T H E TORCH OF REASON, SILV ER TO N , OREGON, TH U R SD A Y , JU L Y 8,
GOLDEN THRONE
"1 don t suppose th a t you are
'• carried away by this sophistry,”
t said C harlie to Sockdolliger. “ You
" m ust have some common sense,
r Thi s is all a subterfuge, th at can
H be destroyed in a m om ent, if you
will bring the woman to front this
man and speak her own words. It
I is not law merely, it is justice th a t
3 we seek.
You can tell w hether
■ this woman is crazy or not, and
• w hether her story is true.
You
> cannot
have any
regard for
the flimsy pretensions of this man,
who under the garb of religion, is
' endeavoring to perpetrate a horrible
■ crim e.”
[ a ROMANCE BY SAMUEL P. PUTNAM
as you like.
“ I shall not consent to any such
th in g ,” said the deacon.
“ Then we will make you,” said
Charlie, fiercely.
“J don’t think you can.
I ap
peal to the captain for protection.
I only ask m y rig h ts.”
“By what right do you drag this
lady away by force?”
“ I have not done so,” responded
the deacon.
“ I accuse you of this crime, and
I will compel you to ju stic e.”
“ It is no crime. I took the lady
you speak of, because I had a right
so to do.”
“ Do you speak of Blanche K en
nedy?”
“ And wherefore have you done
this?”
“ She is my wife.”
“ Your wife?
Liar! villain! do
you dare th is?” shouted Charlie.
“ Take those words hack, or I’ll
fling you over the ship.”
“ Not while I ’m here,” said Sock-
dolliger. “ I ’m going to see fair
play. If Gooch has com m itted an y
crime, I give him u p .”
“ He has abducted a young lady
from her home. Isn’t that crime
enough?”
'
1
s
I
<
<
“ C ertainly. All I w ant is the ’
proof. Let the lady speak for h e r - ! ’
self.”
“ I object,” said the deacon. “ The 1
lady is m y wife.
I can speak for <
her.”
i
“ Im poster!” cried C harlie; and £
he tried to sieze the deacon. Sock- t
dolliger laid his heavy hand upon i
him.
,
“ Hold on, young m an ,” he said,
“ not so fast. I can attend to this
m atter. Deacon, give us tin» docu-
inents, and it’s all right. Otherwise
I ’ll pitch you over m yself.” .
I he deacon produced a copy of a
ban Francisco paper, in which, to
the am azem ent of C harlie and his
friends, was a notice o f Gooch’s
m arriage to B lanche K ennedy. He
also produced a certificate of m ar-
riage. E verything was ap p a ren tly
correct.
“ T h at settles it,” said Sockdolli
ger. “ T he deacon’s right.
The
1
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t
r
s
r
0
1
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c
n
J.
lady belongs to him. I don’t see
how anybody can interfere?’
“ \V on t you let the woman speak 11
d o n ’t leav e b u t w ith her.
O u t of
gam e with his
T here’s a way
But we m ust
itart, and th in k deep-
was never an y th in g
uman ingenuity th a t
reum vented by hum an
ingenuity. Let’s go hack and find
out how' to do it.”
for herself?”
“Of course not, unless the hus- ti
band allows it,’ said Sockdolliger. n
Is there no way to
sh am ?” said C harlie.
blast
this
“ W hat an infernal cunning!”
said I addie. “ An adm irable piece
of deviltry I I liegin to respect the
deacon.
is the head, he is the m aster, he is
the sam e as C hrist to th at woman.
She has nothing to say and she
m ust do as he com m ands.
I can
not interfere b etw een this husband
and wife. ‘W hat God h a th joined
together let not m an put asu n d er.’
I have confidence in Gooch: for he
piays every day, and he leads the
Holy Word.
And I am sure that
this poor woman will find refuge;
but, w hether she does or n<>t, sl e
belongs to him, and th a t settles ii.
You c a n ’t see her, nor you c a n ’t
take her from this ship.’’
“ But I will,” said C harlie.
“I
“ I am willing to leave it with
you, ca p ’n,” said the deacon, with
a cunning leer. “ I take my stand
sim ply upon the Bible.
I believe
in it. These men do n o t,an d there
fore you cannot tru st them .
I am
working for the Lord.
I am try
ing to save a soul.
My poor wife
would he lost if I did not protect
her. I p la n t m yself upon the law
and the docum ents.
Here they
are. They have the seal of the
State upon them . I am the repre
sentative of my wife. I know what
is best for her spiritual and tem
poral welfare. She is in the eyes
of the law a cipher, and it is her
husband who m ust act in her stead.
This is w hat the church says and I
am sure, cap ’n, th at you will not
set yourself against, the decrees of
the Church and the texts o f holy
Scripture.”
“ I shall stand by you, deacon,”
said Sockdolliger. “Y our claim is «
valid; your wife belongs to you. |
And as a good C hristian, she ought 1
to subm it. If she is not a C hristian '
I am quite confident you will en
deavor to m ake her one, a id thus
save her from everlasting dam na- ’
tion. I believe in the Bible and 1 1
believe in law, and w hat the law <
m akes right is right.
I was never
taught any different.
The scrip- J
tures say th a t we m ust subm it to 1
the powers th at he, for they are or- I
dained of God.”
“ Do you in te n d ,” said C harlie, ’
alm ost overcome with surprise and 1
in dignation,—“do you in ten d t o ! ’
perm it this outrage, to let this
woman he the helpless prey of this *
m an, who has tom h ei from her *
home th a t he may rob her at his 1
will? Can it be th a t y<»u, horn in 1
a land of freedom, beneath th a t v
flag, can tolerate such an insult to I
justice? W hat are you thinking
“ I do.”
wss
1897
He certainly has brains.”
“ This is so h a rd ,” «aid C harlie,
—“ to be so near, yet not to see her
or to save her! Oh, the cruelty of
law* th a t can be m ade the in s tru
m ent of awful ty ran n y ! O verlan d