The Trials of the Soldier's Wife

by Alex. St. Clair Abrams

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SECOND.

  IMPRISONMENT OF THE SOLDIER'S WIFE.

  We must now take a glance back at the time that Mrs. Wentworthcommitted her act of despair in taking the package of money from thesafe. Mr. Swartz, as we stated, was then gazing intently at the openpages of his ledger, and, in her leaving the room hurriedly, did nottake any other notice of her, than mere glance. He then resumed hiscalculations, nor did he rise from his seat for nearly three hoursafterwards, so intent was he on the books before him. Rising up atlast, he walked to the safe, and observing that the package of moneywas gone, called out to his clerk, who quickly answered the summonsand entered the room.

  "Vere is dat package of money I had on de safe dis morning?" heenquired, as soon as the clerk had entered.

  "I have not seen anything of it, since I gave it into your hands thismorning at nine o'clock," the clerk replied.

  "Vell, I put it on top of dis safe," observed Mr. Swartz, "and Iforgot to lock it up, ven Mr. Elder came in, and kept me talkingnearly two hours, den de beggar came in and remained for a long time.After dat I vas busy mit the ledger, and didn't think of it."

  "Perhaps you have placed it somewhere else, and cannot recollectwhere," remarked the clerk, who was apprehensive that Mr. Swartz wouldcharge him with having stolen the money.

  "No, I didn't," answered Mr. Swartz, "De monish vas put down on de topof the safe, for I remember putting it down here myself," he added,pointing to the spot where the money had been.

  "You had better search about before you make certain of that," saidthe clerk. "See if it is not in your pocket you may have placed itthere, and at the same time believe that you placed it on your safe."

  "Mine Cot!" answered Mr. Swartz, "I tell you I put the package on desafe. See here," he continued, searching his pockets, and emptyingthem of whatever they contained. "Don't you see dat de monish is notin my pockets. It vas on de safe und unless somebody removed it, itnever could have gone away."

  "You should be certain, sir, before you insist that you placed it onthe safe," remarked the clerk. "Look in the draw of your desk, it mayhave been placed there as well as any other place."

  With a gesture of impatience Mr. Swartz opened the drawers of thedesk, and removing everything they contained searched carefully amongthe large number of papers for the missing package. It was not therehowever, and turning to the clerk who was standing near by, he pointedto the table to indicate the fact of its absence among the papers hehad taken from the drawers.

  "I told you it vash not tere," he remarked. "Somebody has taken temonish, and, py Cot! I vill find out who has got it."

  "Don't be so hasty in your conclusions, sir," said the clerk. "Let ussearch the room carefully, and see whether it has not been mislaid byyou. It will never do," he added, "to charge anybody with having takenthe money, when it may be lying about the room."

  "Vere can it pe lying?" asked Mr. Swartz angrily. "I tell you it vashon te safe, and tere ish no use looking any where else."

  "That maybe so, sir," replied the clerk, "but if you will give mepermission I will search the room well before you take any furthersteps in the matter."

  "You can look if you like," observed Mr. Swartz, "but I know tere ishno chance of your finding it, and it ish only giving yourself troublefor noting."

  "Never do you mind that, sir," the clerk answered. "I am willing totake the trouble."

  Removing the books from the top of the safe he carefully shook themout, but the package was not among them. He then replaced them andturned the safe round, with the hope that the money might have fallenunder it. The same success, however, attended him, and he wascompelled to renew his efforts. Everything in the room was removedwithout the package being found. After a minute and diligent search hewas compelled to give up the work in despair, and ceasing he stoodtrembling before Mr. Swartz, who, he momentarily expected, wouldcharge him with having committed a theft. But for this fear he wouldnever have taken the trouble of upsetting and replacing everything inthe room, but would have been perfectly satisfied for his employer tosustain the loss.

  "Vell!" said Mr. Swartz. "I suppose you ish satisfied dat te monishain't here."

  "Its disappearance is very singular," replied the clerk. "If, as yousay, the package was laid on the safe and never removed by you,somebody must have taken it away."

  "Of course, somepody tock it," remarked Mr. Swartz. "How te tevilcould it go mitout it vash taken away py somepody?"

  "Do you suspect any one of having stolen it," asked the clerk, turningas white as the shirt he wore.

  "Did you ever come near de safe to-day," asked Mr. Swartz, abruptly.

  "Me, sir?" said the now thoroughly frightened clerk. "No, I--Nosir--I--never came further than the door each time you called to me."

  "I can't say dat Mr. Elder vould take it," observed Mr. Swartz, "andall I remember now dat you didn't come anyvere near de safe, I can'ttink who could have taken the monish."

  Assured by his manner that Mr. Swartz had dismissed all idea ofcharging him with the theft, the clerk's confidence returned, and heceased stuttering and trembling.

  "Do you think the woman who was here could have taken it?" heenquired, and then added: "The last time I entered this room while shewas here, I remember seeing her standing near the safe, with her elbowon the top."

  "By Cot!" exclaimed Mr. Swartz, striking the table with his hand. "Shemust be de very person. She vanted me to give her monish, and she musthave seen de package lying on the safe and taken it avay."

  "It is no use wasting any time then," said the clerk, "you mustendeavor to find out where she stays, and have her arrested thisevening."

  "Vere can I find her house?" asked Mr. Swartz.

  "You will have to track her," answered the clerk. "The first place youhad better go to is Elkin's drug store, for I saw the woman enterthere after leaving here."

  Mr. Swartz made no reply, but taking up his hat he walked out of hisoffice, and proceeded to the drug store. The druggist, who had noticedthe wild and haggard appearance of Mrs. Wentworth, informed him, inreply to his enquiries, that such a person as the one he described hadpurchased several descriptions of medicines from him, and on leavinghis store, she had walked up the street. This being the onlyinformation that the druggist could give, Mr. Swartz left the store,and after many enquiries discovered where Mrs. Wentworth resided. Heimmediately returned to his store, and mentioned his discovery to theclerk.

  "You had better go at once and take out a warrant against her forrobbery;" remarked the clerk, "and take a couple of policemen with youto arrest her."

  Starting to the City Hall, Mr. Swartz took out a warrant against Mrs.Wentworth for larceny, and procuring the assistance of two policemen,he started for the old negro's cabin, determined to prosecute thethief to the utmost extent of his power and the law. Having informedour readers of his conduct on discovering that his money had beenstolen, we will continue from where we left off at the close of thelast chapter.

  Mrs. Wentworth on perceiving Mr. Swartz and the two policemen, hadpointed to the dead body of her child, and pronounced the solitaryword, "there," while her face became cold and expressiveless.

  Involuntarily looking in the direction pointed out by Mrs. Wentworth,the three men started with awe as their eyes fell upon the beautifulface of the dead child. One of the policemen, who was a devoutCatholic crossed himself, and withdrew from the entrance of the door,but the other policeman and Mr. Swartz quickly shook off all feelingsof fear that had passed over them.

  "Here is de voman," said Mr. Swartz, pointing to Mrs. Wentworth. "Disis de voman who shtole mine monish."

  As he spoke she turned her face towards him, but the mute anguish ofthe mother did not cause a sentiment of regret to enter Mr. Swartz'sheart, at the part he was acting towards her.

  "Arrest her," continued Mr. Swartz, "I vant you to take her to dejail, where she can be examined, and to-morrow morning I can have herup before de Mayor."

  "Not to-night," exclaimed Mrs. Wentworth
in a hollow voice. "Leave mewith the dead body of my child; after she is buried you can do as youplease with me."

  "I knows better tan to do dat," observed Mr. Swartz, "by to-morrowmorning you vould be a pretty far avay from Shackson."

  "I will not move from this cabin an inch further than to the burialground," replied Mrs. Wentworth, "but if you fear it is my intentionto escape, let one of your policemen remain here and watch me tonight."

  Mr. Swartz stepped to the threshold of the door, and consulted the twomen on the possibility of complying with her request, but one refusedthrough superstition, while the other declined in consequence of hisbeing on the night watch.

  "I can't agree to your vishes," said Mr. Swartz, as soon as theconference was over, and he returned to the bedside. "De policemenvont remain here."

  "Then do you trust me," she replied. "By the holy name of God, Iimplore you not to tear me from the body of my child, but if that namehas no weight with you, and as I perceive it is useless to appeal toyou by the sacred tenets of Christianity, let me pray you, that as aman, you will not descend to such brutality as to force me from thedead body that now lies before you, and deprive me of performing thelast sad rites over her. In the name of all that is humane, I plead toyou, and, oh, God! let my supplications be answered."

  "Dere is no use of you talking in dat vay to me," said Mr. Swartz in acoarse and brutal tone. "It vas in de same sthyle dat you vent on dismorning, ven you vas begging me, and den you afterwards shtole mymonish."

  As he finished speaking, the old negro entered the cabin, andperceiving the intruders, enquired the cause of their presence. TheCatholic who was an Irishman, briefly explained the object of theirvisit to the astonished old woman, who never conceived for a momentthat Mrs. Wentworth had been guilty of theft.

  "De Lor!" she exclaimed, as soon as her informant had concluded hisremarks. "Who would'a believe it? Poh people, dey is really bad off,"and she hurried to Mrs. Wentworth's side.

  Mrs. Wentworth had paid no attention to the colloquy between the oldnegro and the policeman; she was engaged in appealing to Mr. Swartz,not to remove her to jail that night.

  "You must have some feelings of humanity within you," she wasobserving. "You must have some touch of pity in your heart for mycondition. Do not send me to jail to-night," she continued in anearnest tone. "If your own heart is steeled against the sorrows of ahelpless and wretched woman; if the sight of that dead face does notawaken a spark of manly pity within you, let me entreat you, by thememory of the mother you once had, not to tear me from the body of mychild. The hours of night will pass of rapidly, and by the dawn ofmorning my daughter shall be buried."

  This was the first touch of feeling she had manifested, and though notears bedewed her cheeks, the swelling of her bosom and the anguishedlook she wore, told of sorrow more terrible than if tears had come.

  The wretch was unmoved. He stood there, not thinking of the solemn andheart-rending scene before him, but of the money he had lost, and thechance of its being found on the person of Mrs. Wentworth.

  "Do your duty, policemen," he said, without appearing as if he hadheard her remarks.

  "It is well," she said, and walking up to the bedside of her deadchild, she lifted the body until it almost assumed a standingposition. "Farewell child, farewell forever!" she continued, coveringthe lifeless face with kisses. "See this!" she said, turning to themen, "see the result of beggary and starvation. Look upon it, you havehad it in your power to save me from this desolation, and rejoice inyour work. Here, take me," she added, laying down the corpse. "Take mefrom the presence of the dead, for if I remain gazing at it muchlonger, I will indeed go mad."

  Walking up to the old woman, Mrs. Wentworth continued. "Auntie, Ileave my child's body with you. See that it is buried and mark thespot where it rests, for oh! I feel that the day is not far distantwhen my weary head will rest in peace at last, when that time arrives,I desire to be buried by the remains of her who now lies there. Forthe little boy who is here, keep him Auntie, until his father claimshim, and should his father never return, take him before some man highin position, and tell him that a wretched mother leaves him to thecare of his country, as a momento of one of the patriot band who diedin her service."

  The old negro fell upon her knees before the speaker, and burst intotears, while even the rude policemen were touched by her remarks, Mr.Swartz alone remained unmoved, the only feeling within him was adesire that the work of confining her in jail should be completed.

  "And now one last farewell," continued Mrs. Wentworth, again embracingthe corpse. Another instant and she was out of the room followed bythe three men, and they proceeded in the direction of the jail.

  The old negro fell on her knees by the side of the bed, burying herhead in the folds of the counterpane, while the tears flowed freelyfrom her eyes. The little boy nestled by her side sobbing and callingfor his mother.

  "Don't cry chile," said the old negro, endeavoring to console him."Your mammy will come back one of dese days," then recollecting thewords of Mrs. Wentworth in reference to him, she took him in her arms,and continued, "poh chile, I will take care ob you until your fathercome for you."

  Thus did the good hearted slave register her promise to take care ofthe child, and her action was but the result of the kind treatment shehad received from her owner. She had been taken care of when a childby the father of her present owner, who was no other than Dr.Humphries, and now that she had grown old and feeble, he had providedher with a home, and supported her in return for the long life offaithful service she had spent as his slave.

  The next morning at about nine o'clock, a hearse might have been seenin front of the old woman's cabin. Without any assistance the negrodriver lifted a little coffin from the chairs on which it rested inthe room, and conveyed it into the hearse. It then drove off slowly,followed by the old negro and the infant, and drove to the burialground. There a short and simple prayer was breathed over the coffin,and in a few moments a mound of earth covered it. Thus was buried thelittle angel girl, who we have seen suffer uncomplainingly, and diewith a trusting faith in her advent to Heaven. No long procession ofmortals followed her body, but the Angels of God were there, and theystrewed the wood with the flowers of Paradise, which though invisible,wafted a perfume into the soul sweeter than the choicest exotics ofearth.

  From the grave of the child we turn to the mother, to see if hersufferings died with the body of the Angel which had just been buried.They had not, for still the eye of God was turned from the Soldier'sWife, and he saw not the life of misery and degradation that she wasleading.