The Worthington advance., 1880-10-14

she replied at length "but he is not
guilty, know he is not 1t cannot be
possible he would do such a thing"
"Is he the son of David D., my old
friend and schoolmate, who died a few
years ago?" I asked.
eyes" she said, and then, in voice
broken with sobs Of anguish, she related
the occurrence I have narrated. She
further informed me that his mother was
living, but in very feeble health, and
that she did not know of the accusation
against her son that the neighbors had
taken care not to let the terrible secret
enter her sick-room, for fear that it
would kill her and, "Oh T. said the
young girl, "Henry was always such a
good young man he never drank before
the night Of the ball in his life. 0, can
you clear him ?" she asked, looking at
me with such pleading expression OF
countenance that, although I am not
very susceptible to female influence and
charms (D, it went directly to my heart,
and then, by circuitous route, reached
my brain some minutes after and, when
she again asked me if / could clear him,
was ready to say yes, most emphatic
ally, although could not see how it was
to be done.
Invent with her to the jail, and had
an interview with Henry, q fne-looking
young man, whose open, Ingenious
countenance gave the lie to the charge
against him, no matter what the circllm-
stances might indicate.
He told me he had never taken half-a-
dozen drinks of liquor in his life, had
no taste or desire for it, and only drank
on the night of the ball because it was
free; every one was drinking, and he
was urged to drink by the proprietor
and a number of his friends. He said
that after he became intoxicated he did
not remember what happened, but had
an indistinct recollection of cutting his
hand, and said it seemed to him that he
and another young man, who was also
drunk, went to Williams store and took
the goods. The young man he thought
was with him denied it, and Henry
would not tell his name, for, said he,
"neither of us could have intended tc
steal the goods. I would not take Will
iam's whole stock as a gift. I could
not use them; they are coarse and
cheap, and only intended for canal-boat
trade. But I am afraid I took them, fol
the more think of it the more I seem
to recollect it; yet never thought of ii
until the goods were found, and my
handkerchief among them then II
seemed to come to me like the recollec.
tions Of half-forgotten dream"
The young girl and myself left the
cell; that is, left first, and Just now,
while I think of it, I believe she re-
manned behind a moment. I thought
heard faint sound like an echo from
my young days. But I am ready to tes-
tify in any court where the question
may become important that I don't re-
member what it sounded like. Perhaps
it was the click Of the door-latch. al
though am afraid there is no door
latch on the door Of q prison-cell; but
no matter, only it made me more de-
termined to procure his acquittal if it
was "on the cards.
While returning to my office, ali iae;,
struck me with considerable force. TIL.
phenomenon was so unusual that I re-
member it distinctly.
I asked the girl if Henry had any
more handkerchiefs like the one foun.l
among the goods she said he had a
number-she had hemmed them for
him. She also told me that on the
night of the ball she had taken Henry's
handkerchief and tied a very small knot
in one corner-a knot commonly called
by young people love-knot." It was
SO small that it would hardly be noticed.
and she desired me to look at the hand
kerchief found at the first opportunity,
and see if there was such knot on it..
for, If it was not there, then it was not
Henry's.
The hearing before the magistrate was
to take place the next day but one, and
I sent her home with instructions to
bring me in one of the handkerchiefs
the next day, but to be sure and let no
one know it. She started home, and
went to my Office to think.
The hearing was before A. c., mag
istrate in our city. There was long,
high desk at one end of his Office, be-
hind which he sat during the examine
ton. I stood behind the desk at one
end. The prisoner, witnesses and audi
ence were IN front. I had procured a
newspaper, which I opened and spread
upon the top of the desk, and stood
reading it while the preliminaries were
being arranged. The handkerchief was
produced, and, while I was cross-exam-
ining the principal witness, 1 carelessly
spread it over the newspaper had been
reading, and with pin. unseen by any
one, I punctured the handkerchief and
paper around the margin of the blood
spots. This I did while I was cross
examining the witnesses and "quarrel-
ing" with the District Attorney.
When the examination had concluded
and the defendant had been held under
bail for his appearance at court, I re.
quested the magistrate to inclose the
handkerchief in an envelope, and keep it
until court. I did this because I feared
some one would discover the love-knot.
which I found as Ellen had related.
then returned to my office with the
punctured newspaper, making q COM
plete map of the blood-spots. Next,
spreading out the handkerchief Ellen
gave me, and the punctured newspaper
over it, with tuft of cotton I busted red
lead over the pin-holes, and on removing
the paper there was map Of the spots on
the handkerchief. We had chicken for
dinner that day, and vial of its blood
found its way into my Office. With the
blood and small brush saturated the
spots marked on the handkerchief, let it
dry, laid it away, and awaited the time
of trial
1t came at last, in the month of Au-
gust. The jury was impaneled, md the
District Attorney opened the case. BY
the aide of the prisoner sat his mother
and afianced bride. Ellen was really q
very beautiful girl, and, while the Com
monwealth's counsel was stating the
facts he intended to prove, she looked at
the jury with such q startled, pleading
expression in her tear-d -dimmed eyes that