The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-11-17
By STEWART EDNAKD

a witness was called who identified
positively the cap as belonging TO
Mr.. Kincaid.
At this point the prosecution rest
ed. moment later Bobby heard
again the measured, calm tones of
his friend. called in his own defense.
L know nothing about it," said
Mr. kincaid. after the usual prelim-
inaries. Il was nowhere near the
scene OF the murder. What the first
witness had to say as to personal an
tagonism between Pritchard and my
self was quite true; ne had ordered
me on his land, and very extensively.
We had some words at that time"
ney.
Some months back. Therefore. I
took especial pains to keep off his
land, and was at the lower edge of
the thicket. good Quarter-mile from
the place his body was found"
You did not enter the thicket?"
only few feet after the dog
took my cap"
How about the cap?"
My retriever. Curly. was playing
with me. I was teasing him by way
ing the cap before him. He man
aged TO get hold OF il and ran with
IL into the thicket. In a moment or
so he came back without It. ! could
not find it. nor could induce him
to retrieve it,"
When was this?"
About O'Clock"
Two witnesses have sworn they
saw you come out OF the thicket
shortly before shutdown"
THAT was on my way home. /
tried again to get Curly to hunt up
/ the cap"
! How do you aecasu1s ~ car
4 being found the
thieket2"
/ I cannot accoSnC TOT It"
could the dog have carried il that
/ far in the time before he returned -
I do not think So am certain
not"
How do YOU account for ths
| holes?"
They might have been the marks
doubtfully.
Look at them"
! a pause ensucd.
They certainly do not look like
l teeth-marks," acknowledged Mr.. Kin
I caid.
At this moment the heavy bell in
| the engine-house tower doomed out
/ the first strokes of noon and the
/ court was adjourned.
! Bobby and Johnny succeeded in
/ gaining a place in the court room for
| the afternoon session. Ii was not =
very good place.
/ his feet. making a speech. 1t was in
! teresting enough at first, but after a
| time BObby'S attention wande cred. The
| prosecuting attorney was a young
/ man, ambitious, and ego was certain
! lY a large proportion of his cosmos
! Bobby listened to him while he spoke
| OF the obvious motive for the deed
| but when he began again, and in de-
! tail, To go over the evidence already
| adduced. Bobby ceased to listen. Only
! the monotonous cadences of the voice
went on and on. The clock tick
| locked.
A little stir brought him back from
! final drowsiness. A man in the row
ahead of him wanted to get out. The
| disturber carried an oVercOat on his
left arm. and it amused Bobby vastly
to see the stin collar of that oVercoat
rumple the back hair of these who
sat in the second row. AS he watch
ed. IT caught the long. oily locks OF
| the witness for the prosecution. With
Il fierce exclamation the man turned.
scowling at the others whispered ex-
cuSe. When he had again faced to
the front he had rearranged his dis
turbed locks
After this slight interruption Bobby
again relapsed into day dreaming. He
fell once more to Visualizing the scene
OF that day. Gradually the court room
FADED away. He saw the hillside, the
burnt logs on the bare ground. the
peoples. silvery in the sun. the sky
blue above the hill. The patch of
brown by the rustling scrub oak glim-
mered before his eyes. He saw again
the exact angle it lay above him. For
the hundredth time he looked over
the sights OF the rifle fair against
that spot of brown. Il must have
oVershot foot" he sighed. ''Or it
would have taken hun square"
And then. as he stared over the
sights. his finger on the trigger, the
imaginary scene faded. the familiar
court room came out of the mists to
take its place. Slowly the brown spot
at which he aimed dissolved. a mans
head took its place; the oily-haired
witness for the prosecution happened
now to occupy exactly the position
relative to Bobby's attitude as had
Mr.. Kincaid's cap the day of the
murder. And through the slightly dis
arranged long hair and exactly in
line with the imaginary rifle sights.
Bobby could just make out a dull red
furrow running along the scalp. At
this instant, as though uneasy at a
scrutiny instinctively felt. the man
reached back to smooth his locks.
The scar at once disappeared.
For perhaps ten seconds Bobby sat
absolutely motionless. while a new