Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1912-07-25
A Jailbiird
By THOMAS r. DEAN


a woman of twenty-five as prisoner.
Some years before Hutton had lived
in the same town with Mary Arthur.
He had loved her. but she had refused
him for Tim Burt, man higher in the
social scale than Hutton and with
some means
The woman saw a look Of anguish on
the warden's face. but there were 9TH
ers looking on at the melancholy scene,
and she made no reply. She gave a
start at being recognized. then nerved
herself to maintain a certain rigidity
which had thus far characterized her
outward appearance. And Hutton,
quickly throwing off expression of his
feelings, proceeded to act the part of
jailer TO the woman he had once and
still loved.
When they were alone together Hut
ton said:
NOW, tell me what this means"
IF do will not alone possess the
secret"
you know that it will be as safe
with me as with you"
81 do, but | know that if | tell you
You will not be able to refrain from
giving the information that will free
me-"
81 promise to be guided by you
| alone"
She told him that her husband was
a forger. He was a consumptive and
! had but brief period to live, She
herself was much better able to bear
| incarceration than he. To save him
she had confessed to having committed
/ the crime with which he had been
| charged.
! After the recital of the failure Mary
Arthur had made in the choice of a
life companion both remained silent,
/ she, buoyed by the sacrifice she was
making, he With head bowed at being
! placed in the position of her jailer.
Il must leave here" he said present
! Iy. Flesh and blood will not stand
/ such strain"
She made no reply Then it occurred
to him that the strain she had volun-
tarily taken upon herself was far hard
er to bear than that which had fallen
! to him.
NO" he cried; that would be cow
! ardly. | must remain here to make
your burden as light as possible" Then,
summoning all his resolution. he led
her to her cell and locked her in.
Mary Burt. having by her confession
/ and by pleading guilty to the crime of
which she had been accused had re-
! ceived a comparatively light sentence,
which. with good behavior, would free
! her in four years. Six months after
she entered the prison her husband
died.
Singularly enough, the position exist
ing between these two gradually
changed from the dreadful one it SEEM
ed to be when they met at the prison
portal to one of exquisite happiness.
Hutton found it in ministering to the
comfort of the woman he loved and
in inventing plans to do so without ex-
citing observation. Mary Burt. once
she had become used to her new life.
with womans fortitude and endur-
ance, buoyed by the feeling that she
was saving the man she had married
the horror of slowly dying in a pris-
on, became comfort not only to her
jailer, but so far as discipline war
ranted, to her fellow prisoners When
ever they were permitted to join to-
gether in their exercises she went
among them comforting them. Grad
ually coming to know the stories of
many, she instilled into them new
hope.
The day that Mary Burt became a
free woman was a happy one for her
fellow prisoners. In the morning all
were assembled in the prison chapel,
which was decorated with flowers,
some of which had been procured from
friends without by the convicts.
When all were seated Mary and the
warden passed down an aisle to the
chaplain and were married Many OF
those present wept at the prospect of
losing the woman who had become so
dear to them. When the ceremony
was over and Mrs. Burt had become
Mrs Hutton one Of the prisoners ad-
vanced and offered tri1ing wedding
gift that had been subscribed for by
those present who had little change
to spare for the purpose,
Then the bride turned and thanked
the donors. She told them that she
had grown attached to them and the
work Of serving them; that among them
she had gained a happiness she had
not dreamed Of again experiencing;
that she would remain among them
with her husband, and. being free her
self. she hoped to serve them far bet
ter than when she had been one of
them
The words sent thrill of Joy into
their blighted hearts
And the eN-convict kept her promise.
long sojourn as one of them had
made her familiar with their condition,
the causes that had led to it and those
that were keeping them in the current
of their miserable lives. She not only
lightened their present burdens by her
CheerineSS and the hone she inSpiraI