The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-25

.. more tHan anytHlnS Ne cOulu nave uOHe,
| because 1 had no way Of contradicting it,
| and it seemed to gain credence with Ber-
tina and her folks. wish had killed him
| before the devil ever put such thought in
| his head"
Here the old mans eyes glowed wildly
| for a moment and he struck the table a
terrible blow, making the frail wine-glasses
SILVER themselves to atoms on the floor.
"When that sort of thing gets out an a
| man in such place, no matter If 1t is an
Internal lie, it sticks toa man, and people
can't help regarding you with caution.
think could nave persuaded Bertha that
| it was not true, but her sisters became so
alarmed that they fought shy OF me after
| that and kept her away from me.
"If there is a God, Harry" said the old
man, appeaIingly. "do you think he
ought to have allowed that mans lie to
| make two lives miserable2
well, time went on and could see that
! they had closed Bertha's heart against
| me, but had at least the satisfaction OF
knowing that the superintendent was
| making but little Roadway in her affec-
| tons, though I found out that the sisters
| urged her to accept him.
Il was settling down to grim sort of
despair. but still hoping that something
would turn in my favor, when what might
| we'll be called bombshell fell right at my
| feet.
'On entering the little dining-room OF
our clearinghouse one evening saw a
woman in black sitting alone at one OF
the tables.
G OF rail orc
camp, we generally looked at one with
some curiosity. Before taking my chair l
looked over at her for moment with
what might be taken as surprise.
81 can see them all now seated at the
different tables, and, to my surprise, the
superintendent was at the sane table with
Bertha and her sisters, which was not
| usual. He was there, of course, as part OF
| the programme. which I found out
afterward.
"WelI, the moment that woman in black
| laid her eyes on me she looked toward the
| table W here Bertha and the others were
seated, and then rushed at me, flinging
her arms around my neck in a hysterical
| fashion and calling me her dear hus-
band
"You may fancy my rage and disgust. !
| flung her off. and the truth came to me
like fash of light. The ruffian had put
up this Job to complete my disgrace in
Bertha's eyes. He must have paid this
miserable woman and brought her from
some of the towns to personate a wife that
never possessed.
''Well, to make long story short, he
kept her around the camp long enough to
prosecute me and make people believe
| that l was her husband, and, of course, a
| brute of the worst type, and then made a
| Good Samaritan of himself by raising q
subscription for her and sending her
away.
1T was too much for me, Harry. I had
no more PATIENCE felt more like devil
| than man. l fixed up my affairs and
| took the first opportunity to shoot the
man who made wreck of my life. I shot
| him dead, and then spent six miserable
years in prison. would have been glad
to die, but it did not come, and when
came out 1 found that Bertha and her
| sisters had gone away, no one knew
where. | have searched, and left no stone
unturned to find them, but they disap-
peared as if the earth had swallowed
| them.
"Then all my love seemed to have
! turned to bitter hate. l thought all
| women heartless. / was fool enough to
think that some OF them would come to
| me during those wretched six years, but
no one OF them had faith enough IN me to
do so, although they never had any better
proof of my guilt than the tricks of bad
| man and worthless woman. For long
| time felt like a man with curse written
on his face, and knew it had reached my
heart. That little girls face made me feel
| less bitter he added, "but at first sight
hated her along with the rest.
''The pain is not as keen as it was,
Harry" be said after pause. "Age dulls
all things. l made heaps OF money, but it
never brought me any happiness. Some
thing tells me I shall see Bertha again. /
| feel that she is alive. would give every
cent I possess and begin the world again
as beggar if 1 could only find her. I
| thought | hated them all, but the little
one somehow"
| He bid me good might in voice that
sounded differently from the old tone, and
1 hurried away with queer sensation that
I think is the precursor of tears. The
troubles of the young do not affect me as
do those of old age. In youth sorrow
itself is sweet and there is hope ahead
but this old mans sorrow, for which there
| seemed little panacea except the grave,
filled me with unutterable pity for him,
for, old though he was, his love for that
| woman was as young as ever.
You'll think I'm 'softy," but by George
the worst OF us have soft side to our giz-
yards at times.
I lost sight of my old friend for nearly a
week and was beginning to feel little
alarmed about him, when one morning I
found letter from him on my desk. He
asked me to call at a number on Geary
street on certain evening, which 1 did,
when 10 and behold, the door was opened
for me by the little newspaper vendor, now
very bright and clean and exceedingly
pretty. She received me with childish
| warmth and excitement and led me to a
room, and there, sure enough, sat my old
friend Moneygrubber by the bedside of a
very delicate-looking little woman, who
could see, in spite of the traces of sick
ness and poverty, was the Bertha of his
dreams.
He had found her through our little
L 4