Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1876-02-03

of one man to The = w&f
q pond at some diG1I ~ il
as his opinion thai I'D
been dragged thit -
walked round and ~
gerly examining - g =
sedges and weeds = neounil
it. At first ~ = 10
clew bad been va6I fbw
eza6insf3oAs he lid Ii III d01& On
his face and looked keenly slons ths
surface Of the smooth and stagnant wa-
ter. Presently he jumped up, uttered
cry peculiar to the natives when graf.
ified BY finding some long-sought OBJ
ject, clapped bis hands, and pointing
to the middle Of the pond, to where the
decomposition of some sunken SUBJ
stance had produced Shiny coating
streaked with prismatic colors, he ex.
claimed, "White mans fat I" The pond
was immediately searched; and, below
the spot indicated, the remains of q
body were discovered. A large stone
and a rotten silk handkerchief were
found near the body; these had been
used to sink it.
That it was the body Of Fisher there
could be no question. It might have
been identified by the teeth; but on the
waistcoat there were some large brass
buttons which were Immediately recog-
nized, both by Mr.. Grafton and BY old
Ben Weir, as Fishers property. He had
worn these buttons on his waistcoat for
several years.
Leaving the body BY the side Of the
pond, and old Ben and the blacks to
guard it, Mr.. Grafton cantered up to
Fishers house. Smith was not only in
possession Of all the missing mans pro-
perty, but had removed to Fishers
house. Itwas about mile and a half
distant. They inquired for Mr.. Smith.
Mr.. Smith was at breakfast, came out,
and invited Mr.. Grafton to alight; Mr..
, Grafton accepted the invitation, and af-
ter few desultory observations said,
"Mr. Smith, am anxious to purchase
piece of land Oh the other side Of the
road, belonging to this estate. and I
would give fair price for it. Have you
the power to sell p
"Oh, yes, sir" replied Smith. "Tbe
power which hold from Fisher is a
general power;" and he forthwith pro-
duced document purporting to be
signsd y Fisher. bst xeieR "a TT
"If you are not very bul kpuld
like to show you the piece o. land I al
lude to-" said Mr.. Grafton.
"Oh, certainly, sir. 1 am quite at
your service" said Smith; and he then
ordered his horse to be saddled.
1t was necessary to pass the pond
where the remains of Fishers body
were then exposed. When they came
near to the spot, Mr.. Grafton, looking
Smith full in the face, said, "Mr. Smith,
l wish to show you something. Look
here !" He pointed to the decomposed
body and narrowly watching Mr.. Smiths
countenance, remarked: "These are
the remains of Fisher. How do you
account for their being found in this
pond 7"
Smith, with the greatest GOODNESS, got
off his horse, minutely examin, d the
remains, aud then admitted that there
was no doubt they were Fishers. He
confessed himself at loss to account
for their discovery, unless it could be
Che saidD that somebody had waylaid
him on the road when he left his home
for Sydney; had murdered him for the
gold and bank notes which he had about
his person, and had then thrown him
into the pond. my hands, thank hea-
vel" !" he concluded, are clean. If my
old friend could come to life again, he
he would tell you that had no hand
in this horrible murder"
Mr.. Grafton knew not what to think.
He was not believer in ghosts. Could
it be possible, he began to ask himself,
that old Weir bad committed this crime,
and-fnding it weigh heavily on his
conscience, and fearing that he might
be detected-had trumped up the story
about the ghost-had pretended that he
was led to the spot by supernatural
agencv-aud thus, BY bringing the mur-
der voluntarily to light, hoped to stifie
all suspiciour But then he considered
Weir's excellent character, his kind dis.
position, and good nature. These at
once put to flight his suspicion of Weir;
but still he was by no means satisfied
of Smiths guilt, much as appearances
were against him.
Fishers servants were examined, and
stated that their master had often talked
of going to England on visit to his
friends, and of leaving Mr.. Smith ts
manage his farm; and that though they
were surprised when Mr.. Smith came
aud said he had ''gone at last" they
!, did not think it at all unlikely that b,
had done so. An inquest was held, ant
. verdict of wiiliul murder found agains
Thomas Smith. He was thereupou
| transmitted to Sydney for trial, at th,
ensuing sessions, in the Supreme Court
The case naturally excited great inter
est in the colony; and public opinion
, respecting Smith's guilt vas evenly bal
, anced.
, The day Of trial came; and the cour
: was crowded almost to suffocasion Th
, attorney general very truly remarke,
; that there were circumstances connecte,
: with the case which were without an,
precedent ia the annals OF jurispru
5 denee. The only witnesses we're OIL,
: Weir and Mr.. Grafton. Smith, VII
, defended himself With great composur
D and ability, crcss-examined them at con
siderable length. aud with oonsnnmaf
skin. Tae prosecution having closed
: Smith addressed the jury (whsch con