The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-16
AnEscape
By F. A. mitchell

Ing Irom uarkneSS, the 0lu queen Anne |
mansion and its surroundings. door
opens slowly, and woman slips out. |
closing it cautiously behind her. She |
fits down the walk to the gate, opens |
it, passes through. closes it behind her |
with the same care as she had closed |
the door, takes one glance at the SON. |
Der mansion and walks away with a
quick step, which soon increases to q
run.
The morning light broadens. red
spark appears on the eastern sky line,
the spark developing into disk. Smoke
begins to curl laZily from a chimney
here and there. man energies from
a rear door of house and goes back
toward barn. The escaped woman
calls to him. He stops, turns and goes
back to the fence on the other side of
| which she is standing.
Are you married?" she asks.
Married? Why. no." Naturally the
question surprises him.
IF you will marry me III give you
| any price you ask"
price," Why lady-a girl-cOme-
| ly should pay common farmer to
marry her was unintelligible.
| Yes. But l wouldn't want you to
live with me. I'd want to leave you as
soon as the ceremony was performed.
/, Will your"
| The matter having become COM
mercial transaction, the mans MIND
, fell upon the possible gain to him. He
asked how he would be benefited. She
asked him to name price. He named
f1OO She doubled it.
she asked.
He pointed to spire standing above
the tree tops.
"Come," she said, make haste"
Climbing the fence, he walked be-
side her toward the spire till they
came to a little church nesting under
the trees and knocked at the door Of
the rectory beside it. A man, twenty
eight or thirty years old, In canonicals,
came to the door.
MARRY us, quickv' said the girl.
"Come in," said the clergyman, as
tonished to see lady and farmland
! asking to be welded. They were
shown into living room. and the
+ clergyman said:
81 cannot marry You without some
t information concerning such a Singh
lar case"
r The girl gave 1t hurriedly. She was
! an orphan and an heiress. Her guard
= ian, q man of fifty and n rascal, was
: trying to force her to marry him be
J. fore she came Of age, which would b.
g In a few months. He had represented
r that she was not Of sound mind, ant
e he was keeping her under guard. Sh'
n had escaped despite his watching, bu
: would doubtless be overtaken and car
n ried back, the law being on her guard
Il ians side. AS married woman
through her husband. she could CLAIM
d her freedom The rector listened t
n her explanation. pondered few min
l utes, then said:
/ 81 fancy | can get you out of you
)" trouble without this marriage, whic
1t will bring complications difficult to un
% ravel. Suppose l hide your
e "Can your Will your
II can"
ii The girl told the man she had com
x with that If he would stand by he
and not reveal her whereabouts sh
would give him the money she ha
t. promised him to marry her. He wa
at an honest chap and said that he woul
g. stand by her without being paid
~ do so.
AS soon as he had gone the clerg!
rs man took the girl into the church an
H. placed her behind a curtain In I'll
w chancel Then he went back to the re-
" tory, where he found breakfast wal
ing for him. 1t was not long before
ne groom, mounted, rode up to the re
~ tory and. throwing himself from h
horse. knocked at the door. The rectt
answered the summons and question
as to whether he had seen the escape
- girl Lying not being in keeping VIII
-, his sacred office, he excited suspicion
The groom rode away leaving the re
tor convinced that he would report b
suspicious, and the church and rectol
would be searched. Going into Il
'' danger. She was beside herself wi
:, terror.
~ II will take the place." he said, +"
!, the man who agreed to marry you. b
~ without price. and will consent to
annulment at such time as you ma
-, desire"
oss The girl was only too glad to av'
herself of his offer. A servant W
,u sent post haste for Methodist min
ter who lived short distance fro
them. He came, the servants we
ni' called as witnesses, and the two we
no legally married.
The ceremony had scarcely been d
ished when a gentleman was driven
TO the rectory and demanded In {
name of the law to search the pre-
iS ises for his ward. The rector led h
~, -" forth and presented her as his wife.
- When shown the marriage certifica
the guardian acknowledged hims'
beaten. and that was the end OF t
III persecution.
" co,,o roaotbs later when the Ia