Sarah Althea now received a powerful recruit, who enlisted for the war.  This was one of her lawyers, David S. Terry, whom she married on the 7th day of January, 1886, twelve days after the decision of the Circuit Court against her, and which he had heard announced, but before a decree had been entered in conformity with the decision.  Terry seemed willing to take the chances that the decree of the Superior Court would not be reversed in the Supreme Court of the State.  The decision of the federal court he affected to utterly disregard.  It was estimated that not less than $5,000,000 would be Sarah Althea’s share of Sharon’s estate, in the event of success in her suit.  She would be a rich widow if it could be established that she had ever been a wife.  She had quarreled with Tyler, her principal attorney, long before, and accused him of failing in his professional duty.  If she could escape from the obligations of her contract with him, she would not be compelled to divide with him the hoped-for $5,000,000.

Although Judge Terry had been Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California, the crimes of perjury and forgery and subornation of perjury which had been loudly charged in Judge Sullivan’s opinion against the woman, in whose favor he gave judgment, seemed to him but trifles.  Strangely enough, neither he nor Sarah Althea ever uttered a word of resentment against him on account of these charges.

The marriage of Terry with this desperate woman in the face of an adverse decision of the Circuit Court, by which jurisdiction was first exercised upon the subject-matter, was notice to all concerned that, by all the methods known to him, he would endeavor to win her cause, which he thus made his own.  He took the position that any denial of Sarah Althea’s pretense to have been the wife of Sharon was an insult to her, which could only be atoned by the blood of the person who made it.  This was the proclamation of a vendetta against all who should attempt to defend the heirs of Mr. Sharon in the possession of that half of their inheritance which he and Sarah Althea had marked for their own.  His subsequent course showed that he relied upon the power of intimidation to secure success.  He was a man of powerful frame, accustomed all his life to the use of weapons, and known to be always armed with a knife.  He had the reputation of being a fighting man.  He had decided that Sarah Althea had been the lawful wife of Sharon, and that therefore he had married a virtuous widow.  He had not often been crossed in his purpose or been resisted when he had once taken a position.  By his marriage he virtually served notice on the judges of the Supreme Court of the State, before whom the appeal was then pending, that he would not tamely submit to be by them proclaimed to be the dupe of the discarded woman of another.  It was well understood that he intended to hold them personally responsible to him for any decision that would have that effect.  These intentions were said to have been made known to them.