a number, robbed of
his own volition in even the commonest
acts of life, his days and hours and min
utes ordered at the will of another, that
the spirit of revolt surged up in his
breast. But Chalmers recognized the
folly of such thoughts and curbed them
with a masterful will. In the whole
prison there was no man who seemed to
fall more easily into his place. Even the
.'lockstep" seemed natural enough to
him. Have you ever seen the lockstep?
Have you ever seen chain each link of
which was human being? Have you
ever seen some fifteen hundred men,
bound together with invisible cords,
march as one man?
You say that you have seen your crack
regiment on dress parade! They drill
like the awkward squad or a band of
country militia compared with this
striped coil that winds through the
prison yard.
Each link ia this coil has allotted to it
some fifteen inches of space. This link
has two hands. and they are placed
squarely on the shoulders of the link in
front. The link has two feet, and they
rise, swing forward and fall precisely
in line and time with those of the link
in front, and they fail precisely in the
place from which those of The link in
front have been lifted. Two eyes has
this link, but ,ney must glance neither
to right nor 10 left; in the hollow of the
neck of the link in front must their gaze
rest, and only there. A lifted hand, a
hating foot, restless eye and the link
is marked.
All! excellent device is the lockstep.
The link forgets that it was once man,
that it has a soul, that it has Tor did
have) volition. 1t forgets that it may
riot, burn, kill; that it may hew down
men and walls that stand between it
and freedom. An excellent device.
But for George Chalmers there was
none of this. At his brothers word he
had gone out from the prison free
man. Armed with his brothers letters,
furnished with his brothers money,
dressed in his brothers clothes, equipped
even with his brothers name, a plain
and easy path of life was opened out be-
fore him. He went out with good re-
solves, made the more serious and
thoughtful as the full measure of his
brothers sacrifice forced itself upon
him-more serious perhaps than he had
ever been before in all his life.
The consciousness of this sacrifice, the
immensely of it, grew upon him; at first
it had been so sudden that he did not
realize it all. He had thought that
maybe Ogden had some plan by which
he would be released when it was found
that the real criminal was gone. When
he did realize, as he finally came to do
in little while, he could almost have
gone back; but to that point he could
not quite bring himself. But he deter
mined to do his best to follow Ogden's
advice, and so to merit, as well as he
could, all that had been done for him.
In Mexico he found little trouble in es-
tablishing himself. There were many
schemes afoat-mining, railroads, colo.
nization-and his knowledge of banking
and finance stood him in good stead.
He took hold of safe schemes, put money
into them, hoated the bonds and stock,
and was soon recognized as valuable
man in promoting matters of value in
the internal development of the newly
awakening republic. Into these matters
he threw himself with all his ardor, try
ing to put the past behind him. But it
would not wholly down. He often
thought of Lima Tenant and would
have written to her had it not been fol
Og'len's injunction. He had wholly given
her up now; in fact had done so in his
own mind from the day of his arrest, fol-
he knew that sooner or later she mus
know the whole sstory, and he under
stood the depth and force of her natur,
we'll enough to know that it would b,
all over between them when that tim,
came. She might forgive much, but sh
would not forgive him Leonie. Itmigh
be best if he should write now and tel
her all-about Ogden as well as abou
himself. He honestly hoped that sh
might come to care for Ogden, now tina
he was out of the way.
If she knew what Ogden had done
and what he himself had permitted-pel
haps it would help, and it would b
some recompense. So, taking his prom
Use to Ogden as an excuse, he putt o
from day to day and it became harde
and harder to do. She had loved hin
once, and now to belittle himself befol
her thus, and show how unworthy /