The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1892-04-29

No jury. we knew. could convict man
on the criminal count on native evidence
in land where you can buy murder
charge. including the corpse. all com
plete for fifty-four rupees: but Biel did
not care to scrape through by the benefit
Of doubt He wanted the whole thing
cleared: but as he said one night: He
can prove anything with servants evil
dence and I've only my bare word" This
was about a month before the case came
on, and beyond agreeing with Biel we
could do little All that we could be
sure of was that the native evidence
would be bad enough to blast Biel's char
acter for the rest of his service; for when
a native begins perjury he perfumes him
self thoroughly He does not boggle
over details.
Some genius at the end of the table
whereat the affair was being talked over,
said: Look herel don't believe law
yers are any good. Get man to wire
to Strickland, and beg him to come down
and pull us through"
Strickland was about hundred and
long been married to Miss Youghal, but
he scented in the telegram chance of
return to the old detective work that his
soul lusted after. and next night he came
in end heard our story He finished his
pipe and said oracularly: I'VE must get
at the evidence Oorya bearer, Mussal-
man knit and methraniayah, suppose,
are the pillars of the charge. am on in
this piece, but I'm afraid I'm getting
rusty in my talk.
He rose and went into Biel's bedroom,
where his trunk had been put, and shut
the door. An hour later we heard him
say: II hadn't the heart to part with my
old makeups when | married. Will this
dor There was lothely faquir salaam-
ing in the doorway.
Nov lend me fifty rupees" said
Strickland, land give me your words Of
honor that you won't tell my wife"
He got all that he asked for, and left
the house while the table drank his
health. What he did only he himself
knows. A faquir hung about Bronck-
horsts compound for twelve days.
Then mehter appeared, and when Bel
heard of him he said that Strickland
was an angel full fedged Whether the
mehter made love to Janl1i, Mrs. Bronck-
horsts ayah, is question which con-
Germs Strickland exclusively.
He came back at the end of three
weeks, and said quietly: "You spoke
the truth, Biel. The whole business is
put up from beginning to end. Jovel
it almost astonishes met That Bronck-
horst beast isn't fit to live"
There was uproar and shouting, and
Biel said: How are you going to prove
1t? You can't say that you've been tres
passing on Bronckhorst's compound in
disguised"
No" said Strickland Tell your
lawyer fool. whoever he is, to get up
something strong about inherent inn
probabilities and discrepancies of evi-
dence. He won't have to speak, but it
will make him happy. I'm going to run
this business.
Biel held his tongue, and the other
men waited to see what would happen.
They trusted Strickland as men trust
quiet men. When the case came off the
court was crowded Strickland hung
about in the veranda of the court till he
met the Mohammedan khitmatgar.
Then he murmured faquirs blessing in
his ear, and asked him how his second
wife did. The man spun around, and as
he looked into the eyes of "Estreeken
Sahib' his jaw dropped. You must re-
member that before Strickland was mar
ried he was. as ! have told you already,
a power among the natives. Strickland
whispered rather coarse vernacular
proverb to the effect that he was abreast
OF all that was going on, and went into
the court armed with a gut trainers
whip.
The Mohammedan was the first wit
ness, and Strickland beamed upon him
from the back of the court. The man
moistened his lips with his tongue, and
in his abject fear of "Estreeken Sahib,"
the faquir, went back on every detail of
his evidence-said he was poor man
and God was his witness that he had for
gotten everything that Bronckhorst Sahib
had told him to say Between his terror
Of Strickland, the judge and Bronck-
horst he collapsed, weeping.
Then began the panic among the wit
nesses. Janl1, the ayah. leering chastely
behind her veil. turned gray, and the
bearer left the court He said that his
mamma was dying, and that it was not
wholesome for any man to lie unthriftily
in the presence Of 'Estreeken Sahib."
Bel said pOliteIy 70 Bronckhorst.