The Meeker herald., 1919-07-26

lnumated to his assistants that to
choke OF Testers talk would be q de-
eidsd advantage.
the four railroad lawyers. and as a
result the Westvalia representative
stated that fve minutes was SUFFICIENT.
u am satisfied with that, also" said
Lester. dashing the remaining hopes
Of the thirty-eight petitioners. They
had counted not a little on Testers
argument to the Jury. and they knew
that 1t took him more than five MIN
utes to get warmed up.
Mr.. Stansbury was selected by the
railroad attorneys to do their talking,
and he devoted his I'VE r'nutes to
driving home the fact that the draw
had been open only i've minutes. and
that i've minutes was too short . time
for the IRE to gain enough Roadway to
be beyond the control Of the dre de-
partment.
Therefore the total destruction of
the town must have been due to other
causes with which the railroad COM
pany had no connection. Though short.
It was q splendid argument, delivered
10 Stansbury's most captivating man.
ner, and II carried conviction to the
minds Of the Jury.
While the railroad lawyers were con-
graduating their orator the eyes Of the
petitioners were on Lester. II was his
turn to talk. Stansbn Us masterful
argument would be picked to pieces
and his laurels dragged In the dust.
Lester rose from his seat. and with
the customary "if the court please"
and gentlemen Of the jury" he adj
dressed them from his place at the
table.
"My friend Of the other side. with
eloquence that would move an Image
Of stone. has convinced you that the
draw Of their bridge was open only
i've minutes. and that In that short
time the IRE could not have gained
sufficient Roadway to be beyond the
control of the IRE department when
1t finally reached the sccne. VIII
one Of you gentlemen kindly take
out his watchr
The Juror on the left end Of the first
row produced q large silver Time
piece. d
"Now." continued Lester. twill you
kindly call time when my I've minutes
10 up"
He parted the tails Of his Prince
Albert and sat down.
The petitioners were panic-stricken.
Was the man madf He was wasting
valuable time. Why didn't he pitch
into Stansbury's argument and tear
It into shreds as he did the arguments
In the debate last Year, Why didn't
he say something? But Lester settled
himself comfortably In his chair. closed
his eyes and Idly twiried his thumbs.
The Juror holding the watch low
cred his hand to rest In ON his knee.
and the court crossed and recrossed
its legs. The railroad lawyers were
nettled. They scented danger and put
their heads together for whispered
consultation.
The other Jurors craned their necks
to see the watch. The Juror holding
1t looked It In the face with a puzzled
expression on his own: then he put 1t
to his ear to see II II was running.
The Judge increased his legs and
tilted back In his chair. and Lester
continued to twirl his thumbs.
The silence became oppressive. All
eyes except Testers and the timing
jurors were fixed on the big clock over
the bench. Surely the Jurors watch
must have stopped. He examined the
secondhand closely to satisfy himself
that II was turning. It was moving.
but 10 slowly that he thought the
watch must be running down. II
He wound 1t industriously. and the
noise. magnined BY the deep silence
Of the room. resembled the Gathering
ratchet on slacklng-o of windlass. The
spectators began to get adgety. pierre
ing the silence with heavy signs. nerv.
Gus coughs and much nOse-blOwing.
Finally the Juror called ''time." and
the court led a concert Of signs like
escaping steam. Lester came to his
feet.
'Now. gentlemen" he remarked dry
ly, "you know how long the draw was
open. u Is for you to decide whether
or not nve minutes was long enough
for the IRE to get beyond control"
In considerably less than another
nve minutes the Jury was In with
verdict for the plaintiff, awarding .ev-
cry dollar demanded. Thus was silence
golden.