The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1896-11-28

hoI1eward voyage there Is no sort of doubt
that he was returning 10 England to face
whom he was unable to pay. There,
gentlemen, is a noticeable side to his charac-
ter which we may call the gambling side, and
which, as / think, was too lenientlY viewed
by the Judge"
He evidently intended to add a word OF
two more. But the disagreeabie invalid in
sisted Oil being heard.
"ln plain English he said, ''you are find
Ing the prisoner guilty"
I'm plain English" the foreman rejoined,
VI refuse to answer that question:
"Why@.:
Because it is no part of my duty to at
tempt to influence the verdict"
You have been trying to influence the
verdict, sir, ever since you entered this room.
l appeal to all the gentlemen present."
The patience of the long-suifering foreman
failed him at last. Not another word shall
pass my lips lie said, "until you ind the
prisoner guilty or not guilty, among your
selves-and then I'll tell you ii | agree to
your verdic'."
He folded his arms and looked like the
image of a man who intended to keep his
word.
The hungry iuryman laid himself back in
his chair and groaned. The amateur artist,
who had thus far found a fund of amuse-
ment i'll his blotting-paper, yawned discon-
tentedly, and dropped his pen. The courte-
Gus gentleman, who suffered from tidgets,
requested leave to walk up and down the
room; and at the first turn he took woke the
drowSy little man and maddened the irritable
invalid by the cracking of his boots. The
chorus of five, farther than ever from arriv-
ing at an opinion of their own, looked at the
silent juryman. Once more he smiled myS-
terionsly; and once more he offered 10 OK
PLANTATION of what was passing in his mind
except that he turned his bald head slowly
in tine direction of the foreman. Was lie in
sympathy with a man who had promised to
be as silent as himself?
In the meantime nothing was said or done.
Helpless silence prevailed in every part of
the room.
why the devil doesn't somebody begin?"
cried the invalid. Have you all forgotten
the evidenceg
This startling question reused the jury to n
sense of what was due to their oaths, if not
to themselves. Some of them recoltected
the evidence in one way, and some of them
recollected it in another, and each man in
sisted on doing justice to his own excellent
memory, and on stating his own unanswer-
able view of the case.
The first man who spoke began at the mid
die of the story told by the witnesses in court.
Il am for %acquitting the captain, gentlemen;
he ordered out the boats and saved the lives
of the crcw."-"And l am for finding him
guilty, because the ship struck on n rock in
broad daylight and in moderate weather.
II agree with you, sir. The evidence shows
that the vessel was stecred~ dangerously near
to the land by direction of the captain, who
gave the coulse."-"COme, come, gentlemen!
let us do the captain justice. The defense
declares that he gave the customary course,
and that it was not followed when he left
the deck. As for his leaving TIE ship in
moderate weather, the evidence proves that
he believed he saw signs of a storm brew
ing."-"1es, yes, all very well; but what
were the facts! When the loss of the ship
vas reported the Brazilian authorities sent
men to the wreck, OF the chance of saving
the cargo; and, days afterward, there the
ship was found, just rs the captain and the
crew had left her."-"Don't forget, sir, that
the diamonds were missing when the salvors
examined the wreck."-"Ali right, but that's
no proof that the captain stole the diamonds;
and, before they had saved half the cargo n
torn did come Oh and break the vessel up,
Nb lilt I'obi lltil WIS ulllS NlullS III lllt lllIl-
ter of time after all.'-''-Allow me to remind
you, gentlemen, that the prisoner was deeply
in debt, and therefore had an interest in
stealing the diamonds. WAT a little, sir.
Fair plays u jewel. Who was in charge of
the deck when the ship struck? The second
mate. And what did the second mate do,
when he heard that his owners had decided
to prosecute? He committed suicide! Is
there nc proof of guilt in that act?'-'You
are going q little too fast, sir. The coroner's
Jury declared that the second mate killed
himself in a state of temporary Insanity
Gently gently! We have nothing to do with
what the coroner's jury said. What did the
Judge say when he summed up?"-"Bother
the Judge! He said villa. they all say: Find
the prisoner guilty if you think he did it, and
find him not guilty if you think he didn't And
then lie went away to his comfortable cup of
tea in his private room. And here are we,
perishing of hunger and our families dining
without us."-'Speak for yourself, sir: l
havn't got a family."-"Consider yoursel.
lucky, sir: I have got twelve, and my life is
a burden to me, owing to the difficulty of
making both ends meet. '-"Gentlcmen gem
tlemen! we are wandering again. Is the
captain guilty or not? Mr.. Foreman, we
none Of us intended to offend You. Will you
tell us what you think"
No. The foreman kept his word. "De-
eide for yourselves first was his only reply.
In this emergency the member afflicted
with iidgets suddenly assumed n position of
Importance. He started a new idea.
Suppose We try a show of hands!' he
suggested. Gentlemen who find the pris.
oner guilty will please hold up their hands,
Three votes were at once registered in this
way, including the vote of the foreman. Aft
er a moment of doubt the chorus of five de-
cided on following the opinion which hap
pened to be the first opinion expressed III
point of time. Thereupon the show Of hands
for the condemnation of the prisoner rose tC
eight. Would this result have an effect on
the merciful minority of four? In any case,
they were invited to declare themselves next
Only three hands were held up. One incomr
prchensible man abstained from expressing
his sentiments even by a sign. Is it neces
sary to say who that man was? A mysteri.
Gus change had now presented itself in his
appearance, which made him an object OF
greater interest than ever. His incxplicablt
smile had vanished. He sat immoyable, will
closed eyes. Was he meditating profoundly,
or was he only asleep? The quick-wittcd
foreman had long since suspected him of be
ing simply the stupidest person present
with just cunning enough to conceal his owr
dullness by holding his tongue. The jury
arrived at no such sensible conclusion. I'm
pressed by the intense solemnlty of his coun
%tenance, they believed him to be absorbed il
reflections of the utmost Importance to the
verdict. After a heated conference amons
themselves, they decided on securing una
nimity of opinion by submitting TO the arbi
tration of the one Independent member pres
ent-lhe member who had taken no part il
their proceedings. (which way does you
view of the verdict incline, sir! Guilty o
not guiltyw:
The eyes of the silent juryman opened
with the slow and solemn dilation OF the eye
of All Owl. Placed between the alternative
of declaring himself in one word or two, hi
t%aciturn wisdom chose the shortest form o
speech. Guilty he answered-and shu
his eyes again, as il he had had enough Of
already.
An unutterable sense of relief pervaded til
meeting. Enmities were forgotten, an,
friendly looks were pYchanpnl With m,