Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-26

effect he had produced. for he launched out
on new attack with fresh confidence and
zeal
Producing the paper alleged to be the will
beQueathing Shaw's entire estate Ito his
wife, Alice" he proceeded to show the docu-
ment a forgery. Miss Emorys typewriter
was placed In evidence. and it was shown
that all but the signatures to the will might
have been produced on the machine. Bar
stow nullifed this inference by the manu-
facturer's records showing thousands of
similar instruments in daily use. The paper
On which the will was written was then
shown to be of the style and quality used
by the defendant in her work secretary,
and samples Of the same material, found in
Barstow's questions showed that millions
of such sheets were in daily use and were
purchasable everywhere.
Finally Gilbert placed one of the two wit
nesses to the will on the stand, and Barstow
Instantly closed with his adversary for a
struggle to the death.
First ne demanded that the other witness
to the will, and all other persons who were
to testify directly or indirectly on the SUBJ
5eet of forgery, should be excluded
from the room until their testimony
was needed. This request having been
granted by the court, Barstow insist
cd that the excluded witnesses be
paced In charge Of an officer and forbid
den to communicate with one another or
with outsiders until they had given their
clined to accede to this, and his refusal met
with gruffly voiced "Exception!"
All these precautions and preparations
warned me that Barstow regarded the COM
Ing testimony of vital Importance and
then remembered that Gilbert had claimed
that 1t was Shaw's discovery of the forged
will which led to the commission of the
crime. Plainly. then, the whole theory of
the prosecution rested upon proving the
document forgery. A battle royal was in
sight.
The witness first upon the stand ex-
amined the paper which Gilbert handed
him, glanced at his name written at the
bottom, and pronounced the signature to
be an imitation or possibly a tracing of his
own. He had never Witnessed this will
know that Mr.. Shaw had made one.
His answers were brief, positive. I'M
hesitating and convincing. But if he ex-
pected his unqualified statements to pass
uncha,lenged he reckoned without Barstow,
and when he retired ten minutes later he
left the stand an utterly discredited man.
his positive assertions and rendered his tes-
timony almost worthless. Forced to ad-
nit that he had signed his name to all
sorts of papers at Mr.. Shaw's request. he
could not remember any particular paper
which he had attested, and was unable to
point out any convincing differences be-
tween his signature as 1t appeared on the
will and those he admitted as genuine.
Finally he confessed that he might have
signed the will. but had no recollection Of
doing so.
Inc SECOND witness Jared even worse,
and under Barstow's rapid questioning he
lost all confidence In himself and volun-
teered the suggestion that he might have
signed the win with lot OF other papers,
but IL he had the matter had passed from
his mind.
Not In the least disconnected by the
collapse OF his chief Witnesses the prose-
eutor promptly called the. paying teller of
Mr.. Shaw's bank, and after showing his
familiarity with the signature of the de-
ceased, asked him II. in his opinion, the
name Gregory Shaw subscribed to the will
had been written by the murdered man.
The answer was a positive and unqualified
assertion that the signature was forged.
A deathiike silence prevailed in the court
room as Barstow rose to cross-examine. If
the questions and answers had been whis-
pered every word would have been heard
in the farthest corner of the room.
say you have paid out
signature In the past three years?"
Had the bank official witnessed the dis
comiture of his predecessors he might have
taken warning from n 1s ea,es MAN.
scrutiny with look Of equal determination
as he answered:
"A great many thousands-yes, SIR"
Barstow paused, and his eyes sought the
floor as he framed the next question.
sMr. shaw's signature is one which could
be easily Initiated. Is It notT' he inquired
mo. sir. It would be exceedingly dim
cult to initiate
Again the cross-examiner paused with
downcast eyes as though disconnected by
ssSo-that you think you could detect any
imitation. no matter how clever the forger
might be?
Barstow suddenly hooked up.
did you ever refuse TO honor any check
Of n. ehaws "a his lifetime because yoal