Times-promoter., 1907-10-25
upon his clients shoulder.

That was the occasion Of demon
stration which indicated sentiment
favorable to the defense ION the part
1t was In the nature of such ham
mering of canes upon the bare wooden
floor as effectually stopped all other
proceedings instantly. The indignant
Judge fixed the colonel, Peter Brad
bury and Squire Buckalew with his
glittering eye, yet the hammering con-
tinued unabated, and the offenders
surely would have been conducted
forth In ignomiDy had not gallantry
prevailed, even In that formal place.
The judge, reluctantly realizing that
some latitude must be allowed to these
aged enthusiasts, since they somehow
seemed to belong to Miss Tabor, made
his remarks general, with the time
worn threat to clear the room, where
upon the loyal survivors of Eskew re-
lapsed into unabashed silence.
1t was now, as Joe had said, clear
enough case. Only the case itself,
however, was clear. for, as he and his
friends feared, the verdict might pos
sibly be neither in accordance with
the law, the facts nor the convictions
of the jury. Eugene's detection had
not altered the tone of the Tocsin.
/ All day long a crowd. Of men and
boys hung about the corridors of the
courthouse, about the square and the
neighboring streets, and from these
rose Somber murmurS, more and more
ominous. The public sentiment of a
community like Canaan can make it.
self felt inside courtroom, and 1t was
strongly exerted against Happy Fear.
The Tocsin had always been Il power
full agent; Judge.Pike had increased It's
strength with staff which was thor
| oughly efficient, alert and always able
to strike center with the papers read
ers, and in town and country it had
absorbed the circulation of the other
local journals, which resisted feebly at
times, but in the matter Of the Cory
murder had not dared to do anything
except follow the Tocsin's lead The
Tocsin, having lit the fire. fed it--fed
1t saltpeter and sulphur-for now Mar
tin Pike was fighting hard.
The farmers and people of the less
urban parts of the country were ac-
customed to found their opinions upon
the Tocsin.. They regarded 1t as the
single immutable rock of journalistic
Righteousness and wisdom in the
world Consequently, stirred by the
outbursts of the paper they came into
Canaan in great numbers, and, though
the pressure from the town itself was
so strong that only few of them
managed to crowd into the courtroom,
the others Joined their voices to those
somber murmurs outdoors, which in
creased in loudness as the trial went
on.
The Tocsin, however, was not hav-
ing everything its own way. The vol
ume Of outcry against Happy Fear and
his lawyer had diminished. 1t was no.
ticed, in Every respectable quarters"
The information impaired by Mike
Sheehan to the politicians at Mr.. Far
bach's had been slowly seeping through
the various social strata of the town,
and, though at first incredulously re-
jected, it began to find acceptance,
Upper Main street cooling appreciably
in its acceptance Of the Tocsin as the
law and the prophets There were
even a few who dared to wonder In
their hearts If there had not been a
mistake about Joe Louden, and, al
though Mrs. Flitcroft weakened not,
the relatives of Squire Buckalew and
of Peter Bradbury began to hold up
their heads a little after having made
home horrible for those gentlemen and
reproached them with their conversion
as the last word of senile shame. In
addition, the colonel's grandson and
Mr.. Bradburys grandson had both
mystifyingly lent countenance to Joe,
consortng with him openly, the former
for his own purposes, the latter be-
cause he had cunningly discovered that
it was way to Miss Tabor's regard,
which since her gentle rejection of him
he had grown to believe, good youth,
might he the pleasantest thing that
could ever come to him. In short, the
question had begun to thrive, Was 1t
possible that Eskew Arp had not been
insane after all?
The best Of those who gathered om-
inously about the courthouse and its
purlleus were the young farmers and
held hands. artisans and clerks, one of
the latter being pimply faced young
man Qately from the doctors hands,,
who limped and would limp for the
rest of his life, he who, Of all men,
held the memory of Eskew Arp in
least respect and was burningly de-