Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1877-10-06

Gus paid no attention to the lawyers
order. bu leaning for ward eagerly atireSs d
he judge and the jury: MAY il please yoIr
honor, and you: gentle men OF Ine jury" he
said-Squire May smiled He gets tn II
from me, ;" he said to himself, Tor they hal
Ia ked OF law and legal terms on their geo
logical trip. what H fiue lawyer he will
make " he thought.-'and You, gentlemen
OF The jury Gus went on, Al would like to
make a few further remarks"
"lf they have anything to do with facts
bearing upon the case" said the JUICE, with
a smile at the boys attempt at forensic eio
quence, YOU may proceed"
"My mother and 1, sir, do not believe that
Squire May sbOi my father. We think tina
the murderer was a stranger from whom
father had won a consiGerabie SUN OF money
the mis- BIT before
judge, "with what you or your mother may
think or believe. The question Is, can you
prove Dyihing?"
mo, sir" ret lied Gus AZ went down 10
the Union saloon ana found that father had
won the m OUey from peddler, that the m An
VIII lost II was de- p rate, but he had left the
town, ard no one knew where he hal gone,
or what v as his name"
"Msy L. please your honor" said the
prOsecGti, z attorney. call this seems TO me
utterly irrelevant and a useless consumption
of PR cious time"
Have you anything further to slater"
asked The judge, kindly.
mo. sir said Gus, bursting into tears
"but If u is trial could ne put of though I've
n.ver ,een the mel n. I'd track him like q
blOOd hOUnd. if al TO follow him 10 Cali
forDia - And the POOR boy lat down, cover
Ing his fsoe In an agony OF grief.
The discovery was nearer IMAM ne tnOugnt
for a esseuRer pressed through the crowjei
room, 'Onched Gus upon the shoulder, ami
Whispered that M was wanted. Utterly be
wildertd, he rose and followed him to low
boarding house in disreputable part OF the
town. There, upon wretched bed, man
lay dying. In a drunken condition he had
allen from high bridge, ard his skull Was
broken places Father v
the Catholic priest. had heard his Confession.
and was now committing IL TO writing. he
did not look up or speak as Gus entered, but
went steadily on with his work. A peddler's
pack lay open upon a chair, and Gus An
tonnes sharp eyes detected an object which
made him start forward and seize II. 1t was
the strip of embroidery which Hope had
made. He had found the man he sought.
Father Murphy, who had signed and GER
titled the paper. handed IL at this instant To
Gus Is rnriort was tsat d having g been zen
waited for ard snot him in Wild Cat Hol-
low. His money, which bad been taken from
the murdered man, he now eft to the church
and be pray d for the forgiveness OF those
whom he had injured. Gus turned to grant
1t, but IL e hard that had committed the crime
had stlftned upon crucihx, and Wi Ia the
wmd pecavi upon bis lips the soul had gone.
Then Gus turned 10 Father Murphy.
"Come quick TO the court house." he said.
awe may be too late now And with the
confession In one hand and the lace work in
Mean lille. at the courtroom, the lawyer
for The prosecution had summed up his case;
end now the cOunk Ell for the defendant, a fter
making a few remarks, in which he drew at
ton to Gus AntOine's statement rs perhaps
not 80 foreign 10 the case after all added that
be thout hit 1t sufficiently strong without 1t.
They would soon Zee that Squire May could
not have committt the murder, for he WAS
about TO prove an alibi, and would base 1t
entirely ny on the testimony of one witness.
and so say ing, he led Hope to the stand. She
q lQf ShkaV r<.p1d ha oil o.1Y,
testify, but low her courage left her, aud she
felt 8s If she must ny through an open side
door al d escape nom Them all. But q glance
from her father, and the thought that she
might save him. restrained her. The little
figure looked very p teOus with its white face,
black dress and flowing naxen hair. Al
ready there was heard murmur of sym.
pathy In the room, beginning with the wO-
men. But the prosecuting attorney was
equal TO the occasion.
81 protest, your honor" he said, "against
the testimony OF such mere child being adj
mitted in court. am willing 10 assert that
she does not know the nature of an oath, and
1t is well-k LOwn fact that she has visited
her father in prison, and been instructed by
him as 10 what TO say"
1.-The court grants you permission to ask
her any questions you choose" said the
judge.
Hope held her back of q chair tightly as the
lawy er turned upon her.
'DO you know the nature OF an oath?' he
asked fOrcely.
"Oh, yes, sir?" replied Hope. ats swear
ing, aid I've heard Col. Antoine swear lots
OF times"
a subdued litter, which Hope did not
b, ar, greeted the words, while the prOsecut-
lrg attorney turned with gesture of AS
sumed despair. "YOur honor sees" he
tean, then suddenly turning TO Hope.
cone question more: what did your father
teach you TO say here?'
There was murmur OF Indignation In the
Louise OF: "Why do they ct him sass her so?"
and the like. But Hope replied firmly: He
told me, whatever they asked me, TO tell the
truth"
eyes, ! understand he told you to say that
be had told YOU that. What else?''
"NOihing-oh, yes! he told Inc not TO be
afraid ifthe lawy ers were very impudenI and
tried to put Inc out, but just 10 tell the truth
tie whole truth, ard nothing but the truth,
and God would help me-"
~ think, your Honor" said the lawyer for
the defence tr!umphai!tly, chat there Is No
longer 81 y question rs To the eligibility OF
tie witness, and that she may be now per
n1tted to give her testimony"
The judge bowed gravely, and the prosecu-
ting attorney took his seat.
"And now my little girl" said the other
lawyer kindly. "will you state briefly, but
as clearly as you can, the events OF the day,
from The time the IL o'clock whistle sounded
ave we're all eating when the ~ O'Clock
whistle sounded" said Hope timidly. "Fa-
Their beckOned to me, and We left the others
there and went around to the old cotton wood
tree on the other side of the house. He hal
meant to fix a swing for the children, but he
had been SO busy about lection that he oDuld
not do it before, and he wanted me to help
him. We flushed IL while they were eating,
and then called them out and surprised them
sll. i hear the nos, the pistol made. Fa-
ther was up in the tree. He said, There.
some Of those boys are firing at . mark.
must put stop to that. It's dangerous"
This was all of Hopes testimony, but the
most rigid cross eXami natiOn did not inn
peach II. No other witness was called. Tue
judges address to the jury was brief. AS
they retired for consultation, Gus Antoine
elbowed bis way through the surging crowd,
brandisbing the confession in his hand. He
made bis way to the judge and handed IL To
him. He glanced II over, then rose and read
IL aloud. A cheer rang IhrOu "a the room,
but The judge, with lifted han d, commanded
silence. "This paper" said he, "comes toD
late 20 be used. The jury have retired, and
We must await their verdict. Ii not in ac-
cOrdsDce with the present disclosure, the
prisoner can petition for new trial.
Their abseLce was brief, and upon their re-
turn GREATNESS silence reigned in the room;
and the words. "NOt guilty." were heard in
the hottest part OF the house. The cheering
was now something overwhelming and not
to be Tepressed. Nobody heard the judges
adjournment; though all acted upon 1t.
Squire May had been acquitted simply