New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1895-05-08


way e him il spite q the guasds Is
was the little phsnist u wife. who years.
before had been his father i housed eepar.
who had bean present when he first
opened his eyes On the world.
poor boyi MY poor boy r. abe
said, olasping his manacled hands.
He kissed her on the cheek, without 8
word, and hurried on into his prison.
and the good world was shut out. IN
prison he refused to see all visitors, even
Medalli lion, the little chemist, q wife.
and the good Father Fabre Letters,
too, he refused to accept and read. He
had no contact, wished no contact, with
the outer world, but lived his hard,
lonely life by himself, silent, brooding,
studious, for now books were to him a
pleasure. And he wrote, too, but never
to any soul outside the prison This life
had nothing to do with the world from
which he came, and he meant thatsita
should not. s5f
So perfect a prisoner was he that the
.warders protected him from visitors,
and he was never but once or twice
stared at, and then be saw nothing,
heard nothing. He had entered his pris-
on a wild, excitable, dissipated youth,
and he had become a mature, quiet,
cold, brooding man. Five years had
done the work Of 90. He lived the life
of the prison, yet he was not a part Of
it, nor yet was he a part Of the world
without. And the face Of the woman
who looked at him SO strangely in the
courtroom haunted him now and them,
SO that at last it became a part Of his.
real life, which was liysd largely at the
window, where he looked out at the.
pigeons on the roof Of the hospital.
She was sorry for me, 2 he said many
a time to himself. He was sorry for
himself, and he was shaken with misery
often, SO that he rocked to and fro as he
sat on his bed, and a warder heard him
cry out even in the last days of his inn
prisonment, 80 God, canst thou do
everything but speak?" And again,
''That hour, the memory Of that hour,
IN exchange for my ruined life!''
But there were times when he was
very quiet and calm, and he spent hours
in watching the ways of the pigeons,
and he was doing this one day when the
jailer came to him and said: I'm. Con
verse, you are free. The governor has
cut off five years from your SENTENCE
Then he was told that people were
waiting without--Medallion and the
little chemist and his wife and others
more important he would not go
to meet them, and he stepped into the
old world alone at dawn the next morn
ing and looked out upon a still, sleep
ing town. And there was no one stir
ring in the place, but suddenly there
stood before him a woman, who had
watched by the prison gates all night,
and she put outa hand in entreaty and
said, with breaking voice, 'sYou are
free at last!' . Il
!. He rememb ered her-the woman who
had looked at him SO anxiously and sor-
rowfully in the courtroom. He looked
at her kindly now, yet he was dazed,
too, with his new advent to freedom
and the good earth. .s
why did you come to meet me?'' be
asked.
I was sorry for you, . she replied.
But that is no reason. :
IT once committed q crime she
whispered, with shrinking bitterness.
That's bad, . he said. .'Were you
s.ts .+s s +. II:
She shook her head and answered,
''No. y
That's worse" he added. q
II let some one else take my crime
upon him and be punished for it, she
said, an agony in her eyes. ID
why was that?'' he said, looking at
her intently.
IT had little child, twas her reply.
And the other?"
He was alone in the world, ,, she
said. .l.s .;..s.s B. S
A bitter smile crept to his lips, and
his eyes were all afre, for a strange
thought came to him. Then he shut his
eyes, and when he opened them again
discovery was in them.
II remember you now, !" he said. 81
remember I walked and saw you looking
at me that night! Who was the father
Of your child?'' he asked eagerly.
Jean Vigot, she replied. "He left
me to starve.'
81 am innocent Of his deathl'' he said
quietly and gladly. Y
She nodded. He was silent for a mo-
ment. s
81 The child still lives?'' he asked.
She nodded again. well, let it be so, .
he added. But you owe me five years
and a lost reputation. =
+ wish to God / could give them
back, : she cried, tears streaming down
her cheeks 1T was for my child, he
was SO youngl''
1t can't be helped now, I" he said,
and he turned away from her.
Won't you forgive me? she asked
bitterly. .. 5 =s
Won't You give me back those five
years?" he replied meaningly.
eff the child did not need me, u
would give my life, 8 shesanswered. 81
owe it to you. 8 Her haggard, hunted
face made him sorry. He, too, had snf-
fered.
It's all right, s he answered gently.
s'T axe care of your chill d. IS
And again he moved away from her
IlI ~ ~ IL