The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-10

eye. Sir" 1 exclaimed, forgetting
caution and springing so suddenly be-
fore him that he threw up his hands as
though sand-ba gging were his nightly
cross, Il beg your pardon" 1 said hum
bly,, seeing how it was with him, and
then / asked for what l wanted, and
poured into his reluctant ear such a
tale of love and romance that, had he
contained a divine fire, he must newt
ably have burst into flame on the spot.
As it was, however, he stood and eyed
me with cold, dull eye, an eye filmy
from loss of sleep, a suspicious eye,
that did not twinkle at my amorous
tale, and when / had finished said
merely, You have been fighting, 1 see,'
and looked at my bandages with a self
righteous air which sat i'll on so belated
a reveler.
And how could it be otherwise?' 1
asked plaintiyely Il could not get
her peaceably.' For I had mixed up
romantic elopement with certain ele-
ments of highway robbery until 1
thought the tale sufficiently highly
spiced. But. I beg of you, do not de-
tain me. Surely you can direct me to
the proper officer without suffering any
strain upon your principles"
Colby again did his dull eye scan
me, up and down, and all about, to rest
at last upon the diamond scarf pin 1
MOIt din JtNtitI, 1T
at last, indifferently, but his eye spoke
for him with an eloquence 1 did not
attempt to misunderstood.
Indeed" l exclaimed joyously, "if
that be the case, perhaps you can esti-
mate for me the value of this bauble,"
and 1 plucked off the gem, forcing it
upon him with an arch and meaning
glance, while 1 secretly yearned TO boot
him for cut-throat. But no sooner
had the thing been done than / found
the price beggarly compared with the
comfort it brought to my jaded ener-
gies ! was no longer q rudderless ship
drifting about at the mercy of every
capricious wave. / was an important
event, something with a purpose; a
man who paid his way.
l would give a connected account of
The next hours work were the thing
possible: but so confused are the rcd
events in my mind with certain vague
maginings that / dare not vouch for
what might be called the plain facts.
We walked, 1 should say, a great num-
Der of miles, though they have been
reduced by some to barely as many
blocks, and stopped at several houses
where people, men mostly, in night
caps, I think, though 1 will not insist
on the night-caps, came and peered at
us through cracks in the doors, and
swore at us first, and then talked more
mildly, and at most of the houses L
kept telling my name until they stop
ped me and had me sign it to papers,
which 1 did with pens as large as walk
ing sticks.
l know for a certainty that ] kept
paying out money, but probably not in
the quantities it seemed, for my bank
ers tell me l had drawn no thousand
dollar bank notes nor bags of silver
dollars: and then walked again, and
Il 1rnlr
ed at US, and l told my story to some,
and to some l didn't, until suddenly 1
came to myself in dusty little parlor
before a man in a dress coat and felt
boots, who was saying to me as we'll
as he could with a bad cold in his head
Il pronounce you man and wife.
was standing holding fast to Miss
Brandon's hand, and the knowledge
that she was no longer Miss Brandon
was tinglmg through my senses. My
wife-for she was my wife in the eyes
of the men who stood staring wonder
ingly at me-gave a frightened little
cry, tottereo. for an instant, and then
fell fainting into my arms, so white, |
so wan, so childlike, that L thought we |
had killed her somehow with our clum- |
sy doings. Snatching her up / dashed |
out into the hall with her, where my |
sudden entrance scared up a coyey of |
half dressed women, who made a rush |
for the stairs, but finding they couldn't |
make it, turned and defiantly faced |
me.
''Show me room," I shouted, and |
they fled before me like rats until, fol- 1
lowing their scant skirts, / found my
self standing before a clean, tumbled
self standing before a clean but turn-
oled bed, from which the scared occu-
pant had just sprung TO secrete her.
self behind a half-open closet door,
Here l tenderly placed my charge. and
with one more look at her wan face
[ fed from the apartment, shutting the
ioor upon her and the women, and then
crouched close beside it, wild with
ear lest cry of horror reach me at
any moment to tell me that life had
led.
Nor from that lowly post could l be
lprooted though the hole was dark
md the women running in and out
stumbled against me as they ran, spill
ng things over themselves and me. At
asst enc of the lot came ana stood be-
ore, me, with arms akimbo. her face
Inning with good-natured scorn. six
months from now you'll take things Il
more easy she said
And the lady, how is she?' l cried. +,
The lady?" she repeated wondering
y, Your wife, you mean," and then.
or Redeemed furiously beneath my