Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1905-01-28
Ferreting Out the Facts.

mln0S.
Ferreting Out the Facts.
So | set to work on the case with a re-
newed zest. AS the defendants lawyer,
demanded to see both revolvers-the
one used by Pashley as well as Furman's.
The weapons were utterly unlike.
Pashley's pistol was a polished, mother
of-pearl-handled six-shooter of 80 cal
iber. Furman's was an old-fashloned
rlm-fre SO caliber Colts revolver. lex
amined the two carefully. One chamber
in each cylinder was empty. Beyond
this patent fact I CLEANED little light on
the subject from the examination.
then went to take a look at Furman's
body. The bullet had entered the head
almost directly behind the right ear,
and perhaps half an inch below the
orifce of the ear-in other words, near
the base of the skull. The bullet had
plowed upward, unfolding itself in the
brain. At first this did not give me any
especial clew, but as | studied the case
more deeply an idea dawned on me. |
made measurements, revisited the scene
of the shooting. and then cross-ques-
toned the two witnesses once more, but
this time with especial reference to the.
attitude in which Furman had been
standing when the shot was fired, Both
witnesses had been more than 100 feet
distant, and the twilight had been dense,
yet both were sure Furman had faced
Pashley directly at the time the two
shots were interchanged. They had not
seen the pursuit and had only looked
across at the men when the report of
Furman's shot attracted their attention.
Yet at that time, and during the imper-
| ceptible fraction of a second before Pash-
ley fired, both witnesses declared Fur
man had been squarely facing his as
sailant.
How, then, could the ball have entered
behind the right ear and Travelled up
ward into the brain? OF course the falli-
bility of human testimony had to be
taken into consideration. 1t was quite
possible the witnesses were mistaken
as to the position in which Furman had
been standing. Still, each seemed posi-
tive on the subject, and their testimony
bore out the idea that was already work
ing in my brain.
| attended the autopsy in company
with an expert | had hastily summoned
from a famous revolver mandatory.
As the bullet was extracted from the
brain | requested that it be turned over
to this expert at once for examination.
After a single glance he unh~esitating-
" pronounced it to be a 3S-caliber bull
let. A government armorer, sent for
to verify this, Immediately corroborated
my experts statement.
Yet, it will be remembered, Pashley's
was a 32-caliber pistol, and, as every
body knows, a 32-caliber revolver can
not possibly fire a 3S-caliber bullet.
This proved conclusively that Pash-
ley had not shot Furman. Close search
of the n%eighborhood revealed to me
Pashley's bullet imbedded in an elm tree
at least 20 feet to the left Of where Fur
man had been standing. The lead was
cut out of the tree and my expert al
once pronounced it a 32-caliber bullet
and added a few sarcastic remarks as tc
Pashley's qualities as a marksman.
These two facts, of course, cleared my
client beyond all possible shadow o
doubt. The facts in the case were these;
How 1t Happened.
Furman, finding himself cornered
had, in desperation and fearing thu
shame of prison, put a bullet through
his W brain. The light being bad
Pashley, in his excitement, had merel.
seen the fugitive draw a revolver ant
fire it.. He had no doubt Furman wa
firing at him. and his own weapons acct
dental discharge, followed by Furman'
instant collapse and death, had mad
!, it seem that he had killed the defaulter
1t was the rare case of an innocen
man not only being believed guilty, bu
actually believing himself guilty.
Incidentally | had been f~ortunat
enough to fulfill the task which ha'
ironically suggested to myself-namely
to prove that two e%yewitnesses were ut
, terly mistaken and that Pashley did no
shoot Furman at all.
Mine was the duty to forestall tn
r regular course of justice and to an
nounce the miraculous turn of event
to the heartbroken prisoner.
, hurried to the Jail, being of tw
= minds on the journey, as to whether
: would not have been kinder to notif
p his mother and sweetheart before goin
, to tell the prisoner himself that he wa
! free of even accidental bloodguiltines'
But, as it turned out, ! acted for tn
best, for when | reached the jail | foun
, Mrs. Pashley and Miss Foote were Wis
, iting the prisoner.
| have never seen a more miserabl
downcast trio in my life than that whic
met my eye as | entered the warden
room. But | viewed their grief with ia
h less sympathetic pain than would haV
done had | not borne the cure forit wit
me.
|, A. Faithful Lover.
[ A second idea occurred TO me. BE
fore breaking the good news to any {
Q them | turned to Miss Foote.
"pardon me II am imDertinent."
began, "but | speak as an old and des
friend of Mrs. pashley's and of How
ards. Understood from Howard, on m
y last visit to him here, that he was wri
: ing to release you from your engage
ment. | trust you were sensible enoue
! ! to accept that release?"
y MAccant itLn nnsned the girl and