The morning call., 1892-09-07
THE STRANGE WITNESS.

John Waller carefully timed his murder
Gus visit TO Daniel Jaggard's bungalow.
Jaggard's negro QGash was out picking
oranges from the grove by the river. There
was no one within q mile of them when he
stepped into the room where Jaggard was
sitting writing. he did not count the
mocking- bird in a large cage by the desk.
That you, Johu?" exclaimed Jaggard,
laying down his pen. We'll. l am glad to
see you Sit down."
"No." said Waller. Reckon It's not
pleasure I am here for; it's downright
business Win you, once for all, leave
Sybn Macdonald to me? Before you came
she eottoned TO me. But It's different
since"
'My good man"
''Yes or no?"
"Well, certainly no."
''Then, by thunder, your last minute has
arrived r
They we're both strong men, but Jaggard
was taken uuswRTeS. Walters bowie was
In him up to the hilt before he could stand
Up The stab was mortal. He groaned,
writhed, tried to lift himself on his elbows,
gasped forth the words, John did it." and
died.
Waller, who had narrowly watched the
whole scene, shrugged his shoulders, wiped
his knife on his victims clothes and left the
house.
During the progress of this tragedy the
mocking-biTd had stood to attention with its
head on one side. But when Waller had
disappeared In the pine woods adjacent to
the house, the bird began to mimic the
gTuesOme scene from beginning TO end. Ii
the rinUs infQnaff0ps of the two men
in their interchange OF speech, and finished
with 8 w0ndrOus mOckeTy of Jaggards dy-
ing agony. Tbis done the bird staiked 10
:: piece Of meat at one end Of It's cage and
- dlned 10 It's c0ntentment
:*' When the murder came to be discussed It
: seemed clear to every one that Quash was
= the perpetTat0r. He was a peculiar man,
=: even fer daTky. His emotion over Jag
.-:gard' S body was pronounced exaggerated
the sublime OF black cunning.
=: They carried the poor fellow to the prison
:.Of NateTyille and put his very tears and
:. Wailings about his dead masters goodness
In the balance against him. T6eTe WAS talk
Of lynchng him, but that the City Marshal
took pans TO guard against The City Mar
shdl had q long white beard and broad
byGw He was the Nestor of HernandO
County aud he said That it was possible
that Quash was not the culpTit. This
orsculaT ruling saved the negro.
Among ali the Orsnge-grOwers in Water
fAiFC hOub AEAE ulDAb lulClCbL64 III tic
mUTdeT than Mrs. Macdonald and her
daughter Sybil. They had emigrsted from
- England in 1885. Mrs. Macdonald was
masterful woman. Sybh was Just twenty,
with puTpted eyes, and she was beautiful TO
lOOk upon, notwithstanding the sYarthy
complexion she owed to the Florida sun. 1t
was those eyes that had fascinated Waller.
and when Jaeger arrived and took up land
in the neighbOrhood be also sacrificed to
4hem.
Sybil respected Waller as a shrewd, steady
worker, sure OF a competence IN few years.
But TO her mother there was no crime like
poverty, and so Sybi had kept her love IN
her own heart However, Jaeger had learned
TO read her eyes, ard he understood her.
Therefore when the murder was bruited the
shock 10 the Macd0nalds was great.
Mother" said Sybl quietly, when they
had brought over the news, / believe |
could kill that wicked brute if be were here
kill him with my own hands"
at will b6 all one to Qussh in the end
:; whether YOU or the Marshal kill him." re-
.. marked Mrs. Macdonald. Il guess he'll
: hang ere this day week"
= II was decided to hold the inquiry In Jag
CARDS own room. In the interval the house
=: had been put IN charge of a poor Seminole
: who had wandered UP into fernando
=. County. He knew little English, but that
=: was more than enough as he had no one to
talk to except the mockinE- biEd, whom.
- with the craftl0f a child Of nature, be c0axed
into the utterance of a number of excru-
ciatiug noises.
The room was filed, and crowd stood
outside between the open window aud the
pine forest. All Jaggard's intimate &C
0uaintaBces had been subpenaed Thus the
Macdonalds and John Waller himself were
there-Sybil and John appearing some what
uncomfortable; but Mrs. Macdonald with
merely tight mouth, as If she resented
such an Improbable waste Of time.
Quash, with bracelets on and shedding
tears as fast as he could, was present, of
course: Never did an innocent negro
oner<so sad spectacle as he. But no one
com pass0nated him. The only pity at bis
:: service was what he might receive from the
cold barrels Of seven or eight six-shoOters.
. !Ellls:liyely gathering in the room which
:: II had been wont 10 consider sacred TO itself
= and. It's master, whom ii loved in bird
r: fashion, at FIRST frightened the mocking-
-:~Dlr0: II tried 70 oblitsTata itself In the
II darkest corner of its cage. By and by it
::appeared5 to take an interest in the pro-
=. :ceedlnRs.. Ii trod forward, inch by inch.
untlElt .wat as near TO the assembly as its
. cage permitted. Some one gave it q lump
OF sugar, but it neglected this when the
Marshal began to speak. Quash interrupted
. the Marshal with passionate repudatiOn
OF something he said At this the bird
: cooked its head aud red0ubled its attention.
- The evidence was purely cireumstantial,
= and Q0ash, when called up to defend him
p: self, could only utter commonplaces He
loved: Mr. Jaggard too well to kill him
would rather put the knife into his own
black bosom, and so forth; then he shed
-.more tears, all Of which was no defense at
all. When he was silenced it was apparent
. that he would be judged guilty.
But the City Marshal was not satisfied
lie had never seen negro weep like Quash,
be said to the company.
Il want to know something about Jag
CARDS personal habits" be observed. "Was
he likely TO commit suicide for instance?
Mr.: John Waller, you, l think, knew him
well, did you not?"
Yes, l knew him WELL" replied Waller,
feeling very sick.
You should have seen the eYcitemanf of