Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1906-05-04


 less.
 He went to the lawyers and arranged ] for a copy of the testimony. ana wheh that was forthcoming he shut himseii l in his room to study it.
 At the end of ;i couple of days ne locked the typewriter pages ln his | desk and gave himself over to his so- i cial duties Elder was detectlve through love of the work, not because i 1t was necessary for him to earn his 1 living in this fashion. and oil those rare occasio when not engaged in pursuit he was welcomed in fashiona- ble homes.
 i His reappearance in society was ac- cepted as being an acknowledgment that there was nothing to be done for Paul WestcOtt, for he was known to have been Erica's suitOr, and it was argued that if there was any hope he would have disappeared in search of the murderer.
 In spite of this Erica seemed hopeful, and the trial, through political infu- ence, was pushed to appeal. Gordon Westcott, her cousin, was opposed to the haste and argued violently against 1t, but he had always been hostile to Elder. and it was natural that he should object to any of the latter's suggestions.
 AS in the previous trial, the evidence hinged almost entirely upon the letter. There was brief testimony to the ef- feet that Paul Westcott had been :n danger of being wiped out in the mar ket to prove motive. It was shown that upon bis arrest he had been un- able to negotiate loans and had lost heavily. Then the prosecution put in the evidence of a handwriting expert, who had testified at the previous trial and who discussed learnedly the indi- l vidual peculiarities that, even in for gery, will unconsciously betray them | selves.
 Almost letter by letter he compared l the formation of the characters of the supposed last message with Pauls handwriting. and with each fresh slide there was more firmly established in the minds of the jury the fact that Paul must have written the letter.
 With the letter the prosecution rest ed the case, and the defense began. Elder was the first witness, and, to 1 the surprise of every person. he took i his stand by the lantern which had figured so spectacularly at both trials
 He first flashed upon the screen half a dozen examples of Paul Westcott's handwriting and then in succession l of the same characteristics
 You will perceive that the two men whose handwritings . I have shown have many traits in common" he said "but in his eagerness to prove guilt by angle and curve the previous witness has neglected his orthography
 1.-The first examples were those writ ten by the defendant prior to the con- mission of the crime The ones last shown were written by his cousin. who studied under the same tutor in his uncle's house. will now show half dozen examples of the late James Westcott's handwriting. asking the jury to note that in every instance 'until' is spelled properly, as it was in the examples shown of Paul West cott's hand. Only in Gordon West cotts letters will the word be found to be consistently misspelled 'untill,' as was the case in the forgery. A writer unconsciously betrays himself, but in this instance it was the spelling, not the formation, which told tales.
 "I also show letter from Gordon Westcott to money lender, written l immediately after the murder, in which he calls attention to the fact that, as Paul Westcott could not inherit, the estate would be divided between him. self and his cousin Erica and that then he would be able to make the deferred payments"
 The defense rested it's case, and as soon as the opposing counsel had sum- med up the jury brought in verdict of Not guiky," and Gordon Westcott was placed under arrest.
 Erica, her arm about her brothers neck, reached forward in the cab.
 Fred" she said, "I will take back all said about not marrying you un. til you gave up your detective work"
 What's the incentive to give it up," he laughed as he kissed her, "when simple matter of spelling pays me so large a feel"
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