The Washington herald., 1914-03-22
iCopyiEht. lNLl
~ HE little door in the south wall Of
the criminal branch Of the Supreme

the criminal branch Of the Supreme
Court opened and a Central Of
fee detective strode into the room. his
right wrist handcuffed to the left wrist
of a burglar who trailed a step behind
him.
The case of the People against Joseph
Condor. alias Little Joe." alias Idaho
Shorty" charged with burglary, was
called for trial, and the man manacied
to the detective was the defendant.
Shorty was, as his alias implied, a dumpy
bit of man. He was about thirty-five
years old. short and thick Of neck. clean
shaven, and poorly dressed. His legs
twfnkled in a trot as he kept up with the
stride of the tall and angular bull" from
police Headquarters.
Within the railing before the judges
dais the steel leash was slipped and the
prisoner took a chair beside his counsel
The detective sat directly behind him,
ready to trip or fell him IL by any chance
he should make q break for liberty.
The case was OF no particular interest
and there were present more court at
tsndants than spectators. A group Of
talesmen from whom a jury would be
selected crowded the railing impatiently.
Shorty glanced about the room eau
tiously, his little blue eyes scanning the
faces Of the men called for jury duty.
He did this furtively and fearfully. for
the moment was one of dire peril to him.
Twice he had been convicted Of burglary
and a third conviction would mean a life
term in Sing Sing. The court and So
ciety would accept him as a confirmed
-. Co.
lars, as expressed in the courts. being
three strikes and out.
Shorty's counsel, Miles Gray. a fox
like person, shuffied some papers on the
table before him and shiftily studied the
talesmen. His lean and sallow face was
marked with the drawn lines Of the un-
caught crook. He was the kind of human
that wakes fat on the money dribblings
of the underworld. His fishy eye and
thin. cruel lips gave hint that his mind
was as a covered well, reeking, MAS
matte, murky.
Finished with his effort to size up the
talesmen. Shorty peered into every cor
ner of the court room as IL in the hope.
that his eyes would rest upon someone
the sight of whom might mean promise
Of deliverance. Gray, observing his client
occupying himself in this manner, leaned
over and whispered:
"Ain't she here YETI"
Shorty shook his head and hunched his
shoulders uneasily.
You better plead guilty and ask for
mercy"
Nothing DOING
She's the only witness you got"
She'll be here
For the third time in his career Shorty
settled himself in his chair in that court
room and studied the three panel paint
ings above and behind the judgment seat.
The center picture was that of a long
legged woman depicting Justice. A
sword was in her right hand and she was
blindfolded. Scales were appraised and
dangled from her left hand. The left
panel was an allegory of Liberty. Equal
ity, and Fraternity, depicted by three
husky men in white sheets seated on a
marble slab. forming as artistic a repro
duction of the steam room of a Turkish
bath as ever was within the power of
artist to/make. The right panel showed
the three Fates, the third woman being {
hag-Death.
4 black-robed judge twiddled sausage
like fingers and breathed the stale air of
the room with a respiratory violence of a
fish freshly taken from the sea- It was
the afternoon session Of court and he had
lunched heavily. His flabby jowls ana
the collops of fat on his neck were pur-
purescent.
The Indictment was read, Shorty plead |
ed not guilty. and twelve men were quick |
ly chosen from the panel of talesmen.
The case for the People was presented
with skill and speed. The residence of
James Hartley, a wealthy broker. living
on Riverside Drive, had been entered and
robbed of silverware between the hours
of 4 and 6 o'clock on the afternoon of
June %. Mr.. Hartley and his family were
away for an automobile spin in the coun-
try. In the absence OF the family, the
servants had left the place unguarded for
two hours.
Two detectives testified to shadowing
the house in the East Side where Shorty
rented a furnished room. In his absence |
they had searched the room and had
found most Of the loot hidden under his |
bed. His arrest followed. He had a |
prison record and was generally kept un- |
der surveillance.
4 stool pigeon of long service to the |
police testified that he had seen Shorty |
or a man resembling him enter the fur
nished-room house at dusk of the after |
noon on which the Hartley home was |
robbed. He carried a dress-suit case and |
wore rubber-heeled shoes.
Cross-examination failed to shake any |
of the witnesses.
1t was time for the defense to offer its !
urged Shorty TO change his plea to guilty |
and to throw himself on the mercy Of |
the court.
The answer of the prisoner was to turn |
his head and look toward the court room |
door.
There she is now, thank Godr' he |
whispered.
On the Threshold of the court room |
stood a slender bit of womanhood in a |
bright blue dress and cape. An engag-
ing il not pretty face was framed by the |
red-banded bonnet of the
Salvation Army. She paused for a mo- /
ment, looked over the court room, and
then walked bravely up the center aisle
and through the railing gate to a chair
beside the prisoner. little hand stole
out from under the blue army cape and
pressed one of the big. rough paws of
Joseph Condor, alias Little joe" alias
Idaho Shorty"
THE people rest their case" announced