The herald., 1921-05-19
The Convict's
Wife
BY WILLIAM FALL
10. 1871. Western Newspaper UniOn)

The Little Gray Lady had left our
boarding house,
1t was all the more astonishing be-
cause she had lived there. so Mrs. Pot
ter said, for fourteen years. She had
occupied that little half bare room Of
hers on the top story nearly all Of
that time. When she had come, most
of us young fellows had been children
playing Indians and making mud pud-
dings. Nobody had thought that she
would ever leave. She went out every
morning at 80 to her work-she was
cashier in some office dOwntown-and
came back promptly at six; she had
no friends; she never went out in the
evening.
We looked at each other in aston
ishment that evening at the dinner ia
BILE when Mrs. Potter told US. No, the
Little Gray Lady had given no expla-
nation. She had merely said, very
sweetly, that she was going away, had
packed her trunk and gone, giving
some address In a modest uptown
street.
Perhaps she's gone to get mar
rled," suggested Parsons, a shock
haired youth who sat at Mrs. POttefs
right.
/ MIR. Parsons, there isn't any man
worthy OF her" said Mrs. Potter Sc
verely. and TO that he heartily agreed.
l remember that night wildly, for
] Nv hn
that Governor Cowper had pardoned
MelchiOr Jetley, the murderer. Jetley
had served seventeen years for the
murder of Sam Briggs. Jetley had re-
Gently married a very charming wo-
man, the daughter of a fashionable
clergyman of our town. Their short
married life was singularly happy.
They had been married about eighteen
months when Jetley was called West
on business. Somebody-some busy
body-sent him a telegram which
brought him back In a hurry. He went
home; Mrs. Jetley was not there. The
scared maid told him she had gone to
Kings restaurant, frequented by q
rather fiashy sporty" set. Jetley
went there in hanson, entered, saw
his wife seated at table with Sam
Briggs, drinking a cocktail. Jetley
pulled out q revolver and shot Briggs
dead.
He was tried, sentenced to death,
and had his punishment committed to
Imprisonment for life. After seventeen
years Governor Cowper pardoned him.
And the Imprisonment, and the par
don, too, divided society into two hot
ly antagonistic camps.
"Look at 1t this way" said Parsons.
'The man shot a fellow man In cold
blood. The law prescribes a penalty
for murder. 1t should have been ex-
acted"
I maintained that 1t was every mans
duty to defend his home. We were
divided half and half.
~ don't believe the taking Of life
is ever justified" put In Cranborne,
our Socialist boarder. "Jetley was the
victim Of his environment. How many
OF us would not have done the samef
Besides, did you fellows ever stop to
think that he may have had loved ones
who would suffer more than he BY his
. deathf"
You're a sentimentalist," sneered
Parsons. "Td like to have a look at
Jetley when he arrives at the station
tomorrow. The papers say he'll come
} down on the 2:45. guess there'1 b
a mob of sightseers."
J "Yes. ready to mob him." said Gran
borne.
"well." 1 interpossed, lets go and
see."
, The train came In half an hour late.
, We were damned into the heart Of Q
, huge throng that blocked the entire
: station.
I Suddenly q shout went up. That's
/ himw they yelled, that's him." And
, they surged forward and about him.
, Then through the crowd little wo-
man pushed her way, forcing aside the
: strongest men by some super-humanly
endowed strength. She went up to the
. tired man and put her arms round his
neck and kissed him, and the tired man
uroppeu HIS Dag anu sthfeu ~ hof ono
3 said something softly and then GOV.
cred his face with his hands; and
| was near enough to see the tears
e trickling between his fingers. And the
r woman was the Little Gray Ladyl
e That's all know. That's all can
tell, and I don't know her name, which
e wasn't that of his wife, but may have
! been assumed. I'm only recording
what 1 saw before the police pushed
Q us away, and the tired man and the
t Little Gray Lady disappeared from our
s sight for ever.
NLtfA~~-