Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1912-03-15
|Vo1S'HvScVc"c E@"r>s@IV|1I1
: AFTER THE
| REYOLUTI
} A Story Showing How Magnanimlty
Comes to Follow Victory
y ~#~1
5 BY EDWIN PENNINGTON
Copyright by American i'rras AEs0
f,IuIinu
BY EDWIN PENNINGTON
Copyright by American i'rnag hEso
citation. 1911.

After every struggle resulting in u
change of government there Hr" sroi"S
to be paid off hy llru%r who have ~
VOTED. AS revOlutivuists. instead ~
being favored by the iHw they nave
been hampcre1 by il. Having eStaD
liShed themselves in powrr. The othei
edge Of the sword is brought into play
and cuts in the opposite direction I'D
stead Of being used to imrriSon or exc
cute rcvoIuionislS il is used to execute
the advocates of The government over
thrown
When the recent revolution in Mex
leo became the dc facto government The
revOlutionists stood ready to use the
law To punish those who had used 1t
to punish them. During that period
when President DiaZ held his own In
the city of Mexico young lawyer,
AlfonZo Fernandez. sympathiZer
with the insurgents, left the city to
Join the forces Of Madero. During the
fighting he was captured by the gov
eminent troops. and, being man OF
influence, every effort was made to In.
duce him to return to the support OF
President Daz. He was turned over
to one Jose Sierra, man deeply inter
ested in putting down the rebellion,
with orders to persuade. force or buy
him to the government support.
Sierra took the captive TO his haclen'
da, put him on his parole not TO leave
il and treated him like guest instead
of prisoner. The jailer host was an
adeDt at winning over an enemy ana
used every art Of persuasion that sug'
gested itself to him.
Concia, Sierra'S daughter. girl OF
twenty, possessed one of those oVal
faces of a dusky shade. large llquio
eyes and especially the long lasheS OF
the Spaniard. Her father noticed soon
after FernandeZ's arrival that he was
attracted by his daughter and she was
attracted by Fernandez. 1t occurred
TO Sierra that Fernandez's conversion
might be accomplished more readily
by means Of the girl than by his own
arguments or threats. He gave the
young people every opportunity to be
together and when he saw that the
pear was ripe undertook to pluck it.
He offered Fernandez q prominent
position under the government. when,
Of course, would be tantamount to Sc
curing his adherence. Fernandez de-
cljned the offer. Then Sierra inform
ed his prisoner that be would be tired
for treason. which meant that he would
be found guilty and executed. In love
with the daughter Of the man who had
made the threat. the temptation 10
WELD and desert the cause in which he
had embarked was well nigh reSistleSs.
Fernandez seemed to have every
thing 10 gain by giving his adher-
ence to the established government.
President DiaZ then appeared to be
firmly fixed in the presidency. ana II
would be difficult TO unSeat MIN. oy
Welding Fernandez would acquire
position Of prominence that might he
permanent. That position he might
make more enduring and more proml-
nent by throwing his influence on the
side of the man who had done mnch
for Mexico. These arguments were re-
enforced by the fact that on one sue
stood death. Oh the other love. But
honor forbade.
Fernandez now considered the parole
he had given void and began to take
measures to escape if possible. Cohcla
procured for him woman'S dress ana
drove him in her voIante past guards
who had orders to be watchful and on
no account permit his escape. Had
not been that she accompanied him
would not have succeeded i'll dereFmS
them. As il was. he made good rs
escape and returned to MeHiro City.
Not even Sierra knew how Fernln
dez got beyond his clutches Gomez
kept her secret. and directly aitef III.
escape changes occurred that rrndere
the episode thing of the past ana
soon to be forgotten.
After Diaz's departure and the a.
pointment of Il provisional preSidr;il
the republic the work OF rrtai'ati'
commenced. Jose Sierra. VINO had pee
captured by the revoIutlonStS. wa
brought to the capital. I" accuse
man of treason against II governments
that was not established when tn ar'
was committed would not come Win
good grace from the government mas
had been in rebellion. Those whom
Sierra had made to suffer brought
him to trial for having murdered
man whom he had shot during the
struggle.
And so it was that the law when
had before enabled Sierra to PUNISH
now afforded the same machinery Tor
Furnishing him. AS to his having or
dered shot the man he was accused OF
numbering. there was no denying the
fact. That he had done the deed le-
eally did not concern the jurymen who
were on the other side. The trial,
therefore, was merely judicial re-
vence, and a verdict Of guilty was rem
dered accordingly.
The jury. the lawyers. the spectators
saw nothing but the bare facts OF the
trial that have been here outlined.
To these nersons in the courtroom