The Washington herald., 1916-07-09

II can't, hey?' he yelled. Watch and
zee. Out of here, the pair of you, De-
fore l throw you out Go to the gut
ter where this brat and his father belong.
I'm done with you. Get out"
Senator Mason" said Tom sufny,
you're an older man that ! am, SO 1
can't thrash you for speaking SO aoouI
my father But neither my wife nor
will trouble you again. Good-by.'
Taking Roses ice-chilled hand IN MS
Tom led the sobbing girl out of the house.
Mrs Mason made as though to run OUT
and call them back. But her HUSBAND
barred the way.
'oh, my little girlr' walled the fright
ened woman. My little. little girl"
We're wull rid of herr" scoffed Mason.
III she could sink to marrying feilo"
like that. she's no longer"
He broke of abruptly in the midst OF
his denunciation. Mrs. Mason had very
quietly collapsed at his feet in dead
faint.
Waiting only to help the servants re-
vive the stricken woman. he left the
house and went to the Office of his law
yers. thence to the district. attorneys or
fee. and back to his own home two hours
later.
He entered the house with look OF
grim triumph on his heavy face.
Well" he grunted. as his wife came
TO meet him, IT fancy young Fletcher
is settled pretty satisfactorily at last
And his father. too"
oh" interposed Mrs. Mason; you've
heard, then? I'm SO glad"
Heard" he queried. Heard whatf"
II thought you had, by the way
you spoke" she replied. Rose called me
up fifteen minutes ago. She's at the
Fletchers. She says Toms father and
mother behaved beautifully about tbs
marriage and that they're ever so nice
10 Rose. She and Tom are to live there
for the present. and Mr.. Fletcher is
going to give Tom a job at"
You ought to be more careful not
to make misstatements. my dear.
chuckled the senator. You've just made
live with the Fletchers for the present
but at the county jail. And a little later
at the states prison for about sever
years or more. Also Mr.. Stephen Fletcher
is not going to give him a job. The
state Is going to do that for him. A
nice cozy job at making cane-seateC
chairs or pegging shoes or"
What do you mean?' gssped the wife
what do you mean?"
II mean what l started to say wher
l told you Tom Fletcher was settled
pretty satisfactorily I've just come
from the district attorney. and the on
GERS must be at Fletcher's house by this
time. with the warrant"
The warrant" she repeated DULY.
For Tom Fletcher's arrest on a charge
OF abduction. Perhaps you don't know
1t, Martha, but in this state the age
OF consent is eighteen years Rose won't
be eighteen for several months. The mar
who marries a girl under eighteen. with.
out e. IfohI ..
prosecution for the crime of abductins
her. It's a very grave felony. And the
courts treat 1t with sCant mercy. That,
the charge ! have just made against
Tom Fletcher. The district attorney has
promised to push 1t to the very utter.
most"
She gaped at him, speechless with hor.
ror. He went on gleefuly:
That squares my account up to date
with Stephen Fletcher. too. He attacks
me in his miserable newspaper Very
good. I send his son to the state.
prison. Nobody has ever yet clasheC
with Hiram Mason and won out"
The trial of Tom Fletcher for abduct.
ing and marrying Rose Mason was Ma.
sonburgs most sensational law procedure
of the year. True to his promise to his
patron. the district attorney pressed the
case for the state with a savage vigor
| that all but swept the defense OF It's
| feet.
stephen Fletcher and his wife had har.
| bored the unhappy Rose in their home
from the start, less for her own sake
than ae a parental duty to their son
| Daily she went to the courtroom with
| them. She insisted on doing this, in the
hope that her presence might be OF COM
| fort to her boy-husband.
1t was a tedious task to empanel a
| jury. as the prosecution dreaded the effect
OF the young couples unhappy plight
upon the average Juror: and as Daven.
port Toms shrewd counsel. was ever
on the alert to keep the district attorney
| from packing the box with satellites oi
Ma sons
But at last the challenges were ex.
hauted the jury was complete and the
trial begun.
The district attorney set forth the
states case. and prepared to establish It
Davenport fought him every step OF the
way. But 1t was a losing fight. The Law
was clear, the facts were evident.
The marriage license blank was pro-
duced in court. Roses handwriting or
| II was identified. 1t was seen she had
! started to write seventeen after the
query as to her age. and that she had
la boriously crossed out the half-writter
word and substituted eighteen" for It
senator ana Mrs. Mason were CdueC
to the stand, one after the other. to tes'
tify that she was not yet eighteen. Al
the senator's own suggestion. the Masons
family Bible was introduced as evidence
This enormous Bible had been in the
Mason family for more than two CEN
turtles. In its statistics pages" the
birth of seven generations were re-
| corded.
The last entry was In Mrs. Mason's
own old fashioned hand. 1t read:
Rose, daughter Of Hiram and Martha
Mason. born September 3, 1898.
Gentlemen of the jury" said the dis
trict attorney. after Mrs. Mason had
tearfully verified the entry. you OBJ
serve that Rose Mason was born or
September ;, 1925. The date Of her mar
riage to Thomas Fletcher-as attested
in the city records. which you have seer
was June . 1916. Therefore. It Is proven
that Thomas Fletcher married her wher
she was one day under the age Of sew
s-and-nine-months. I have
shown you the section Of the Penal Code
which declares that marriage to gir
under the age of eighteen years, without
the consent of her parents. constitutes
the crime of abduction. 1t has been
shown that Rose Mason's parents dfo
not give their consent to this marriag ge
The states case is proven as 1t stands
We rest"
Perhaps in that whole courtroom the
most inveterate and reckless gambler