The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-26

Baron Garrow nodded round at her.
then snapped viciously at me:
You don't make your case any bet
ter by this sort of foolery" His eyes
glared at. me like an awakened OWLS.
/ said, I'm fighting for my neck
and you'll have to fight, too,
The old judge said angrily, "silence,
or you will have to be removed"
| said, Il am fighting for my life"
There was sort of buzz all round
the court.
Lord stoweH said. yes. yes" and
then, Now, Mr.. Kings Advocate,
suppose Mr.. Alfonso Jervis opens for
you
A dusty wig swan up from just be-
low my left hand. almost to aleveI
with the dock.
The old judge shut his eyes. with an
air of a man who is going long jour-
ney in a post-chaise. Mr.. Baron Gar
row dipped his pen into an invisible
ink pot and scratched it on his desk.
A long story began to drone from
under the wig, an interminable farrago
of dull nonsense, in a hypochondriacaI
voice; long tale about piracy in gen.
eral; piracy in the times OF the Greeks,
piracy in the times of William the
Conqueror pirata neqhsSima
Eustachio, and thanking God that
in that court for an immense lapse of
years. Below me was an array of
wigs, on each side a compressed mass
of humanity, squeezed so tight that all
the eyeballs seemed to be staring out
Of the heads towards me. From the
wig below. a translation of the fiorid
phrases Of the Spanish papers was
coming:
His very Catholic majesty, out of
his great love for his ancient friend
and ally, his Britannia majesty. did
surrender the body of the notorious
FL Demonio, called also @'
began to wonder who had composed
that precious document whether it was
the Juez de la Primeria Instancia,
bending his yellow face and sloe-black
eyes above the paper. over there in
Havana-or whether it was O'Brien,
who was dead since the writing.
All the while the barrister was dron-
ing on. / did not listen because had
heard all that before-in the room Of
the Judge of the First Instance at
Havana Suddenly appearing behind
the backs Of the row Of gentlefolk on
the bench was the pale, thin face of
my father. l wondered which of his
great friends had got him his seat.
He was nodding to me and smiling
family. nodded. too, and smiled back.
] was going to show them that I was
not cowed. The voice of the barrister
said:
'Mluds and gentlemen of the jury,
that finishes the Spanish evidence,
which was taken on commission on
the island of Cuba. We shall produce
the officer of H. NJ. S. Elephant, to
whom he was surrendered by the
Spanish authorities at Havana, thus
proving the prisoner to be the pirate
Nikola. and no other. We come, now,
to the specific instance, m'luds and gen
tlemen, an instance as vile e"
1t was some little time before I had
grasped how absolutely the Spanish
evidence damned me. 1t was as if
once fell into the hands Of the Eng
lfsh officer on Havana quayS, the iden-
tity Of Nikola could by no manner of
means be shaken from round my neck
The barrister came to the facts.
A Kingston ship had been boarded
and there was the old story
over again. I seemed to see the Rio
Medic schooner rushing towards where
1 and old Lumsden looked back from
the poop to see her come alongside; the
strings Of brown pirates pour in empty
handed and out laden Only in the
case of the Victoria there were added
the ferocities of 'the prisoner at the
bar. m'luds and gentlemen of the jury,