Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-05-07
...A...
POINTER
BY JOHN Y. LARNED

two stations. | vent forward and OBJ
tanned leave of the man at the throt-
tie to do the distance-about twelve
miles with him. He was near fifty
years old. but hale and hearty.
just before starting a woman about
thirty years old came to the engine
and stood talking to the engineer ear
nestly for a few minutes, then turned
away. As she did so | could see by
the look she gave him that she had a
great affection for him. but whether 1t
was that of wife or sister | could not
tell. Yielding to curiosity. asked the
question.
.'She's not my wife, he said. She's
had two husbands and | shouldn't
think she'd want another. Her first
husband was /; bad one. and the sec
ond didn't live long"
.'There seems TO be a story in her
case" | remarked. I'D like to hear it"
He made no reply until we were well
out In the open country. Then he said:
somehow ! feel like telling you the
story this morning. I've kept it long,
bur now 1t seems to want TO come out.
The young woman you refer to was
little more than Il kid when | was
coming on TO middle e She was In
love with a y0ungster named Perkins,
a little older than she was. but her
father wouldn't let her marry him.
Perkins went off somewhere. and
S~allie-that's her name-married a man
-. rhZ.rA ID l4.al 4.1~A a..a
into some money. Sallie's father
thought he knew what was best for
his daughter and made the match, Sal
lie not being willing. for she loved
Perkins. Thorpe run through the mon
ey he'd inhelited-they said he gam
bled it away-and it wasn't long aft
erward that he lit out. leaving his
wife to get on the best way she could.
"She heard nothing from him for two
or three years; then u day she saw
a notice of the death of a man of the
same name in a hospital in a distant
city. 1t was too far away for her to
go and investigate the matter, and she
didn't have the money anyway, so she
wrote for u description of the man,
and the one given her tailed with her
husband exactly.
another year passed and Perkins
CAM back one fine day. and learning
that Sallie was a widow went to see
her. Perkins was a nice chap and had
made some money. Sallie would have
married him right away. but she felt
kind Of uneasy about Thorpe, not be-
ing certain that he was dead She
waited a year, Perkins begging her to
marry him All the while: then she
gave in.
"There was another man who had
wanted Sallie from the time she was
seventeen years old, but he was then
double her age and had no show
against the youngsters"
THAT man" l interrupted, lis your
self"
He turned toward me with a sur
prised look and asked how l knew
that. l made no reply. and he contin.
ued:
.'Sallie was very happy with her sec
ond husband for about two years; then
something happened. l had always
lived near her. and she knew that
whenever she needed any n to lean
on she could come to me. One night
about II o'clock there was a rap at
my door. l put on ONE clothes. went
down and opened it. There stood Sal
lie. white as a sheet and trembling all
over. / begged her to tell me what
was the matter. but instead Of doing
so she clutched my wrist and led me
TO the back yard OF her home. There
was a man lying there, but | couldn't
see who he was. / struck a match
and saw-1horpe. He was dead.
1T was clear that Sallie had been
living with Perkins while she was an
other mans wife. I had to make up
my mind mighty quick what to do.
"'Bring me a tablecloth or a shawl
or something | said to Sallie-
.She went into the house and came
back with a big shawl. l wrapped 1t
around the body, then took it up in my
arms. "
Don't say a word to any one l
said. till l see you again
Il carried the body to my own yard
and put 1t in an clubhouse while / dug
a grave; then | buried 1t six feet un-
derground and put back the sod over
it."
"And risked being hanged for MUIR
der?" l interrupted.
1.-THE next morning l watched for
Perkins to leave his house, then went
to Sallie and told her what l had done.
| made her believe that all would be
well If she could keep the secret. l
mentioned the risk I'd taken. We've
neither of us mentioned the matter
to the other or to any n else, and
no harm has eyer come Of it. It's not
been hard ON me. but it was terrible
on Sallie while Perkins lived"
"When win you marry Sallie?" /
asked.
II marry Sallie! What makes you
think thatf"