The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-11-27

| was lQeTe any lHluS duoul thS Poo'-
ton in which the body lay, o. anything
else, in fact, to enable you to form an
opinion as to the cause Of death:'
Nothing whatever, sir" answered
Hemming, who gave his evidence in
| the clear voice and confident manner
of the old policeman, who feels that
the court is his own theatre. where he
is bound to get hearing and deserves
| it.
"Was the body lying face downward,
in such a position that the man may
have been too drunk to rise, and have
been suffocated in the grass and mud?'
"He was lying face downward, as l
have said, sir. But his mouth was not
close to the ground. 7 don't think it
possible that he could have been suf-
focated. His clothes were quite loose
about his neck also.'
"Then you formed no opinion as to
the cause of death?"
"Well, sir. I had heard something;
and it made me jump to a conclusion
as I should not otherwise have doEe.
With your permission, sir. would
rather not say at the present stage
what that conclusion was. 1t was
formed from nothing I saw about the
body
There were whispers in, the court.
The people in the crowd looked at one
another. and intimated that there was
| !, 1-rp -tf,0 .1,Nn n
don chap didn't know. They all felt
kindly toward HemmiEg for speaking
out so that they could hear him, an
accomplishment in which the non-pro-
fessional witness is so lamentably de-
ficient.
This was the gist of Hemming's evil
dence, the few further questions
which he was asked producing unim-
portant answers. Each witness had
to put up with a trivial question or two
from the members Of the Jury. who all
wished to make the evidence given
bear more weight than the giver in
tended.
The third witness called was Lucas
Mann. in whose house the deceased
man had been a lodger at the time of
his death.
Mann deposed that Stickels was
brought home by two men at time
which he fixed as between a quartz"
and half-past six. Stickels. who was
in a nalf-dazed condition when he
arrived, came to himself entirely with
in a few minutes and told him story
as to how he came to be stunned.
Stickels had then seemed quite we'll,
had had q cup of tea by the fire, and
had expressed his intention of walking
to Stroan that night. Then there had
been a knock at the door. Stickels
himself had opened it, and after a con-
versation with two ladies' who had
come to see him, he had gone out by
the back door abruptly. The next thing
Mann had heard of him was that he
had been found dead on the road.
The next two witnesses We're the
men who had picked Jem Stickels up
from the ground, at the back of the
Blue Lion, ter his encounter with
Clifford. These both deposed that the
man was unconscious when they
picked him up. that he began to re-
cover almost Immediately, and that
they did not have to carry him to the
cottage where he lodged, but only tn
support him a little, as lie complained
of feeling "a bit giddy-like." The.'
said that he seemed to be quite himself
before they left him at the cottage.
There was a buzz Of excitement in
court when Miss Bostal was called.
With the feminine witnesses began the
real interest of the case. Enough had
leaked out by this time for every Gos-
sip in Stroan to be aware that the
quarrel between the gentleman, Cliff
ford King. and the fisherman, Jem
Stickels, had been on Nell Clariss ac-
count; and everybody knew, also, that
Miss Bostal had espoused the cause of
Jem Stickels, and so had brought her,
self prominently forward into the ro-
mantle story. Although Jem Stickels
had not borne the best Of characters,
it was natural that after nis sudden
and mysterious death there should be
q strong revulsion Of popular feeling
in his favor.
Poor chap" they sad to one au-
other. 1T was clear lie was awful
fond of the girl, and, to be sure, she
must have given him some encourage
ment for him to have made bold to 81
for her fine gentleman lover"
To be Continued.