Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1899-04-01
CHAPTER I.

consider their verdict. The foreman took
his place at the head Of the table. His
colleagues seated themselves on either
side of him. Then, there fell upon that
assembly Of men a silence, never known
among an assembly Of women-the silence
which proceeds from general reluctance
to be the person who speaks first.
'0entlemcn," he began, "have you
formed any decided opinion on the case
thus far? The prisoner waiting our yer.
dict IL the Honorable Roderick Wester-
Geld. younger brother Of the present Lord
Ing away the British bark John Jerminan
for the purpose Of fraudulently obtaining
Z share Of the insurance money; and fur
tier, Of possessing himself Of certain Bra.
sllian diamonds, which formed part Of the
cargo. In plain words, here lisa gentle
man born In the higher ranks Of life &C.
cused Of being a thief. He further ap-
pears to have outraged the feelings Of his
family BY marrying barmaid at a public
house. From that moment his parents
turned their backs on him. with the one
merciful exception Of the head Of the fam.
lily. Lord lie Basque exerted his influence
with the Admiralty and obtained for bis
brother an appointment to ship. All the
witnesses agree that Mr.. Westerfeld
thoroughly understood his profession. II
be could have controlled himself, he might
have risen to very high rank In the navy.
He Quarreled with one Of his superior
o61cers-"
"Under strong provocation." said q
member Of the jury.
"Under strong provocation," the fore.
man admitted. "The prisoner challenged
the oficcr on duty to fight duel, and, re-
ceiving Q contcmptuous refusal, strucl,
him on the quarter deck. A a matter OF
course, Mr.. Wester6eld was tried by
court martial and was dismissed from the
service. At my lords earnest request the
owners Of the John Jerminan, trading be.
tween Liverpool and Rio, took Mr.. West.
ef6eld on trial % nrst mate. In tempest
Oh the coast Of Africa the captain was
washed overheard, and the first mate sue.
ceeded to the command. His seamanship
and courage saved the vessel, under cir.
cumstances Of danger which paralyxed the
Efforts Of fhe other ofncers. He was con.
armed In the command Of the ship"
There the foreman paused to collect biz
IDEAS.
"After certain term Of service, gentle
men," he finally resumed, "the prisoners
merits appear to have received their r.
ward. He was presented with share Ii
the ship. With improved prospects hs
sailed from Liverpool on his last voyage
20 Brasil; and no one. bis wife included
had the faintest suspicion that he left
England under circumstances Of serious
pecuniary embarrassment, the result Of
Matthias A. N~A
Rio on the homeward voyage, there IL nc
sort OF doubt that he was returning e
England to face creditors whom he wal
unable to pay"
I'm plain English" said a juryman
you are for finding the prisoner guilty."
I'm plain English" the foreman rejoin
cd, II refuse to answer that question"
"whyf'
Because II is no part Of my duty to at
tempt to influence the verdict"
"You have been trying to influence tn,
verdict, cir, ever since you entered thi,
room. ] appeal to all the gentlemen pres
ent."
The patience Of the long. suffering fore
man failed him at.last. mot another Wort
shall pass my lips" be said. until 70,
ind the prisoner guilty or not guilt,
among yourselves-and then I'll tell you 4
agree to your verdict"
He folded bis arms and looked like tn,
Image Of man who intended to keep bill
word.
In the meantime nothing was said o.
done. Helpless silence prevailed In ever,
part Of the room.
why doesn't somebody bcginT" criet
an impatient juryman. "Have you al
forgotten the cvidcnce?"
This startling question reused the jur,
to sense Of what was due to their oaths
II not to themselves. Some of them recol
lected the evidence In one way and som,
Of them recollected It In another. tn,
hrst man who spoke began at the middl,
Of the story told by the witnesses in court
II am for acquitting the captain. gentle
msn; he ordered out the boats and save,
the lives of the crew." "And ! am 10
dnding him guilty, because the ship strucl
rock In broad daylight, and In moderate
weather." II agree with you. sir. tn
evidence shows that the vessel was steer
ed dangerously near 20 the land, by direc
tion Of the captain who gave the course.
Come. come, gentlemen! let 10 do tn
captain justice. The defense declares tina
he gave the customary course, and that
was not followed when he left the dech
As for bis leaving the ship In moderat
weather, the evidence proves that he BIZ
lteved he saw signs Of q storm brewing,
"Yes, yes, all very well; but what wer
the facts? When the loss Of the shin wa
reported, the Brazilian authorities sen
me to the wreck, on the chance Of savin
the cargo; and, days afterward, there tn
RhiD WAS fOund. inst M the Cantoip nm
crew had left her" Don't forget, 81,
salvors examined the wreck" IAN right
but that's no proof that the captain stOl
the diamonds; and, before they had save
half the cargo, a storm did come on, an
break the vessel up, SO the poor man wa
only wrong In the matter Of time afte
ALL" ALLOW me to remind you, gentle
men. that the prisoner was deeply In debt
and, therefore, had an interest In stealth
the diamonds" "Wait a little, sir. Fai
plays a Jewel. Who was In charge Q
the deck when the ship struck? The sec
0nd mate. And what did the second mat
do, when he heard that his owners had DE-
cided to prosecute? He committed SUI
eide! il there no proof Of guilt In tina
actY" "You are going a little too fas
sir. The cerOner's jury declared that tn
second mate killed himself In a state Q
temporary insanity"
Suppose we try show of hands?" wa
suggested. Gentlemen who find the pri,
oner guilty will please hold up the
hands,"
Votes were ut once registered, includin
the vote of the foreman. One incompr,
hensible man abstained from expressin