THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1914. PLATTSnOUTH SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL. PACE 5. WITHIN Bd MARVIN. DANA I Wa- L-J pig FROM, THE FLAY. OF pSS, fe W BAYARD VE1LLER Ujfc. u::-'S Copyright. 1013. by the IL K. Fly compa, CHAPTER III. The Victim of tha Law. YES. Gilder did know. The men tion of the carte was like a EIo in the effect it -wrought on the attitude of the irritated owner of the store." Instantly his ex pression changed. "How extremely awkward !" he cried, and there was a very real concern In his voice. He regarded Smithson kind ly, whereat that rather puling gentle man once again assumed his martial Itenring. Yoa were quite right in coming to me." For a moment he was silent, plunged in thought. Finally he ppoke with the decisiveness character istic of him. "Of course there's noth ing we can do. Just put the staff back on the counter and let her go." But Smithson had not yet wholly un burdened himself. lie again cleared his throat nervously. "She's very angry, Mr. Gilder," he announced timidly. "She er she de mands an er an apology." The owner of the store half rose from his chair, then threw himself back with an exclamation of disgust "God bless my soul!" he cried. Again he fell silent, considering the situation which Smithson had presented. At last, however, he mastered his irritation to some degree and spoke his command briefly. "Well. Smithson, apologize to her. It can't be helped." When Smithson had left the office Gilder turned to his secretary. "Take this," he directed, and he forth with dictated the following letter: J. W. Gaskell. Esq., Central National F.ank. New York. My Dear Mr. Gaskell I feel that 1 should be doing less than my duty as a man if I did not let you know at one that Mrs. Gaskell Is In urgent need of medical attention. She came into our store today, and He paused for a moment. "No, put it this way." he said finally: We found her wandering al-out our store today in a. very nervous condition. In her excitement she carried away about J100 worth of rara laces. Not recognizing htr, our store detective detained her for a short time. Fortunately for us all. Mrs. Gaskell was sblo to explain who she was, and she has Ju?t gone to her home. Hop- in? for Mrs. Gaskell's speedy recovery, and with all good wishes. I am yours very truly. Smithson again entered the office, even more perturbed than before. "What on earth is the matter now?" Gilder spluttered suspiciously. "It's Mrs. Gaskell still." Smithson replied In great trepidation. "She wants you personally. Mr. Gilder, to apologize to her. She says that the action taken against her is an outrage, and she is not satisfied with the apol ogies of all the rest of us. She says you must make one, too, and that the store detective must be discharged for Intolerable insolence." Gilder bounced up from his chair angrily.' "I'll not discharge McCraeken," he vociferated, glaring on Smithson. who shrank visibly. "Hut about the apology, Mr. Gilder," he reminded, speaking very deferen tially, yet with insistence. "Oh. I'll apologize." he said with a wry smile of discomfiture. "I'll make things even up a bit -when I got an aiology from Gaskell. I shrewdly suspect that that estimable gentleman Is going to eat humble pie. of my bak ing, from his wife's recipe. And his will be an honest apology, which mine won't." And be left tte room. It was on this same? day that Sa rah, on- one of her numerous trips through the store in behalf of Gilder, was accosted by a salesgirl, whose name, Helen Morris, she chanced to know. "What on earth do you want?" Sarah Inquired snappishly. "What did they do to Mary Turner?" "They sent her to prison for thret years." 'Three yars?" The salesgirl had re peated the words in a tone that was In definable, yet a tone vehement in its in credulous questioning. "Three years?" she said again, as one refusing to be lieve. "Yes, three years. "Good Cod!" There. wasc.. irrever ence in the exclamation that broke from the girl's lips. Instead only a tense horror that touched to the roots of emotion. Say," Sarah demanded, with the directness habitual to her, "why are you soanxioU3 jbout . It ? This i3tbe 1 IMF y. third time you'have asked me about Mary Turner. What's it to you. I'd like to know?" The salesgirl started violently, and a deep Hush drove the accustomed pal lor from her cheeks. She was obvi ously much disturbed by the question. "What is it to me?" she repeated in fin effort to gain time. "Why. nothing nothing at all, only she's a friend of mine, a treat friend of mine. Oh, yes!" There was a monotone of desolation as she went on speaking in a whisper meant for the ears of no other. "It's awful three years! Oh, I didn't un derstand! It's awful awful!" With the final word she hurried off, her at titude one of wondering grief. Sarah was thinking intently of Mary Turner after her return to the office. As she glanced up at the opening of the door she did not at first recognize the figure outlined there. She remembered Mary Turner as a tall, slender girl, who showed an underlying vitality in every movement, a girl with a face of regular features. In which was a com plexion of blended milk and roses, with a radiant joy of life shining through all her arduous and vulgar conditions. Instead of this, now she saw a frail form that stood swaying in the door way, that bent in a sinister fashion which told of bodily impotence, while the face was quite, bloodless. A man stood beside her. one of his hands clasped around the girl's wrist. It was Cassldy, from headquarters, who spoke in a rough, indifferent voice. "The district attorney told me to bring this girl here on my way to the Grand Central station with her." "Mr. Gilder will be right back. Come In and wait." The two went forward very slowly, the officer, carelessly conscious of his duty, walking with awkward steps to suit the feeble movements of the girl. Sarah at last found her voice for an expression of sympathy. "I'm sorry, Mary," she said hesitat ingly. "I'm terribly sorry, terribly sorry V The girl did not look tip. She stood still, swaying a little, as if from weak ness. "Are you?" she said. I did not know. Nobody has been near me the whole time I have been in the Tombs." "Why," Sarah exclaimed, "there was Helen Morris today! She has been asking about you again and again. She's all broken up over your trouble." "Who is Helen Morris?" the lifeless voice demanded. There was no inter est in the question. Gilder entered the office with the quick, bustling activity that was ordi narily expressed in his every move ment. He paused as he beheld the two visitors, then he spoke curtly to the secretary. "You may go, Sarah. I will ring when I wish you again." There followed an interval of silence while the secretary was leaving the of fice and the girl with her warder stood waiting on his pleasure. Gilder cleared his throat twice in an embarrassment foreign to him before finally he spoke to the girL "M J? rJ.L G ildorsaId . per i tlyhl? hard"7vofce was softened byan honest regret "my girl, I am sorry about this." "You should be!" came the instant answer. "Come, comeT' Gilder exclaimed test ily. "That's no tone to take with me!" "Why? What sort of tone do you ex pect me to take?" was the retort in the listless voice. "I expected a decent amount of hu mility from ote in your position." Life quickened swiftly in the droop ing form of the girl. She stood sudden ly erect, and tier face lost its bleakness of pallor. The eyes opened wide and looked straight into those of the man who had employed her. "Would you be humble," she demand ed, and now her voice was become soft ly musical, yet forbidding, too, with a note of passion, "would you be humble If you were going to prison for three years for something you didn't do?" "Don't mind her, sir," Cassldy said. He meant to make his manner very re assuring. "They all say that. They are innocent, of course! Yep, they all say it. It tfen't do 'em any good, but just the same they all swear they're innocent. Ttey keep it up to the very last, no matter how right they've been LAW got.' The voice of the girl rang clear. There was a note of insistence thai "1 tell you I didn't do IU" carried a carious dignity of its own. The very simplicity of her statement might have had a power to convince one who listened without prejudice, al though the words themselves were of the trite sort that any protesting crim inal might utter. "I tell you I didn't do it!" Gilder himself felt the surge of emo tion that swung through, these mo ments, but he would not yield to It. "What's the use of all this pre tense?" he demanded sharply. "You were given a fair trial, and there's an end of it." "Oh, no, I wasn't! Why, if the trial had been fair I shouldn't be here. Do you call it fair when the lawyer I had was only a boy one whom the court told me to take, a boy trying his first case, my case, that meant the ruin of my life? My lawyer! Why, he was Just getting experience getting it at my expense!" There followed a few seconds of si lence. Then Gilder made an effort to shake off the feeling that had so pos sessed him, and to a certain degree he succeeded. "The Jury found you guilty," he as serted, with an attempt to make his voice magisterial in its severity. "Yes, the jury found me guilty. Do you know why? I can tell you, Mr. Gilder. It was because they had been out for three hours without reaching a decision. The evidence didn't seem to be quite enough for some of them, after all. WelL the judge threatened to lock them up all night The men wanted to get home. The easy thing to do was to find me guilty, and let it go at that. Was that fair, do you think? And that's not all either. Was it fair of you, Mr. Gilder? Was it fair of you to come to the court this morning and tell the Judge that I should be sent to prison as a warning to others?" "You know!" he exclaimed in mo mentary consternation. "I heard you in the courtroom," she said. "The dock Isn't very far from the bench where you spoke to the Judge about my case. Yes. I beard you. It wasn't. Did I do it? or, Didn't I do it? No. It was only that I must be made a warning to others." Again silence fell for a tense inter val. Then finally the girl spoke: "Mr. Gilder," she said simply, "as God is my judge, I am going to prison for three years for something I didn't do. Why did you ask the judge to send me to prison?" "The thieving that has been going on in this store for over a year has got to stop," Gilder answered em phatically, with all his usual energy of manner restored. . "Sending me to prison won't stop it," Mary Turner said drearily. "Ferbaps not," Gilder sternly retort ed. "But the discovery, and punish ment of the other guilty ones will." His manner changed, to a businesslike alertness. "You sent word to me that you could tell me. how to stop the thefts in the store. WelL my girl, do this and, while I can make no definite pro"mTse7TTT "see wfiaT can -TSone tbout getting you out of your present difficulty." He picked up a pencil, pulled a pad of blank paper convenient to his band and looked at the girl ex pectantly, with aggressive inquiry in bis gaze. "Tell me now," he conclud ed, "who were your pals?" "I have no pals!" she ejaculated fu riously. "I never stole anything In my life. Must I go on telling you over and over again?" ner voice rose in a wail of misery. "Oh, why won't any one believe me?" "Unless you can control yourself, you must go." Gilder pushed away the pad of paper and tossed the pencil aside in physical expression of his dis pleasure. "Why did you send that message if you have nothing to say?" he demanded., with increasing choler. "I have something to tell you, Mr. Glider." she cried aietly. "Only I I sort ef lost my grip oc tha way her, with this man by my aid. "Well?" Gilder insisted querulously, as the girl hesitated. "When you sit In a cell for three months waiting for your trial, as I did, you think a lot. And so I got the idea that if I could talk to you I might be able to make you understand what's really wrong. And If I could do that and so help out the other girls, what has happened to me would not, after all, be quite so awful so useless, some how." Her voice lowered to a quick pleading, and she bent toward the man at the desk. "Mr. Glider," she ques tioned, "do you really want to stop the girls from stealing?" "Most certainly I do," came tte for cible reply. The girl spoke with a great earnest ness deliberately. "Then give them a fair chance." The magnate stared in sincere aston ishment over this absurd, this futile suggestion for his guidance. "What do you mean?" he vociferat ed, with rising indignation. "Why," she said" very gently, "1 mean just this: Give them a living chance to be honest" "A living chance!" The two words were exploded with dynamic violence. Gilder found himself unable to ex press the rage that flamed within him. The girl showed herself undismayed by his anger. "Yes," she went on quietly, "that's all there is to It Give them a living chance to get enough food to eat and a decent room to sleep in and shoes that will keep their feet off the pave ment winter mornings. Do you think that any girl wants to steal? Do you think that any girl wants to risk" By this time, however, Gilder had regained his power of speech, and he interrupted stormily: "And is this what you have taken np my time for? You want to make a maudlin plea for guilty, dishonest girls, when I thought you really meant to bring me facts!" "We work nine hours a day," the girl's quiet voice went on, a curious pathos in the rich timbre of it "nine hours a day for six days in the week. That's a fact, isn't it? And the trou ble is an honest girl can't live on $6 a week. She can't do It and buy food and clothes and pay room rent and carfare. That's another fact. Isn't it?" Mary regarded the owner of the store with grave questioning in her violet eyes. "I don't care to discuss these things, he declared peremptorily as the girl remained silent for a moment "And I hare no wish to dlscnss any thing," Mary returned evenly. "I only want to give you what you asked for facts. When they first locked me tip I used to sit and hate you." "Oh, of coursel" "And then I thought that perhaps you did not understand that If I were to tell you how things really are, it might be you would change them somehow." "I!" he cried incredulously. I change my business policy because you ask me to!" There wag something Imperturbable In the quality of the voice as the girl went resolutely forward with her ex planation. "Do you know how we girls live? But of course, you don't Three of us In one room, doing our own cooking over the two burner gas 6tove and our own washing and ironing evenings, after being on our feet for nine hours." "I have provided chairs behind the counters," he stated. "But have you ever seen a girl sit ting in one of them?" she questioned coldly. "Please answer me. nave you? Of course not," she said, after a little pause during which the owner had remained silent She shook her bead in emphatic negation. "And do you understand why? It's simply because every girl knows that the manager of her department would think he could get along without her if he were to see her sitting down loafing, you know! ; So she would be discharged. All it amounts to is that after being on ber feet for zdne hours the girl usually walks home In order to save car fare. Yes, she walks, wheth er sick or welL Anyhow, you are gen erally so tired, it don't make much difference which you are." "What has all this to do with the question of theft in the store? That was the excuse for your coming here. And instead of telling me something you rant about gas stoves and car fare" (To be Continued) Mrs. William Tuey and Mrs. J. E. Tuey, accompanied by their mother, Mrs. McDaniel, of Sid ney, Iowa, arrived Ibis afternoon on IS'o. 23 and Mrs. McDaniel will visit here for a time with her daughters. in PLATTSnOUTH FORTY YEARS AGO Items of Interest to Our Reader Gleaned from the Newipaper File of Many Year Ago. Nathan, of the House of Solo mon, is back again. Schnasse has returned home from a long visit to Wisconsin. He had a famous sleigh ride while there, 130 miles in one day or more, we forget just how. Curtis, formerly of the firm of Wayman & Curtis, is in town on a short visit to his friend and former partner. F. W. D. Hollbrook, late of Plattsmouth, remembers tl' Herald and changes his address to Shellbourne Falls, Mass. The Herald sends greetings to him and his family. Wrn. L. llobbs is doing what more of our business men should Dc doing. He is sending three copies cf the Herald to friends in the east, lie called aroui'.t Mon day and helped the good cause 1.85 worth. May you lie iong end be happy. Father Bobal called in at the Herald office last week and we had a very pleasant chat, as f always do when he calls. Father II. is an intelligent man, with liberal views of life. Rudolph Heisel's house on the hill, west of the High school, burned up last Thursday evening. It all came from a kerosene lamp, and the fire boys could not get there before it went up. Insur ance .600. St. Leger Heck arrived here last week from Cheyenne. We un derstand he will take his family back with him as soon as the U. P. blockade is opened. A family by the name of rteie hart, living seven miles west of town, are all down with the smallpox. Uncle Jake Yallery, Mr. Lenhoff, Guthman anil others have been very generous to them; the countj commission ers have been applied to, and the sheriff has procured nurses and attendance. Rush O. Fellows, one of the printers in this office, slipped on the stairs coming out of Fitz geral's hall on Friday evening last, after the ball, and sprained his wrist so severely that he will not be able to work for some weeks. This is a great loss to Rush as well as to the Herald, as we have just got work in now that he could do to advantage. Mr. Brooke Reed, from Council Bluffs, who has many friends here, has been slopping in Plattsmouth for a week's vaca tion. Mrs. B. Spurlock left last Sun day for Marysville, Mo., to visit her father, who has been very sick for some time. Mrs. E. E. Cunningham, wife of Gen. Cunningham, went east to Cleveland, to attend a famous water cure, her health having been very poor for some time. The Herald hopes she may return buoyant with health and spirits. Bob Donnelly dropped a red- hot plough share on his foot Saturday. Bob is going to turn granger now and handle cold plough shares after this; no more hot ones in his. A very pleasant little party went up to Omaha Saturday to see Janauschek, the great tragedienne. A part f the com pany came down to La Platte in a carriage Sunday morning and thence by the iron horve home. Fred Lenhoff s barn taught fire n Saturday evening and burned to the ground. Spontaneous ombustion, Fred says. Pipe md lantern, the verdict of the oroner. Loss, 10,000 bricks. Mr. Pronger's youngest son, Johnnie, was badly kicked in the face by a horse yesterday morn ing. The boy was hanging to the pony's tail when he fell, but still kept his hold. After going around the yard that way he let go and the pony stopped and turning around commenced smelling him, when thei boy struck him across the nose with a stick. The pony instantly wheeled and kicked him with both hind feet, cutting his face badljJ Out on the B. &. M. railroad employes met with a very narrow escape from a serious accident last week. A locomotive via backing some cars to couple on to some other empty cars at the freight depot and he was engaged in coupling them. In some man ner his arm got caught between the bumpers of the cars, fasten ing it so that he could not re move it. The fright and rain caused him fo cry out. which at tracted the attention of Mr. Mor gan Waybright, who was work ing close at hand, and h- ran up to see what wast he matter. 11 imediately ran to the engineer, and told him to pull up u little, as a man had arm cru-hed between the bumpers, which un done and the i r fellow va released from his uncomfortable situation; when, strantre to say. not a bone or even the skin a broken, although his arm sa bruised considerably, thus a-ree ably disappointing thnv wli" were working around the dep.t at the time, for they, as a matter of cour?e, supposed that hi- arm was crushed. Taken in all it was oneo f the narrowest -cap'-we have heard of. John McCarthy of Oloe county called at the Herald ojl'n e and left us. a copy of the Inve-t iirntor t" read. Gen. Jeff C. Dais, the M'l.c conqueror. is m the city, the gue.-t of Chaplain Wri ht. We are very much pea-ed to liae . de.-ervei.ily popular an otllt-er a Gen. Davis vi-it our city. Hon. John Chapman, 1". S. marshal for the we-teru di-!riri of Iowa, has been . i-ii m hi- brother, Samuel," iu this place this week. Henry Dubois, well known in the state as importer and breeder of line hor.-es, was in town Tue-- day. He goes to New York next sveek. Miss Julia porter, daughter of W. B. Porter. ejq., now at Wa-h-ington, D. C, sends u- a ery neat note and takes a Herald to give her the news from old Car while in Washington. A Mr. Thos. L. Stephens has taken editorial management of the Glenwood Opinion, in place f W. P. Robinson, who hereafter will attend to the financial in terests. Rev. G. C. Betts of Kan-as City, formerly rector of St. L:ke- church in this city, upent three or four hours with relatives an-l friends here on Wedne-dav la-t. The Herald paid a vi-it to the handsome little town of Weepinir Water week before la-t. Sim1 we came to Cass county it ha grown from a mere point, with a store and a mill, to the dirnen si ns of a very neat little ii!ae. The houses are sub-taut ia! and the yards show New England thought and ta-fe. it n-w ha aspirations for the county seal. whether it can make the riffle is not for the Herald to ay. One thing we do know, that Mr. Reed took us in his bu?gy and -bowed us a beautiful plateau for a town, and aNo some as line, country off to the S. W. iu Cass county a- we have ever seen. We then came round by Mr. Tewkbiiry's null and found himself and madam well, and a great increase in their family around them. Th mer chants at Weeping- Water are nil in good spirit, have done a U'""l busines and rover rroak. Tle-ide the mill at W. W. village ( Clinton & Johnson's' there is another mill two miles below, and a good water power between town and that. Already there are three mills within five miles abn- the river. Weepine Water no doubt is destine, I to be a manufacturing point of some magnitude at no distant day. Gen. Cunningham. T. W. Shry- ock anil Alex Schickel went t Omaha Monday we leiee. Charles Holme and Cal. Par mele received sixteen head of fine hor.-es last week, which they will dispose of at rea-onable terms. Mrs. Kate Adams, wife of Hir am Adam, died at the n-i'l-nr.-of her hu-band la-t Thur-day. Mr. Adams lo-t his only child by death on Monday. Master Clemie Cha-e. editor of the Excelsior, a child-' paper published at Omaha, called "ii the Herald lat Friday. Ma-ier Clemie, although a lad yet. ha edited a paper for several jear-: he is a printer. pre-man. roller boy and editor-in-chief, all in one. Som. !- ef.t J 1 ' .t'.'-r a har.Js"rr.e waterpr .f ..-!?. cape an I a!!, bv etpre.,. a . don't know who i? v.i. II- h- r--bv return thank- f r - : '. J. I. D lN 't;i:i'i a:: I f.i :..:v I. i -gone I Council !:;;:!- We are sorry t I Mr. v.-. man and hope he nt.iy : i-t t w.t! the -UCCC- lo- 4 i . J... new hone. Mr. Benjamin W. '.: !.t'. Iy of IKinoi-. !":? 'A of U Bend. N. !... called ,.n I If. ' ! e-terda. Mr. F;r.-- !.-.- 1 i ' , ' rnoeil f.t .'-N.'.l - k .4 a- i W- V.-'i llifll great st,cee-s. There wa a g" .ii, !; ' t ' in Pi.itt-M-.oof j, l.,-t . .',-.. i Hen- 11 k nr d t!... - I: v- and Johr.!; Wlu'e u;''i tfie bay, b"'h t w.i-. !;-. b v. i- -. be-t out of one. a:,. lle-,r ; . ir tere.j on Johnny a. , I l W.-epi;:.- Wat. r. r.I .T. 11 1. HeraM: . ! ! : -i 1...- cor imuMty been t i-re -i t: .! than by tie- a :::. :r" ' 1 -' i'ri'l.iy iMorrn'i- tN.i: ;i daughter of T. I.. I v i- - had ! - burr.e.l to ,!.a!!;. Mr. I'.va- .,. eer.il Jf(!e of , A . wa- er-'age i.i b-:ri - . -;.--talk- or -t h: - . !i Mr. 1 - ing- w 1 1 fa hi!-t in the !.. !. i of the girl-, a-'ed a!-":! '. ' ; -ore v., iv ran-tit It 1' " t'.re whi;e -lo wa- .; '.:' a !--tar.ee from her f '!,. ;. I:. of eoor-,. f. ..,. ..-r, , . i arid ran with a!! Ir-r r ':.:.'. the la-t -t::. ti of -a burr.'-d fro.. i he- j .-. . ; . r f -he;rg i ; t i ' ! . o. !..: h. r . ti! after -he had fa !eT! .'. -v . - , lied a!"-io h-.i.'-s. ! - ci..i nl'. Hi" t in.e. r.. i , j ! i i . but liM'e. n: d t;i g t . , . f hT -orrov--f ric'. .i ; ir : ' 1'. a--uri:.- Mo-mi that - v. a - i ' afraid t-. !:'. Tl. ' .a-. i, waited 'Ti the pat - f . - l 4 wa- o:,e of the t f I'"'.:,''" -jghts he ha- e.r -ef. t:... being c"'ke.i I., a cri; . . gL "- 11 3 tiil ir Better cookies, cake and biscuits, too. AH as light, Huffy, tender and delicious as mother uscJ fo bake. And j-t wh.le xue. for purrr IW.n 1'irm- der thn CIuit& ca;.ii.C.bc LJ mi. fru. your frrrrr. " " " iiceto EXKrrr at?cs fan . I.mu. L.rc. UU p0f If Jko.m lis i & i, CHlCAGOS hsas p r. 6w I b m-mri. hmr r - mil fc , ..r w ml am ,n m kai fwMta. Cil M U Mr" ra4 im. nawni 1