The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-06-19
/ The MISSING MAN

the bank, and now that it was not.
Il did not know then that there were
two who looked alike. l think now
that it was the defendant who went
there on an evil errand of his own 1
think it was he who placed the but
ton on the desk, the cap by the river
pank. and presented the altered notes."
Please confine yourself to facts, not
thoughts, Mr.. Osborn" said Mr.. Fer
guson, unless you have facts to sup
port Thoughts"
Mr.. Osborn" said Mr.. Morley.
have you any reason for believing
that the claimant is not the true Vane
Hamilton?"
None, sir, except the color of his
hair. He has stood every test / have
applied to him. He knows all about the
affairs that took place at the bank
when we were there together; he seems
TO be the true Vane Hamilton as l
knew him."
of tests which he had applied, all of
which the claimant had passed in. a
satisfactory manner.
TWO witnesses testified that Solomon
Marks had been seen by them near the
mill on the day before the shooting of
the plaintiff, and that he appeared to
wish to avoid recognition.
Next, several citizens of Grovedale
We're examined, and they testified that
they believed the plaintiff to be Vane
Hamilton, for he had told them of
many instances known only to himself
and them, that he seemd familiar with
all their past lives, while the other
claimant did not. He had not even
recognized them when they first met
until some word of theirs had brought
them to his recollection, when he i'm
mediately professed to know all about
them. One of these witnesses was
William Seavey, the foreman in the
mill owned in part by Mr.. Hamilton.
The testimony of these witnesses was
very strong, and upon it the plaintiffs
counsel relied much for the success of
the case. They were subjected to a Sc
we're 1ire of croSs-questions, but moth
ing could shake their testimony. They
were evidently sincere, and when they
left the witness-stand the case of the
prosecution looked brighter than it
had at all. i''.,
Miss Chase and Mary O'Neil were
then examined, but their testimony is
already known to the reader, and, be-
sides, it was unimportant to the real
case at issue. Conductor Libby's words
We're listened to with the closest at
tention, for they proved conclusively
that Mr.. Hamilton appeared strangely
on the train, that he remarked it at
the time, but did not suspect then that
he was laboring under a lapse of MEM
ory.
The last witness to be called vac a
man from Valparaiso. who testified to
the fact that Ashley was known to
him. and that he recognized the de-
PENDANT as the man. The plaintiff he
had never seen but once before. He
stated that he had ben engaged in va
rious nefarious undertakings with Ash
ley, who he knew to have been in Bos-
ton at the very date when the altered
note was presented at the bank
Moreover. he testified that the plaintiff
had once come to the place where he
lodged and made inquiries after Ash
ley; said he thought he was his twin
brother. Witness said he had answered
evasiVely and not told him anything
about Ashley, for fear of
the latter's anger. That since
then he had been converted
under the auspices of the
Salvation Army. and had seen in a
newspaper the advertisement inserted
by the plaintiffs counsel for informa..
ton regarding the suit, and he had an
swered it i'll person.
This was as direct a piece of testi-
mony as had been offered and with that
of the last witnesses was decidedly in
the favor of the prosecution. The coun-
sci had done wisely to reserve it for the
last. and Morley and Stevens reioiced
TO see how stoutly the witness resisted
the efforts of the opposition to break
up his testimony. When he left the
witness stand and the case closed for
the plaintiff, there were many among
the audience. and among the jurymen,
too, if their faces did not belle their
minds. who were more than half per-
suaded of the claims of the plaintiff.
1t was now the fourth day of the trial.
and an adjournment was called until
the following day at 9 o'clock. Com
ments were heard on all sides as The
crowd surged into the street and it
was evident at this juncture that the
sympathy was pretty evenly divided
between the claimants.