“He left. When Mr. Sunderman came I was in tears; I was alone at home, my parents having gone out for the day and remaining away late. I was so hurt. I could now see that I had put myself in a bad plight. Mr. Sunderman begged me till I told him all. His words of comfort were soft, tender and reassuring, and by the time my parents came home, I concluded to tell them the whole affair, and with kind and genial Mr. Sunderman’s help, I did so. The following Tuesday the papers announced the name of Thomas Lane as candidate for township trustee.
“Never before was the local talent so pressed into service and the issue was one of merit. Many of the people came out in open defiance of my father; he was quoted and misquoted. Meanwhile Roy Sunderman was showing his ability as a politician. He made speech after speech at the school houses in the township; his diplomacy steered clear of the real issue, as he knew that the odds were heavily against him; he not only saw that the public was in favor of women teachers, but he realized that he stood before the people an abject subject to the severest forms of criticism. Still, this man of personal magnetism made many friends and fast friends everywhere he went; his arguments were forceful and conclusive and at the closing of each speech he made the announcement that on the day before the election he would address the people en masse, and if every voter would promise to come he would obligate himself to tell them something startling, and that something would be proven to them, that they would weigh the facts in their own active minds and be guided by their own decisions; in other words, they would be given facts that would put them on their honor as patrons of the public schools, as husbands of their homes and as fathers of their children. Such orations had the desired effect. It set everybody talking and the result was that when the day arrived for the ‘firing of the gun,’ as many of the skeptical ones put it, the entire populace was in the grove that had been chosen for the occasion. I am sure no one knew what was coming. All of the school directors were invited to seats on the rough platform by the speaker. His speech was a marvel of philosophy, his language was one continuous flow of correct and convincing utterances. The attention which was accorded him was within itself a mark of the appreciation of his efforts.
“Then he made the statement that on a certain night the school directors had met in caucus at the home of one of the candidates (namely, Mr. Lane), and solicited him to enter the race, and that he considered the matter in a favorable manner, and that Mr. Lane’s son had gone to the daughter of Mr. Dalby and made the proposition that in consideration of her giving to him her love he would dissuade his father from entering the race, and, pending the decision of the young woman, the Board of Directors had received this letter:
“‘Fellow Citizens,’ shouted the enthusiastic speaker, as he waved a sheet of fool’s cap aloft, ‘declining to become a candidate, then within two days after the young woman had decided that a man of the mercenary ideas of Elmer Lane was unworthy the love of a true woman, the father of the purchaser of love announces himself as a candidate, and young Mr. Lane had menacingly declared that ‘Old Man Dalby would be beat all holler if the young lady refused him.’”
“‘Now, ladies and gentlemen, if you want a man in the position of honor and responsibility, which it is in the power of this fair minded people to tender a man, who is making the fight simply to gratify the revengeful feelings which are harbored by a whimsical and love sick youth, it is your duty to vote for Thomas Lane. If you want a man to represent you in public affairs who is more loyal to the cause of education, and who has the interest of your home at heart as well as his own, and a man who is as far above the pusillanimous acts of coercion as the angels are above Satan, then vote for Caspian Dalby.’”
“Mr. Sunderman closed his remarks by challenging any one to refute his statements. No one made answer to this remark and the truth won. Of course there was a great deal of talk when my father insisted on employing Mr. Sunderman. He was tendered the position of principal of the academy in town, but he declined, saying that he preferred country life and that all he could accept would be a school in the country. Then he was intrusted with the school in the district in which we lived.
“It was an easy thing for me to fall in love with him, and I am sure he loved me. My father did not object to the match, he only insisted on our waiting, but lovers cannot wait, so we went quietly away, got married and wrote home for forgiveness. It came in time and we, instead of returning, settled down in a small Wisconsin town, where Roy began the practice of law. Sixteen months of happiness is well worth the price of sixteen years of sadness. Our boy was about four months old when Roy came home one day with a cloud on his face. I finally persuaded him to tell me what his trouble was, and he took me in his arms and told me of another marriage in which he was a principal. It occurred two years before he came to our house. He had applied for a divorce and supposed himself free, but it seemed a technical point had been overlooked and he was still legally bound to the other woman. I am too mature now to explain to you how my tender nerves were shocked. I asked him if he could not yet get a divorce. He was afraid not, and besides he had a letter from his father who was very wealthy stating that unless he came home and took care of his wife he would be disinherited.
“‘But what about me?’ I asked.
“‘Oh dear,’ he said, ‘I don’t know; it nearly drives me mad. If I go I will lose you and if I stay I will lose fortune and position, and will eventually be torn from you.’”
“I could see it all; he was right. It was arranged for me to live in Chicago. He would support me and move his wife there so that he could see me as often as possible.