The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1901-07-04

he was introduced. Says he was, any.
way. But Harrison, you know, Is
queer sort of chap. Has no idea of his
worth and all that. He isn't half push
full enough to get along in this world
with men, :. let alone women. He
thought Miss Mead would never look
at him, and l suppose she took him at
his own valuation. Women are apt to
do that, you know. At any rate, he
made no Progress. You know what l
mean. 1 am telling you the results Of
my observations. Harrison never said
anything about it.
Tampa last year the boys chances
seemed to dwindle to nothing"
at seems to me you are making q
long story of It," said Willoughby.
"Can't you cut it?'
"Better let me 60 on, 1 guess. Now
I've told you how the case stood when
Miss Mead came north last year."
The listener made another move to
protest against the form the narrative
had taken, but realizing that his tor
mentor knew no other way of telling
what he had made up his mind to say
Willoughby settled back again.
"Three or four months after we had
been reading in the newspapers about
your work in Cuba Harrison was
drawn on a jury" A groan from Will
loughby announced his despair at this
new depression, but Scott went on
without pause:
"You will see the connection later.
helped hlmskill time while he waited to
be called, and when he was finally
drawn was there as regularly as the
Judge. Ihaye forgotten the title of the
case they put him on. 1t was the heirs
of somebody against a man named
Stevens, who held lot of property
that was claimed by the heirs under a
win. Stevens claimed under a deed,
and the suit was brought to set aside
the deed on the ground that II was
obtained by fraud.
when the lawyers on each side went
through the form of asking the jury
men If they knew any of the interested
parties to the suit, l saw Harrison
shake his head in bored way. To cut
this part short, Miss Mead walked into
the courtroom on the second day of the
trial. Harrison told me afterward that
he knew In an instant that she was In
terested In the case. Before he left the
box that day he asked to be allowed to
see one of the exhibits, and, reading
the caption, he found that his intuition
had been correct. believe Miss Mead
had been made party to the suit aft
er 1t had been begun in lower court,
and her name did not appear in the
list which the lawyers read when they
polled the. jury.
eve talked the matter over that
evening", and Of course advised the
boy to explain to the court that he had
discovered since the trial began that he
was acquainted with one of the plain
tiffs in the case. have not been able
to make up my mind as to why he in
sisted upon going on with the trial. /
explained to him that 1t was a very
risky thing to do. Hesalways was bull
headed. tha WhaR he made up his
mind.
courtroom again NTH the last day Of
the trial. The lawyers strung 1t out for
two weeks. 1t was q very close case.
could never have decided 1t either
way. 1t had been fought by skilled
/ lawyers from the start, and they had
succeeded in keeping everything off the
record that would throw light on the
questions at ISSUE There was some
thing like $4,000 or $4,000 in 1t for
-, a
heirs were nieces Of the original bene-
ficiary, but that hasn't anything to do
with this story. Miss Mead. is not rich,
I believe" the narrator added reflect
lively.
"As 1 have told you, Miss Mead was
on hand to hear the lawyers sum up
on the last day of the trial. She took
good care not to sit where Harrison
could see here, but he passed within
ten inches of her when the IL men filed
out to the jury room. 1t was long,
uneasy wait for me while that jury de-
liberated as the newspapers say. Har-
| risOn was the foreman, and when he
got up to deliver the verdict l could
| feel my heart beating way up in my
| throat"
"Go on, go on" Willoughby urged as
Scott paused at the recollection Of how
his heart acted on this occasion.
swell. the jury decided against the
heirs at every point. Stevens had sew
| eral deeds, and every one was sustain
ed. The heirs didn't get shilling.
Miss Mead had left the room by the
time the jury was discharged"
by JoveT namely remarked the
listener.
Eyes, sir, and Harrison told me he
had hard time persuading two of the
jurymen to decide against the-against
her."
But l don't quite see''- Willoughby
began.
"Of course you don't, my brave SOL
der boy. am coming to that now.
Harrison. mind you. had not seen
| Miss Mead for the two weeks, except
on those two days during the trial, and
he did not hurry about calling after the
verdict. l think that it was a week
later that we all met at the theater, q
great piece of luck for the boy. l can't
tell you exactly how they Strengthened
the matter out. Perhaps it didn't need
any Strengthening, but way back in the
box toward the end of the show I
heard Miss Mead say, half soberly and
half laughingly, There are all sorts of
courage and when we got home"-
81 think that's enough, Scott, IL you
don't mind. Where can find the sail
ing of the Havana bOatY"
81 was afraid of that" said Scott
st. Louis Republic.