Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1918-01-04
ALOYAL LOVE.
BY EDNA LEE WATSON.


. menace in his evil eyes. she met
his fierce glance with unwaverlng
mien. with a difidenee and contempt
that stung him to the Quick-and she
the bride OF q month";
Il congratulate you on your powers
OF deceit" he almost Missed.
Adrlenne Mercer raised herself to
her full height.
IF you have discovered what you
might have known. what the world
could have told you long ago. that
loved the man who gave me these tri-
mes before / met you, Ii is no revela-
ton OF deceit. I know not what bale
ful power you held over my poor IA
Their, dead but a week. that he drove
me TO we'd you. because you forced him
to do so. ! never feigned to even re-
spect you"
A model wife. trulyi" grated Judge
Rolfe Mercer harshly.
Il am not that to you: l never viii
be-" she returned clearly.
He could have struck that fair face
In his mad rage. He could have killed
Vance Orion, had he stood before him.
Have a carel" he uttered through
his set teeth. II shall remember this
fond lover Of yours |"
"He never was that. No word save
Of friendship ever passed between as,
yet / glory in saying that he had my
whole heart, and never knew"
She replaced the pretty fan. little
cluster OF shrlveled roses a photo
graph, some invitation notes, the dead
record Of the one bright passage in her
girlhood life, In her writing desk,
whence the probing hand OF her hus-
band had unearthed them.
He came home a day later, flushed
with drink and triumph.
'When you read the evening paper"
he pronounced In even, but malice
freighted tones. land recognize the
sudden downfall of your idol and sole
pattern OF perfect manhood. Vance Or
ton, you will perhaps comprehend that
/ have not boosted vainly of my pow
err"
Adrienne read the account OF the de-
scent on a gambling house while it,
inmates were engaged In q riotous fra
cas-. There was the name of the man
she loved. The Judge before whom
he and others had been brought had
sentenced three Of them. including Or
ton, to six months In the city bride
well.
Adrlenne then comprehended the
full, despicable meanness Of the man
she had welded. Before the week
was out she had summarily left him.
She had means OF her own and sought
distant seclusion. Then began the
downward descent of Rolfe Mercer.
mercenary Judge and crooked politi-
clan. He was ousted from his Judi
cial position for accepting a bribe.
Lower and lower ne sank. fortune and
influence gone. until he became COM
mon drunkard and vagabond.
Vance Orton, after his unjust SEN
tence. left the city and began a new
life In border town In Utah. He was
a natural leader among men, and be-
came such In the community. He was
mayor. Judge, and friend Of everybody,
and ldollzed by the rough miners OF
the district for his fairness"
One day ragged. bloated. terrified
wretch was brought before him, pro
tected from the vengeance OF half ;
dozen halfbreeds who sought TO get At
him as he was brought Into the court
room. At once Orion recognized him.
One Of the Indians was shouting out
the cause of the arrest. Rolfe Mercer
had become a common thief and tramp,
had visited the hut where his mother
lived. had nearly choked her to death.
forcing from her the few coins she
possessed. The prisoner covered Ike
the craven he was. as he recognized
the man who had the power to retail.
ate IN full for past injustice.
Suddenly, however, the son OF the
Indian woman Ieapeds forward, . naked
blade In his hand. Before the officers
could prevent him he had plunged the
knife into the side of Mercer. had
leaped through an open window and
was gone.
aCare for the man In every way you
can" ordered Orion. His wife Was :
friend of my friends In the long ago
But Mercer was beyond the power o.
human aid.
IT was when he was dead that m 0g
ncer brought to Orion some papers
found In his clothing. One OF thes'
was of peculiar interest TO Orton. FoI
the first time be knew that husband
and wife had been parted for years
The document found was letter ad
dressed to q lawyer In a distant city
Ii told him that the writer. Mercer
was destitute and Ill. The unseen mls
sive pleaded with the lawyer to infiu
ence his client. his wife. to assist hin
in his extremity.
II am going East for few weeks
Orton told his secretary, the day afteI
Mercer had been decentiy buried. Al
those years the remembrance Of AdEi
enne had been vivid In his mind. II