The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-07-02
ESTABLISHED 1879.

and the suit was brought to set aside
the deed on the ground that it 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, | 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 dA of the exhibits, and, reading
the caption. he found that his intuition
had been correct. ! believe Miss Mead
had been made a party to the suit aft
er it had been begun in lower court,
and her name did not appear in the
list which the lawyers read when they
polled the jury.
1--WE talked the matter over that
evening. and of course l 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. l
explained to him that it was a very
risky thing to do. He always was bull
headed, though, when he made up his
mind.
Miss Mead did not come to the
courtroom again until the last day OF
the trial. The lawyers strung 1t out for
two weeks. 1t was a very close case.
1 could never have decided it 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 it for
each of the heirs under the will. These
heirs were nieces of the original bene-
ficiary, but that hasn't anything to do
with this story. Miss Mead Is not rich,
l believe" the narrator added reflect
lively.
"As l 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 II 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.
"Well. 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 a shilling.
Miss Mead had left the room by the
time the jury was discharged"
"By Jovep 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 I don't quite see"- Willoughby
began.
"Of course you don't, my brave sol
der boy. l 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. think that it was a week
later that we all met at the theater,
great piece of luck for the boy. / can't
tell you exactly how they Strengthened
the matter out. Perhaps 1t didn't need
any Strengthening, but way back In the
box toward the end of the show
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, If you
don't mind. Where can find the sail
ing Of the Havana boatT
81 was afraid of that" said Scott
st, Louis Republic