The Opelousas courier., 1898-03-26
90 searched. and nothing had been

r. I L1iShG AdtC DCCu tCL1pUCt
There was the train conductor, the CT
conductor and the porter. As the ba
had not been opened by its owner b.
tween New York and Toledo, ho'
could she swear that the jewelry WI
in it at Buffalo and beyond? Mrs
Wickham could only say that no on
else but Mrs. Taylor could have take
the bag, and in all but n thing tn
prosecution made out a very poor case
The accused had persistently refuse
to reveal her identity. 1t vas argue
a that if she were an innocent woman
I she would not do this. She woul'
give no part of her history-say moth
ing whatever except that she was tn
. wife of a respectable and wealth,
man. .
: | had been made foreman of tn.
jury, and when we retired [ fOuD(
myself hating between two opinions
: No legal proof had been advanced that
/ Mrs. Taylor stole the bag, but il there
was nothing wrong abou~Awhy
should she conceal her identity?s
was almost of the belle that she was
an adventures, but Yeti had sworn
to be guided by the evidence On our
first ballot we stood sevep4or convic-
ton and five for acquittal. On that
ballot [ voted for conviction, but five
minutes later l was using arguments
against such a verdict.S Deep down
in my heart [ believed Mrs. Taylor to
be the thief, but if ve were to be
guided by law and evidence she must
be acquitted. The second ballot
showed.eight for acquittal and four for
conviction. The four men were pig
headed and obstinate, and we had been
out seven hours before one of them
decided to come over to the majority.
The other three vowed they would
hang out till doomsday. and we put in
a long night in the jury room. After
breakfast the next morning [ went to
work at them in earnest. I am neither
an orator nor a magnetic man, but [
went over all the evidence and pre-
scented it, pro and con, in such a man
ner that after we had been out about
thirty hours a ballot showed that we
were all for acquittal. This was the
verdict announced in court, and Mrs.
Taylor was at once discharged from
custody. Within two hours Mr..
Wickham had compromised with her
for $4,000 in cash.
AS the days went by that verdict
bothered me. Mrs. Taylor had gone
to a hotel as soon as discharged, and
MI. Wickham had hired a detective
to watch her. 1t was determined to
discover her identity, if nothing more.
The woman probably suspected that
she would be watched. After a few
days she went to Chicago, visited a
lawyers Office, a bank and two or
three other places, and then bought
her ticket for Buffalo. The detective
had logged her every movement, and
she had made no sign that she was
aware of his espionage. He saw her
leave the hotel in a carriage for the
depot, and as there was plenty of time
he took a street car instead. When
he went through the train she was not
to be found. The man worked on the
case for a week without striking her
trail and was then hauled off.
When this instance came to my ears
L was conscience-stricken over u
verdict. The woman must surely be
a sharper, and we ought to have
strained a point and given her over to
justice.
Two months had gone by, and one
evening | was waiting in the union
depot at Cleveland for a train. I sat
reading a newspaper when a m
dropped into the seat beside me and
smlllngly asked if she was mistaken
thinking I was Mr.. So and So, of =
[ replied that there was no
mistake, and then recognized her as ;
Mrs. Taylor. !
II am so much indebted to you!" :
said, as she held out her hand and
ct her smile broaden. '
About your case at Toledo?" {
"Of course. The prosecution had I
poor case against me, but my lawyer '
vas fearful of a verdict of guilty, be- =,
'ause [ refused to reveal my identity. !
t of course looked as if [ had :
'omething to conceal" ',
but you didn't have?' :,
Didn't I!' she exclaimed, as she =
heartily. !
Did you live in Buffalo, as you
laimed?" [ asked.
''Of course not"
And isn't your name Taylor?' =
'sNot at ALL" +
"Then may [ ask who you are?" "
You may because you proved your G
elf a good friend in my hour of need. Il
heard how you brought those four :.
Estimate fellows over to your way II
{ thinking, and I am glad of this o
p%portunity to show my appreciation ! !
/ a substantial manner. As to nv 9
anne, I have half a dozen. As to y
no [ am, I make my living by my ::
its. Ii l were a man I'd be called u
"
Then you-you are an adventu- Ct Ct
I gasped. o.
"That is presumably a correct ot
rm," she laughed. II
"And you-?" III
81 took the bag of jewelry, of IN
urse. You had no doubt of it in
'ur own mind, and yet you stood nv pr
lend. Yes, | stole the bag while az az
II berth was being made up at night ol
ID passed it on to a good friend of ~
inc in the next car. The haul rs
vided $4,000 between us, and for
you did for me I am going to
esent you with $780,"
| sat and stared at her with mouth he
open, wondering if I was awake Oh