Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1908-07-18
SMITH, SMITH,
SMITH&SMITH
copyright. by shortstory Pub. Coz
-o<o
By DON MARK LEMON


thousand dollars, you say? Well just
sign contract for that"
Certainly" replied Miller.
The Smith brothers were lawyers
who practised on the theory that there
is nothing that one man can do that
another may not wrench from its real
meaning and, that being the vital
point Of their case, they sat up that
evening discussing 1t in every conceiv-
able aspect. The three elder brothers
did most Of the talking, while the
younger smoked-and thought. He
had consumed their slender supply of
tobacco by the time they were ready
t9 climb into tie four-posted bed,
which suddenly lie brought the pipe
down with blow that scattered ashes
In all directions. The younger Smith
had been seized by an idea. 1t was
midnight before he convinced his bro
theirs that it was feasible, and long
into the small hours when, tired but
cheerful, he crawled into the four
poster to rejoin them, with the assur-
ance that 1t would work.
When the case Of the State Of Cali.
fornia VS.. James Miller came to trial
the prosecution put in the strong and
apparently impregnable case with
which the press had made the public
familiar. When it rested, the repre-
sentative OF s., S., s. & s. stated that
he should produce but two witnesses.
The cross-examination of the serv-
ants Of James Miller had established
the fact that, for many months pre-
vious to the death of Juzobe, Miller
had been accustomed to write to his
friend Wilson, inviting him to supper,
and that on the afternoon Of the day
on which Juzobe came to his death
their master had, at the usual time,
typewriter a note which they had
taken to Wilson's club, and of which
they identified the envelope. They
also swore to the fact that the type
writer on which the invitation was
written had been returned but few
hours before from the repairer's.
The officers and detectives engaged
on the case all testified that no one
but themselves and counsel had had
access to the Miller premises since the
hour of the tragedy.
Then the two witnesses for the de-
fense-a typewriter repairer and his
apprentice-were sworn. The former
testified that he had overhauled Mr.
Miller's machine, found several Of the
steel types defective and replaced
them by new ones.
At this point the senior Smith asked
his witness to put a blank sheet of
paper into the ypewriter-which had
been brought from Millers by order of
the court-and write the words of the
famous message: Have killed Ju-
zobe." He did so, and was about to
take the sheet from the machine
which was not of the visible writing
type-when Smith hastily stopped
him and, removing the sheet himself,
placed it face downward upon the
table
"Will you now" said Smith to the
court stenographer, kindly write on
this machine the words the witness
has just written?"
There was a moment of intense
stiffness and expectancy in court as
the official complied. Smith handed
the two sheets to the states attorney,
who, the moment he glanced at them,
flushed, and then turned deathly pale
with anger and modification.
Your honor, and gentlemen of the
jury" said Smith, passing the papers
to the court, "the words which the
witness and the official stenographer
have just written are, as you will all
see, identical, and read:
"'Have supper withme.'"
Amid the wave Of excitement that
greeted this unexpected and significant
demonstration, the repairer's shop
boy was put on the stand and testified
that, after his master had laid out the
new steel letters to be attached to the |
type bars, and while his employers
back was turned, he had transposed
some seven or eight pairs of letters
as they lay ready to be fastened in
place, "just for deviltry," and had de-
livered the machine at Miller's at
once.
The peculiar result upon the first
sentence written by Miller after the |
return of the machine was then illus
trated by his counsel in the following
diagram, which he held up to view, at
the same time running a pen through |
the transposed letters 1t contained, |
and pointing out that his silent had |
written the message so rapidly that he
had omitted space between the |
words with" and me-"