The herald., 1893-08-09

silver that was not in everyday use.
Then finally. as If divining at length his
real position. he broke down, calling on
God to strike him dead if he knew any
thing about his old masters murder,
and was led aside after saying it was q
Judgment on him for 'Ieaving the silver
uncounted."
The strongest evidence against the ac-
cused was found when a search was
made in his room. It looked as If old
Thompson must have been almost mad
to have left SO many mute witnesses
against himself. In a tall vase on the
mantelpiece was found cheap file,
which, when examined by an expert,
proved to have small particles of silver
still adhering to it. On ledge in the
chimney was Mr.. Weathercraft's purse,
containing S45 in notes and some change.
Finally, at the side of the coverlet,
rather more than half way down toward
the foot of the bed, were discovered
three distinct stains, which expert evi-
dence asserted to be blood stains, and
seemed to have been left by human
right hand.
| If motive were wanted for the crime,
Mr.. Weathercraft's will seemed to offer
it. The will had been drawn up for
some months previously and witnessed
by the two men servants. the last clause
consisting of bequest of $4,000 to the
accused himself. It seemed possible
that Thompson knew Of this bequest
and that he had perpetrated this awful
crime in order to benefit by it the sooner.
1t is not surprising in the face of all
the evidence that James Thompson was
fully committed to take his trial for will
full murder of his deceased master, SO
that public opinion almost unanimously
condemned him in advance.
During the four months that elapsed
between the arrest and the trial James
Thompson sat despairing in his cell. He
spoke but little, answering his lawyer
alphabetically, throwing no new light on
the case, but continuing to deny every
thing. He seemed like one in a hopeless
maze, who can't exactly understand how
he got there and has given up all hopes
of ever getting out.
AS we havesaid before, the public was
tolerably unanimous in believing him
guilty, though. strange to say, there was
one notable exception. His lawyer, a
sharp criminal practitioner, who had
taken up the case with his eye fixed ON
the $4,000, almost believed him inno-
cent--we say almost. for Mr.. Sharply
made point of never allowing himself
to quite believe anything of anybody.
Mr.. Sharply, as rule, almost believed
his client guilty; in the present instance
he almost believed him innocent, and
that was all.
Indeed there was something pathetic
in the puzzled expression which never
left the old mans face, and his occasional
remark, with melancholy shake of the
head, "It was all along of me leaving
my siller uncounted." Mr.. Sharply, who
was practical even in his softer moods,
once expressed an opinion to his partner
in the privacy of their inner Office that
"if the old fellow would only get off
that tommy rot about the siller to the
jury, they would bring him in insane
without leaving the box"
But if the lawyer believed or half be-
lieved his client innocent, he found it
difficult to offer even to himself any
reason for the half faith that was in
him, and it was with the worst forebod-
ings that he saw the day of trial dawn
at last.
The case was called, and Sharply did
his best, but there was indeed very little
to be done. There is an end to all things,
even things legal, an end to challenges,
an end to exceptions asked and taken.
The judge delivered his charge, and the
jury left the box. 10 is supposed that
they did this as a compliment to Mr..
Sharply, who was always popular with
juries. At all events they soon filed
back again with verdict of "guilty as
charged in the indictment" Old Thomp-
son was formally condemned to death.
He was led back to bis cell, where his
lawyer visited him and tried to cheer
him up by talking of "stays" and zap
peals." He recommended him to make
himself comfortable, explaining that by
the grace of God and the laws of the
state he had still q couple of years or so
to live, unless things went very badly.
But the old man shook his head and
said Nor He had been condemned to
death and the sooner he died the better.
He didn't want any more palavering
about it since it was all along of that
''siller" he had left uncounted. In vain
Sharply pointed out that uncounted sill
er was not a hanging matter. Old
Thompson was firm, and the lawyer de-
parted not altogether without hope and
demanded commission to inquire into
his clients sanity.
The doctors came in due time aud ex-
amined the prisoner. Then they talked
it over among themselves and decided
that, though he was certainly little
odd, he had sense enough to hang satis-
factorily and handed in their report in
that sense.
So old Thompson was told that he had
nothing further to hope for in this
world and sat down to wait through the
months which the wisdom rather than
the mercy of the law ordains shall elapse
between condemned mans sentence
and execution. And here we must leave
him while we pay visit at the Office Of
Mr.. Fogey, the late Mr.. Weathercraft's