The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-12-26

one small. rough tavern, DeHtlluS the
Ecluster Of houses and cabins dignifled
by the name of a town, but the place
was growing and had some good lum-
Der interests and was looked upon as
a prosperous pioneer settlement. The
tavern was called the Orient by that
peculiar ldioSyncraSy of nomenclature
which distinguishes the rising west. 1t
was here that the night stage coach
stopped on it's way from Lapeer, where
1t had met the train from the ease
and left one passenger. a young woman
gave evidence of wealth and refine
ment. Something in her air bespoke
Boston culture; perhaps 1T was an
underlined touch of severity that was
expressed both in her dress and in her
personal repression, or in her absolute
control of all emotion, as she entered
the hotel alone, a stranger coming on
most unpleasant errand, the out
come OF which was to affect her whole
future life
Her satchel was taken by a, grinning
factotum of the house, who showed
her into the parlor while he went to
secure a room for her.
The parlor of the hotel was typical
| OF the prosperity of the town. It had
haircloth suite and a tall stove that
was nearly all nickel. There were
several lace-shrouded windows, and at
one of these a girl was sitting. She
stared at the woman entering the room
and advanced to meet her.
The girl was still in her teens, but
looked if some great sorrow had over
taken her. Her eyes were red with
weeping. Her pretty pink cheeks
looked shrivelied and wan in the morn
ing light Her blonde hair was care
iessly arranged. She did not offer any
form Of recognition to the stranger,
but asked in an emotional voice:
You have come to save faim?"
L am his wife, said the newcomer.
in cold, incisive tones; who are you?"
l-l-thougft I was his wife; we
We're SO happy and he never told me of
any other. Oh, 1 can not believe it.
He was too good. too kind to deceive
me- There must be some dreadful mis-
take" =
THE court will decide that" replied
| the other woman, eoldly
but you will save him. You have
money and can buy off these people.
You will not let him be kept in jail
when ne loved me so much and we
were so happy"
| Peace, girl! He never loved you.
and you-how dare you talk to me of
loving the man who is my husband I
dare say he was taken with your baby
gone
through any mock ceremony of mar
riage can not believe. If he did, it is
for that he will go to prison, and you
are the cause of it,
That | am not, cruel woman. l tell
you he loved me and loved llinl-welI
enough to go away and never look
upon his dear face again if you will
| save him from the punishment you
have brought. upon him. Is that not
proof that I love him ~
There was no emotion visible upon
the face of the woman appealed to.
except more determined tension of
the muscles. Her eyes held no tears.
nor was there any tremor in her voice.
She turned upon the girl:
Have you no shame that you openly
avow your love for a man to whom
you have no claim? How will you an
swer to the court for the position YOU
have taken? Now, at least, YOU are
not deceived, since your victim is be-
hind the bars of the county iaiI.''
Who placed him there? Not I, proud
woman, but yoU-you yourself, who
are his legal wife as you say-while 7
l-oh, If | could die to save you from
this, my darling, would be glad
thankful for the ,privflegel'
Oh" said the other in a repressed
voice and raising a clenched hand
small, but like a hand of iron, as if
she would strike the other woman to
the earth. But she did not strike. That
was beneath her dignity, to touch such
a. creature as this. And the girl, who
had dreamed every hour of her life
away beneath her fathers roof, stood
facing her with Httle care whether the
blow fell or noti q In hei, heart were
only love and conscious innocence at
that moment. That she had been cru
ely deceived did not seem to matter.
in view of. the greater calamity, the
loss of her love-
There was a consultation of law
yers, in which the real wife gave her
credentials and produced her certifi-
cate of honorable marriage with the
man accused ofa ssfganiy, deciding the
criminality of THE prisoner before the
judge of jury should have the case.
The repudiated- WIFE the girl with
the pink cheeks and. blonde hair. who
had only the characteristic of great
loving, bethought Her of way to save
the man who was more to her than
home or heaven at that moment. She
knelt at the tall stove and opened it's
shining door. There was a temporary
Furnaces within, and into it she dropped
| a folded paper.
There! No deed of mine shall send
him to a prison cell l will bear the
blame, the shame of it ALL
There was no courthouse in White
side, but in lieu of It there was a bar
racks of a place where justice was ad-
ministered by the most informal
methods. The judge was seated in a
| chair that tipped back cornfortab 1v
against the wall The two LAWYERS.
who We're more accustomed to horse
thieves than more polite clients, were
! making a pretense of being busy. They
had each an itching palm for money
fhnU dn1 70 !.
possible with the prisoner, who was
not as yet proved guilty. Their palms
mad been crossed with silver in the
shape of retaining fees.
| The two women came into court
separately. Each was met hy a. law
yer and a whispered conference was
held. VOC
The wife LOOKED calm and RICHLY
coid@ The other woman had recovered
her color and spirits. Her eyes swan
IN tears while her lips were 'wItaathed
IN smiles. She was telling a story to
the lawyer that contradicted all her
evidence, but she was There. she said
70 tell the truth, the whole truth. and
notning but the truth. She was ready
70 perJure herself with a divine con-
The officers were ordered by the
! courto to bring in the prisoner and
place him at the bar. e'--o'
| lawyer u ner
VIII he be able to leave me on the
evening tramp S''e
Doubtless, madam. The confession
OF the other woman has virtually set
Tnen the woman of ice melted A
single tear ran down her face and fell
on her wedding ring. She brushed If
CIR hastily as an evidence of weak
ness.
| A deputy entered and addressed tbe