The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-05-09

Z
| "Lct me IN! Quicki I'Ue got aCOrk for
1ln1L to dap
believe it till | borrowed the paper
and read the whole story, with the
type dancing and leaping before me-
1t took some hours for it to seep in
even after that, and for years | re-
| called every word of the ID lie
as if it had been branded on me with
| hot irons. They called it shocking
crime, the most brutal murder Cali
| fornia had ever known. and in the
headlines was my name in letters that
| struck me between the eyes like a
| hammer Mrs Dan Bennett had been
| foully murdered by me in Il fit of sud
| den jealousy. and | had disappeared
| with the baby! The husband had re-
turned unexpectedly to find her dying.
| for help and with barely sufficient
| strength to tell him who did it and
| how! Then the paper went on witt
| the tale of my counting her and he..
| turning me down for Bennett. 1t ted
| how | had gone off alone up into The
| the hills, turning into bear that no.
| body, man or child. could app zach.
| 1t said had brooded there al this
| time till the mania got upperE"st and
so came down to wreak my vengeance
| They never even did me the credit of
| calling me crazy. was a fend incar
| nate. q beast without SOY and a lot
Of things like that-and, remember, |
had never harmed a liv;gs thing in all
my life. However. that wasn't what
hurt. What turned rIe into dull,
! dead. suffering thing was the knowl-
| edge that she was gone. For hours |
| couldn't get beyond that fact. Then
| came the realization that Bennett had
| lone 1t, for I reasoned that he had
| Ragged hint of the truth from her
| by very force of the fear he held her
inland slain her. God! The awful
rage that came over me! But there
was nothing to do. l had sworn to
guard the little one, SO | couldn't take
vengeance on him. couldn't go back
and prove my innocence. for that
would give the child to him.
what night spent! The next day
I saw had been indicted ,ry the grand
jury and was wanted n. From a
distance | watched mysell become an
| outlaw: watched the county put price
upon my head. which Bennett dou-
bled: watched public opinion rise to
such heat that posses began to scour
the mountains. What noted in partic-
ular was statement in the paper that
the sorrowing husband takes his be-
| reavement with the quiet courage
which marks brave man! 1t hap
pened that the Mexican woman
couldn't read and talked little. Still.
| knew they'd find me sOOn-it couldn't
be otherwise-so l made another run
| for it, swearing an oath. however, be-
fore left that I'd come back and have
| that gamblers heart
"It was lucky | went, for they I'M
covered my sign the next day, and the
country where I'd hidden blazed like
field Of dry grass. They were close on
my heels. and they closed in from ev-
cry quarter. But. pshaw. ! know the
woods like an Indian. and the wild
things were my friends again, which
would have made it play if I'd been
alone, but q girl child of three was
| harder to manage So covered and
skulked day after day like a thief or
the murderer they thought me. work
ing always farther into the hidden
places. travelling by night with the lit
| tie one asleep on my bosom. by day
| playing with her in some leafy glen,
with my purSuerS so close behind that
for weeks never slept. and my love
for the child increased daily till it be-
came almost an insanity.
I'VE had close squeezes many times.
but | finally won. in spite of the fact
that they tracked us clear to the edge
of the desert for | had hit for the
state line knowing that Nevada was
wilderness and feeling that I'd surely
| lose them there. And | did. But In
doing it | nearly lost Merridy. You
see. the constant travel and hardship
was too much for prattling baby. and
| she fell sick from the heat, the dust
and thirst.
Il was bound for the nearest ranch
or camp where a woman could be
| found: but. as luck would have it, !
went through without trying. | had
| gone farther from men and things,
/ however, than thought. and this re-
| turn pursuit was q million times worse
than the other. for | couldn't go fast
| enough to shake Death, who ran with
| his hand on my cantle or rode on my
| horses rump. 1t was then | found
| Alluna. She was with a hunting party
of Pah- Utes. who knew nothing of me
i nor Of the white mans affairs and
cared less. and when | saw the little
squaw | rode my horse up beside her,
| laid the sick child in her arms. then
tumbled out of the saddle. They had