Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-11-05
CHAPTER VI
Trtni by Fire.

e. 4 ne next Guys Gu i4hc Al lol-~
nightmare.
Roberts. locked up in the town jail.
had hastily called his attorneys from
New York for his defense. II sccincr
u certain conviction. as all the cir
cu,nstances were against him.
There had been one ray u! light in
the whole miserable business.
Beatrice Montford had lei, for New
York the same day as the murder.
after announcing to her surprised
mother her engagement TO Count Boni.
She had written Il curt note to lic-
nald.
Under the circumstances, Of course.
| cannot think OF sacrificing my social
standing by continuing our engage
ment. If you extricate yourself from
this p~redicament. perhaps J may con
slider. But every girl owes It TO her
self to look after her own future. You
ruined my trim for me"
On the day OF the trial the small
couTtTuon was to its limit
with the fisher folk. as Well as tn:
master and crew of RohcrtS'S yacht.
The testimony Was ~danning.
"a seen hin buyin' these ycrc car
fridge that day in the store from me
said the merchant rcgrctfully. "Ah'
then me and cap'n Zen secn i'm hur-
ryin' over the rocks the day Of the
iiiiiiu' toward lily JcSsup's hruse-jes'
a few minutes before"
.til,ie sat among the other Wit
ncsscs. her face drawn and wan. her
fingers thin and wnNcn as she piucked
at the sleeves Of the new black dre"s
which Hawkins. at Eoberts's direction.
had bought for her when She was sent
TO reside with the minister and his
wife at the parsonage.
Next to her sat her friend, Sem.
The poor fellow, with "A continual
nervous shuftling Of his feet. kept his
eyes upon the girls face with the in
tcptDeSS of n faithful dor.
"Oh. Sem" she whispered. Il know
he isn't guilty. 1t will break my heart
IL they convict him"
Sem looked down uncoInfortably. bu:
said nothing.
He was called TO the witness stand.
lie told OF seeing the one-sided fight
between the novelist and the dead man
In the daisy field. His dull eyes lit UP
us he described the well-deserved
drubhinS OF the brutal fisherman. After
that he had seen nothing except the
of the cartridges In the viii
laSc store. The skillful cro~ss-eNamina-
ton by RobcrtS's counsel could not
shake his testimony nor bring new
points.
Finally Mile was called to the stand.
There was not a dry eye in the litti"
court room as she told the story OF her
m~istreatment. Yet her evidence roulC
only bear out the only probable tllcor:
of the prosecution. The visitor had
intcrceded once before with the bestial
father. and when he had witnessed tho
final attack upon her he had acted
as any rcd-h!ooded man could do: ye,
ne had broker the law OF the State.
The girl nearly tainted, and was led
into the witness room to get a fresh
breath Of air.
Leave me here for n Bit she plead
Accordingly she was spared the
bitter ordeal of hearing Ronald Rob
aim voiced testimony.
In many OF his stories he had de-
scrihed courtroom scenes. but even IN
shadow of the gallows his profess
sional instincts asserted themselves.
lie studied and remembered every de-
tail of the scene about him, with as
cold and dispassionate an Lalysis "a
though he were Il mere spectator.
He marvelcd at his own ~calmncss.
with a sort Of fatalistic ~nonconccrn.
1t was not his fault: he could not alter
the writing Of the Moving Finger"
His life had been one surginE success
after another. Into every life must
the portion Of sorrow--his had
been delayed. The pendulum was
swinging the other way. That was all.
Tia; is all!' declared his attorney.
hopelessly, as though echoing his
thought.
Roberts stepped down. The Judge
the Jury OIL the points Of law.
twelve men walked out to DELHI
i'm the privacy Of the jury room.
There was no douht as to their verdict
I'm tho minds Of any one. Their retir-
was perfunctory. II mere formality
of dcccncy. for their minds were firm.
Sem had gone to the witness room.
where sat Mile, writing In a fury of
spiritualfS ffering.
Oh she said to him.. as the
tears strcamed down her face. I'll Kill
il they hang him.
"Why NillieI whVt JJa'y inst ~
stranger here"
She turned upon him angrily.
Hes not n stranger To me-" Then
her voice softened. "Oh. Sem, | love
She rose and walked to the window.
room was suffocating and she
stepped out into the open air. realizing
soon the magnanimous new friend
would look no more on Gods glorious
scenes. She tiptoed into the
court room, 20 gaze at him from the
OF the crowded place. BY some
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