Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-03-29

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about the town, moody and distressed.
About this time II trial was in prog
ress at the court. A man was charged
with passing a forged check at the
bank. The teller fully identified the
prisoner, described his movements, and
related what was said between them at
the time with the greatest minuteness.
On the other hand the accused in
dignantly denied the charge and pro-
tested that he was not in or near the
bank at the time alleged, but in the of
flee of friend on street. He remem-
bered his whereabouts, for his arrest
was not long after the presentation of
the forged check, and all his move
ments that day remained distinctly
in his mind. From the first he had
continued to assert his innocence, and
declared the teller had mistaken him
for some other man.
Unfortunately for him, he was obliged
to admit that he was alone in his
friend office at the hour in question,
and failed to produce any witness be-
sides himself to prove definitely where
he was, though he had made every eff
fort to do so. II was question of
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clear and very positive statement of
the teller against the accused, and the
possibility of some motive presumed to
exist in the mans financial circum-
stances, had decided the direction, con-
sidering the interest at stake, to hold
him to answer at the next session of
the court. And now the day of trial
had come.
Everybody was extremely interested
in the trial, for the prisoner was well
known in the town, and had always
been supposed to be honest. The anx-
| iety was intense to know whether he
would be proved a criminal
The case seemed to be going against
the prisoner, for one or two other per-
sons had been summoned to testify that
"to the best of their knowledge and
belief they had seen the man in or
about the bank at one o'clock On the
day when the check was passed.
The prisoner sat in the courtroom,
pale, but with certain fearless firm
ness on hisfeatures that scarcely seemed
like guilt.
All the known evidence was in, and
to the last, save the statements of few
friends as to his previous good charac-
ter, nothing in his behalf beyond his
own unsupported word had been
brought forward.
The prosecuting attorney arose and
formally recOunted the strong points in
the case, dwelling especially on the
failure of the prisoner to prove an aiibi-
1. G.: to show to the satisfaction of the
court that he was elsewhere than at the
bank at the moment of the crime when
suddenly, to the unspeakable astonish-
ment of all present, a queer voice from
a distant part of the room exclaimed;
"But / can tell where he was
Everybody turned to look at the
speaker, who was none other than our
friend Dan. He stood with his mouth
wide open, clutching his cap with one
hand and with the other nervously
poking his tousled hair. Everybody
laughed.
"Silencer' roared the crier, with n
fierce tone, and then, assuming that the
boy intended to make sport, he ordered
him to sit down.
"No," drawled Dan, 81 guess not. :"
OF course that set the crowd into still
louder laughter. The crier made an
W SCO hb bhC ivy
"Stop! cried the Judge, in a way
that was heard in all parts of the room.
AS soon as silence was obtained, he
turned toward Dan, who still re-
mained standing.
Young man, do you know anything
about this case?'
"Yes, sir" replied Dan, slowly,
know
81 don't want to know that yet," in
terrupted the Judge. Come this way,
my boy"
The shrewd magistrate knew the
youngster well enough to surmise that
he would neither care nor dare to be
foolish at such time.
Dan, all stained and spotted, picked
his way out of the crowd and walked
| forward to the bench. A curious spec
tacle he was, with his uncouth form
and dress, and his mass of white hair.
The Judge leaned forward and said
something to him in very low tone,
and then Dan whispered back to the
Judge. Soon the people saw the Judge
smile and nod his head.
"Ah," said they to one another, " our
Dan has turned up something new. It's
just like him."
Their surmise was turned to certainty
when the Judge announced: "This
young man win produce important ev.
idence for the defense"
Dan made his way out of the court
room and disappeared. In ten minutes
he came back again breathless. He
had never been known to run before.
In his hand he held a paper as large
as the cover of geography. This he
handed to the Judge. He looked at il
curiously; then at the prisoner. In {
moment he said
"Clerk, administer the oath to thi.
boy"
Dan was sworn.
| cannot repeat his testimony here
but be sure it was drolly worded anC
disiointed enough. 1t made everybody
laugh, even while it interested then
profoundly. The substance of it wa,
that on the day when the forged check
was passed he was taking photograph
between the hours of twelve m. anC
three p. m. Among other pictures h,
made one of man standing in the win
dow of building on the opposite side
of the street. The man that he photo
graphed was the prisoner at the bar.
Immediately there was Il ageneral buzz
in the courtroom. The prisoners pal,
face flushed, and he gazed upon Dar
with a look of joyful gratitude.
But there was still very importan
question to be settled.
"At what time, exactly, was the
photograph taken?"
Dan took the picture and looked at i
closely.
"There's the clock on st. Luke
Church up in the corner" said he
pointing to the place and handing tn,
picture to the Judge.
"By the dial here" said the Judge
4" it was just one o'clock at the instan
when the picture was taken"
The jury and counsel now examined
the photograph minutely. 1t could no
be disputed there was the identica
man, and therefore he was not in thu
bank at the moment when the forged