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 t t r s r 0 1 r 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