Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1893-10-03
CHAPTER VIII,

As soon as he had sufficiently recov-
cred from the first sickening horror OF
that terrible scene, Jake took the two
bodies up reverently from the ground
in his arms and laid them side on tho
bed in their own bedroom. Then he
knelt down like child beside the bed
and prayed. Words came to him in his
need. He prayed long and fervently,
and earnestly.
But he didn't pray for mercy or for
giveness for himself. 1t was not Of
himself or his own selfish fears for this
world or the next that Jake was think
ing. He prayed for the souls of Tom
and Lucy. He wasn't theologian
enough to know in his simple mind that
in the particular church of which he
reckoned himself to be an outlying
member prayers for the dead are dis
countenanced and discouraged. He fol-
lowed the dictates of his own inner
most instinct; He prayed that Tom
and Lucy might henceforth have rest,
and might forgive him this wicked
wrong he had done them. He prayed
that the baby-Lucy's baby-might DO
spared to live as its mother would have
wished it, and grow up to happier life
than hers had been. He prayed with
great beads Of dew standing on his cold
brow in the agony of his repentant re-
morse and contrition. Last of all he
prayed merciful heaven, in simple
but heartfelt words, to be pleased to
lay upon him such condign punishment
as the magnitude of the great crime he
had just committed most duly merited.
Then, conscious Of deep and abid-
ing guilt that made him unworthy to
kneel any longer beside the corpse Of
that pure and beautiful woman whom
he had loved and murdered, he rose
once more, with staggering steps went
out into the snow alone with his crime
and dug deep hole with pick in the
frozen drift to receive those two pite-
GUS bleeding bodies. He couldn't bury
them, to be sure, for the ground was
too hard; but he could lay them up
there safe in the preserving snow, and
pour water to freeze above their tempo
rary grave, so that they might lie there
in safety from the wolves and the foxes
till the thaw set in, when men from the
fort would come over and take them to
NitchegOuna cemetery. There Lucy
should lie in holy earth till the Day Of
Judgment.
When the grave was dug he carried
out those two tenderly once more in his
arms. and laid them side by side with
their faces turned towards one another
in the shallow trench he had thus made
to receive them. Over the top of the
trench he poured buckets of water, and
in half an hour, SO intense was the cold
on that bitter, glittering January day,
the whole mass was frozen stiff and
solid together as granite column.
Aftei that Jake took Lucy's little
book from her leather desk, and slowly
and solemnly, in spite Of many STUN
bling efforts, read over the grave, with
blending tears and choking voice, the
Church of England burial service. At
times his tongue failed him and his lips
quivered, but still he went on alone In
the clearing. Come what might, Lucy
should not be buried without a Chris
tian burial. AS he finished, he flung
himself passionately on the grave, and
cried out aloud from his very heart in
a broken voice: Tom, Tom, was your
friend, and killed you! 1 killed you'll"
But he didn't dare to say last fare
we'll to Lucy. Murderer that he was,
he was unworthy to speak to her.
From the grave Jake turned once
more, awful in his loneliness, into the
bare hut where the baby lay crying
and stretching out its nine-months
arms for its dead mother. Jake took
1t up in his fatherly hands and kissed
it, as he had kissed it many times be-
fore, and mixed it some food with
broken biscuit and condensed milk,
and fed it with q spoon till it smiled
and was happy.
Then he wrapped the baby in a thick,
warm skin, rolled in her dress all
their remaining bank-notes, strapped
his knapsack on his back, full of con-
densed milk, fastened the snow-shoes on
his weary feet, and set out through the
snow with the baby in his arms, pressed
close to his breast; in q paroxysm of
remorse, to give himself up for the
double murder to the authorities at
Ottawa.
THE END
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