The San Francisco call., 1906-05-27
and pointing to the horror stricken Hart

ley gasped:
'He-he-is"-and fell back dead.
With moan Hartley covered his face
with his hands and suffered himself to be
led from the room. Early as was the hour
he was taken down to the city, FIVE miles
away, and thrown into jail. The trial
was speedy Dark and damning as the
! facts appeared on the night of the muir
der, when the cold certainty of legal in
vestigation was applied the prisoner was
hopelessly bound by a perfect chain of
testimony pointing as with the finger of
doom toward him as the murderer. From
the very moment of his meeting with Bar
ton upon the fatal evening every circum-
stance which had happened was construed
with fearful weight against him. The
fact of his knowing of the possession of
the money by Barton, as 1t was shown
most conclusively from the testimony Of
the loungers in the taproom. his unusual
proceeding in, staying at the inn that
night, the fact that his bed had been
found undisturbed and that he was fully
dressed when caught bending over the
body followed in convicting sequence by
| the overwhelming testimony of the cham
ber of the murder, which had but one
entrance, and the absence of footprints
in the soft earth underneath the window,
and last and strongest of all. the declara-
ton of the dying man-al conspired to
barrier of circumstantial evidence from
which escape seemed absolutely impos-
sible.
And so it was. The accused pleaded
not guilty, but when called upon for his
defense could only wildly protest his inno-
cence. And although the ablest advo-
Gates. out OF pity for him, volunteered and
defended him, but one fact or circum-
stance favorable to him could be cited.
Hartley maintained that he could have
had no motive for robbing Barton, as the
| latter had offered to give him all the
money in the grip for past favors be-
slowed when they were boys. This was
laughed at as puerile and absurd. The
charge of the Judge was literally an in
structiop to the jury to return a swift
verdict of guilty
| The twelve filed out of the room. The
crowd in the court waited nervously for
an immediate announcement Ten minutes
passed: half an hour; an hour; two; three.
| The Judge became restless and irritable.
| He pounded for order at the slightest
noise and had two or three persons put
out of the room for whispering. After
considering the case for four hours the
| jury came back into court
Gentlemen of the jury, have you
agreed upon verdict?" asked the Judge
with some show of confidence.
I'VE have noti" answered the foreman
| in a. tone which indicated his evaporation
at some recalcitrant holding out for ac-
quittal. .'One juror wishes to ask if in
/ the opinion of the court it would be
possible for any one to haye entered the
room from the outside and to have es-
capped without leaving footprints in the
soft earth"
| 1T appears to me-" said the Judge with
a whitening sneer, that the evidence pre-
| sented has been of sufficient strength TO
convince any man in possession of his
right faculties of the guilt or innocence of
this prisoner"
| Out of the room again marched the
twelve. There was another tedious wait
of two hours; then the irascible court
summoned the jury before him, rebuked
them sent them back, locked them UP
for the night and adjourned court. In
| the morning when the trial was resumed
no verdict had been arrived at. Noontime
| passed; no verdict. At the end of the
day, no verdict and the twelve were inn
prisoned again for the night
In the jury room a heartrending scene
was being enacted. Nine of the men were
for conviction; three for acquittal. Two
of the latter were not satisfied that a
strong enough chain of evidence had been
forged, the third held that it was pos
sible for a man to have entered the house
| from the outside; he did not believe the
prisoner guilty and did not want to send
1 a man to the gallows when there was the
slightest doubt of his guilt. He felt a pity