Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1901-12-26
The Eyes Of the Woman
BY EDGAR WELTON COOLEY.
'copyrightl l'oii By Authors syndicate.l

II 4 1ANA~ho AAf AhAAAN HAbElt1S u Inc
IL trial she had been present in the
courtroom. She had listened 10 every
word of the evidence and had mar
veled that men could so light-heart-
eddy give utteranee TO words that were
to end a brothers life.
She was not handsome; hardly
pretty, but her eyes were like twin
daggers. for they seemed to pierce
one through and through. She was
slender woman, small and young
and delicate, and her trim figure was
gowned in somber black from head to
foot.
Day after day she sat in the same
rear seat, emotionless. calm. dispas-
sionate, and rested her eyes upon the
face of a man who sat opposite to
her. Not once did she remove her
gaze from his face; not once did she
cease her cold, constant stare at his
features.
He was big. broad-shouldered fell
low, with a bronzed face and a mass
of hair. He kept his eyes riyeted upon
the court and the jury and the pris-
oner. He hung upon every word that
was uttered, leaning anxiously for
ward, rigid and motionless.
But at intervals he turned his face
towards the woman in black, only to
be transfixed by the CLEAN of her
eyes. Then he would start, turn a
shade paler and grasp the arms Of his
chair.
The prisoner was young man with
fine. clear cut features and blue eyes,
as beardless as a boy and as stoical
IS a craven image. Although he knew
his life was in the hands Of the IL men
at his right hand. not once did the ex-
preston Of Indifference leave his face,
though against him was given the
most damaging testimony.
Twice only. each day, did he show
any interest in his surroundings. At
the opening Of each session. when he
entered the courtroom handeuffed to
the sheriff. he cast one quick, search
ing glance towards the rear Of the
room His glance met that Of the
woman in black, and for n brief in
slant n softer CLEAN shone in the
eyes Of each.
Tightly and relentlessly was he
bound with an unbroken chain of cir
eumstantial evidence. Not a link was
missing. Every movement, every ut
terance OF his on the night Of the muir
der were described in detail. From
the moment that he had quarreled
with the man who was afterwards
murdered. to the hour when he was
arrested, every step he had taken was
traced.
1t was shown that he had followed
mis- victim with murder gnawing at his
heart: that. in the presence OF nu-
merous witnesses, he had sworn to
take the mans life; that after the
quarrel the man who was slain had
turned his steps towards his home.
taking a roundabout route; that the
prisoner had made use of short cut
and had lain in wait behind thicket;
that he had suddenly leaped upon him
and had stabbed him to the heart with
a knife that was afterwards found in
the prisoners possession, the blade
still scarlet with blood, and that he
was later seen running away from the
scene of the murder.
Against this awful array of evil
dence. the defense made no resist
ance, introduced no testimony. The
arguments were made. The attorney
for the state welded anew the chain
of guilt: the counsel for the defense
weakly attacked the reliability Of evil
dence purely circumstantial. and
begged that the jury be slow TO hang
man when all direct evidence Of his
guilt was lacking. Then the jury re-
tired.