The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1901-06-27

long story of it," said Willoughby.
Cant you cut itp
Better let me go on, 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 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. l
helped him kill time while he waited to
be called o.>A =sz-- no Xxas o..
drxp x4lc,.5as eue
! judge. have forgotten The title OF the
case they put him on. 1t was the heirs
of somebody against man named
Stevens. who held lot OF property
that was claimed by the heirs under a
will. Stevens claimed under a deed
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 one 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.
I'VE 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. |
| 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 very close case.
| | 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 neces of the original bene-
| ticiary, but that hasn't anything to do
with this story. Miss Mead is not rich,
| | believe" the narrator added reflect
| lively.
LAS have told you, Miss Mead was
on hand 10 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 - men filed
| out to the jury room. 1t was a 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 | cot !
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 Joye" namely remarked the
| listener.
Yes. sir. and Harrison told me he
| had hard time persuading two of the
| jurymen to decide against the-against
her"
But | 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. think that 1t was a week
| later that we all met at the theater. n
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 boat?"
II was afraid of that" said Scott
St Louis Republic.