“If Mr. Gates will deposit $2,250, as counsel for Mrs. Gates desires, which is to be applied for the maintenance of herself and children and for attorney’s fees, I think we may continue this matter until a later date,” said the judge. Swiftwater came over to me. “I’ve got a thousand dollar draft,” said he, “and if you will loan me $1,250 I’ll pay everything up Monday,” said Swiftwater. I have never yet fully made up my mind what led me to loan Swiftwater that money, unless it was that, like everyone else who knew of his wonderful capacity for getting money rapidly out of the North, I believed he would make good all of his promises. I gave him the money, and Swiftwater was a free man. Just then the sheriff himself opened the door and, noticing one of the lawyers holding a bunch of bills and drafts in his hand, said: “I guess I will take charge of this.” And so it came about that the money was deposited in the clerk’s office in the county court, and on Monday morning, before any of us were about, the lawyers for Bera, Murphy & Cole, appeared in the courthouse with an order signed by the judge to draw the money out. Bera got $750 of the $1,000 promised her for maintenance for herself and children and the lawyers got the remainder. Is it any wonder, then, that I have often thought it was the easiest thing in the world for Swiftwater to find a loophole in the meshes of the law by which he could escape, while I have never yet found a way to make the law give me just common justice? And now it was Swiftwater’s turn to act. In another day the newspapers had his story that he had been “held up,” and after that came a sensation in the Bar Association of Seattle the like of which is not on record. And while the lawyers were fighting over the spoils, Swiftwater cleverly enough, though haunted by the spectre of the state prison, and constantly pressed by Kitty Gates, his polygamous wife, began working on Bera’s sympathies. He came to the hotel and went to Bera’s room. “Bera,” he said, “unless you get a divorce from me, and do it at once, Kitty will send me to the penitentiary; I will lose all my property in Alaska, and the boys and you will be everlastingly disgraced.” Bera listened. It is enough to say that with Swiftwater in the penitentiary, his mining interests in Alaska, which promised brighter than anything he had ever undertaken, and that means hundreds of thousands of dollars, all of Bera’s chance and mine to ever get a new start in life would have been wasted. Swiftwater daily said: “Bera, you certainly love the boys enough to save them the disgrace of having a felon for a father.” The argument was enough. Bera consented, and although, as I understand it, the law specifically prohibits a divorce where the parties agree in advance on the severance of the holy marriage tie, Swiftwater went away and Bera brought suit for divorce in the court of King County. And in time the decree was granted and is still of record in that county.