People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-03-23

and the plate OF broken victuals be.
side it He let the daylight in, and
looking down through the open
square in the floor, saw a heap Of
something lying about twenty feet
below, but not until he had obtained
a candle, discovered that it was the
body, lying face downwards, of a
man. He procured help and lad
der, by the aid OF which he descend
ed, but had some difficulty in lifting
the corpse, as its hands. dug deeply
into the mould, had stiffened there,
while his teeth literally bit the dust.
The expression of his features was
less one of pain than Of intense hun
ger, though his body was well nour-
ished, and his clothes, made in the
fashion OF some foreign country.
spoke OF his prosperity. Below the
chest, and across the arms was Sc
cured Che rope by which he
had evidently been lowered from
above (but cross-questioned on this
point witness admitted that the rope
was not tightly drawn, so that a
powerful man might easily struggle
or jerk himself out of it), portion
OF similar rope being secured to a
strong hook just beside the trap
door His own impression at the
time was, that somebody had dragged
and hidden him there, arranging for
his escape when he came to himself,
and even providing him with food to
eat when he came to. Thought the
man died OF heart seizure, or vista.
ton of God, or of fright, till the
coroner's inquest proved that he died
of poison. Was astonished to find
that food was found in his stomach,
from his look he would have thought
he had been slowly perishing OF
famine for days Saw a bottle OF
stuff in the cupboard that smelt of
narcotic; was aware that the secret
OF making it was known to few
women in the village, that it was de-
cocted out OF herbs, and that its
Strength rather increased than waned
with years. He had heard it said
Though he didn't listen to gossip
that Judith had more than once
given a dose of it to Seth Treloar,
when he was in one Of his mad-drunk
furies, but that he never guessed it,
only fell asleep and woke in better
temper. That was the only bit OF
scandal he had ever heard about her.
Even now he did not believe her
guilty, though facts might be against
her." = ~, -ij+--
When the burly fisherman left the
box he left a distinct impression Of
| good sense and good feeling, and
some Of those present muttered that
he should have been called as a wit
ness for the defense and not for the
prosecution. - --a 800. .,s.s :
The doctors evidence was short.
and to the point In Seth Treloar's
body he had found enough arsenic to
kill three or four people, and traces
OF a powerful narcotic that would
have the effect of cutting short his
agony after swallowing the poison,
SC that he would actually die with
out pain and unconscious,
Cross-examined as to whether a
man who had swallowed a deadly
irritant would be likely to refrain
from crying out, DR.. Trevelyan said
, it would be most unlikely, even with
a man Of severe self-discipline and
iron will, and in the last degree i'm
probable with an ignorant and no.
toriously passionate man. Short Of
a blow that would have instantly
stunned him Iof which there was no
trace) he could not have escaped the
severest agonies Immediately after
swallowing the doubly hocussed
drink, which, by the way, he must
have tossed off at a draught. The
man had been dead over three days
when he saw him. and he could not
account for the wolfish look of hunger
in his face, for in his stomach was a
large quantity of undigested food,
indicating that he had eaten heavily
shortly before he drank the fatal cup.
The body was extremely well nour-
ished, the skin and hair remarkably
sleek and glossy, the complexion
clear, while the solidity of the flesh
spoke to excellent powers of d.
gestion. He looked like a man in
the very prime OF life who might
have lived to be old but for the acct
dent that cut short his existence"
When DR.. Trevelyan left the box
knew that here again was witness
whose evidence was distinctly in
favor of Judith, and how, but for
me, the case against her must in
evitably have broken down.
And then my name was called, and
when left the witness-box, ! knew
by the faces of the jurymen that
Judith was virtually a condemned
woman.
CHAPTER ".
As turned in at the Jail-gates,
knocked against Stephen Croft com