Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1907-05-01
THRILLING ROMANCE.
Sickness and Poverty Blight the Hopes
efMerten Keith and Clara Ne.
Mamma.

When young mans fancy
turns to love" all nature seems to
smile and the world with all its
riches is his, but when bacilli pre-.
empt the mortal structure and the
abdomen becomes lank and the ap.
petite goes unsatis6ed, then it is
that the storms of life approach
and instead of honey and roses, the
bill of fare is vitriol and thorns.
This was the situation and ex-
Perience of Merton Keith and Clara
McNamna, a runaway couple whose
parents reside in Pratt. The boy
is II years old and the girl is II.
They ran away in January. Their
first appearance in Barber county
was at Jas. Statler's ranch in E agile
township where they stopped about
two months ago, representing them
selves to be man and wife, where
they remained until about month
ago when they came to this city
and rented the small room south of
the Jones Mercantile grocery store
and engaged in clothes cleaning.
They seemed to get along fairly
well until about two weeks ago
when the boy was taken sick with
inf1ammatory rheumatism and be-
came unable to work. On Monday
OF last week it became known that
the couple were in destitute cir
cumStances but even at that time
1T was not suspected that they were
not married. The boys father is
retired minister and an old &C.
quaintance of Rev. Moore Of this
city,and when Rev. Moore learned
OF the boys sickness and financial
Tcondition he telephoned to R. N.
Keith, the father, at Pratt and in
formed him of conditions. Rev.
Moore was surprised to learn from
the father that the boy and girl
had run away and had concealed
themselves from the boys parents
and that they were not married.
Mr.. and Mrs. Keith came down
from Pratt Tuesday night to take
matters in hand, and the girls par
ents came about the same time. 1t
seems that the girls parents had
known of the couples movements,
IN fact, had visited them at least
once while living in the county,
and apparently entered no serious
objection.
On Tuesday night, it is stated,
the couple, aided by the parents of
the girl, attempted to get away,
had gone to the depot for the pur.
pose of boarding the train, but the
father of the boy. interfered and
prevented the escape.
On Wednesday Mr.. Keith, Sr.,
took the matter up with County
Attorney Cloud and Sheriff Nc
Cracken. All parties appeared be-
fore the county attorney in his Of
fee where private conference was
held. At first both the boy and
The girl insisted that they would
not separate but desired to get
married. The mother of the girl
readily consented and even insisted
on marriage but the father of the
boy was not in that kind of mood
and he laid down the ultimatum
that the boy could either go home
and be provided for at the parental
board or that the law would surely
take its course-there was no mid
die ground, no compromise. Final.
ly as it was made plain to the boy
that a refusal to 60 home meant a
term in the reformatory for him
and free tuition in the reform
school for the girl, all parties
agreed to a settlement on Mr..
Keith's terms, and a written agree
ment was drawn up and signed by
all parties to the effect that both
parties would accompany their
parents home, that they would
keep out of each others company
and have no intercourse whatever;
that in the event of a violation of
the agreement they would be SUBJ
ject to prosecution. Before they
left the county attorneys Office Mr..
Cloud warned them that uni ess
they lived up to the agreement
they might expect tobe prosecuted.
The parents and the children all
left for their homes in Pratt We'd
nesday afternoon.
Mr. Keith is a contractor of
Pratt and enjoys an excellent rep
utation. His trouble is deplored.
TAKEN UP-Three mules-One