The Winslow mail., 1924-06-06
a1nOndS
Malopo
by
VICTOR
ROUSSEAU
oopyRIo,Ir ~ wo CHAPLAIN


You've told the court this much
now go on and tell the rest!"
Judge Crawford hammered with his
gavel. but the uproar in the court was
too loud for him to make his words
heard. Some were Kissing others try
ing to howl them down. But all
through the scene Judge Davis sat,
impassive and still, in his place in the
gallery.
De Witt pushed his lawyer away.
There's more to the story by
d-n sight" he shouted. you've heard
that much, and now I'll tell the rest !"
You can be heard at the proper
time. Mr.. De Witt !" cried the judge
angrily.
There's no time like this" an
swered De Witt defiantly. striding
forward. "Put me in the witness
box" he shouted to Brown. "Put me
there If you dare, and I'll tell the
jury the rest Of It,"
Brown, nonplused over this new de-
velopment, hesitated. But a glance
at the faces Of the jury showed him
that he could not decline the chal-
lenge He nodded to Seaton, who
stepped down. De Witt entered the
box. The clerk handed him the tesla
ment. but De Witt brushed 1t aside,
and now. so keen was the interest,
even the presiding Judge failed to no
tice the irregularity.
hof chn
De Witt, addressing himself to Davis
In the gallery. you've thrown me
over after I've worked for you these
ten years and more, you SNUG old
canting hypocrite!' he cried. Look
at him! There he sits, clean and
sanctimonious, like a little tin god
up in the skies !''
Judge Davis certainly did look sane
timonious. His eyes were fixed upon
De Wits gravely. To those on the
floor of the courtroom Judge Davis
looked at that moment the very type
of the Pharisee. But some Of those
near him In the gallery noticed that
the old mans eyes had in them look
of strained horror, as IL he was ex-
pecting some dreadful revelation.
I'm done with you nOw!' cried De
Witt. fiinging out his arm with a
sweeping gesture. "He knew what I
was doing for him; he knew from the
first to last every bit Of the dirty
work that nobody else would do. But
he wouldn't soil his own hands with
It. He wouldn't listen to the details.
1t was always, Go ahead, De Witt,
If you think it proper. but don't do
anything unrighteous or uncharitable.'
Uncharitable! There's not a single
drop of charitable blood in the old
scoundrel's body!
"Yes, he knew everything, gentle
men. and yet there was one thing that
he didn't know, and now his turn has
come, and he's going to know it. Ask
him to take off his collar and show
you his throat, gentlemen. You'll find
a bullet-hOle there. It's healed up
long ago, but it's burning like the
rage he felt when he tried to shoot
back, just one second too late. That's
the hole left by Daddy SeatOn's bullet,
and Daddy Seaton's been running for
his life for twenty years because Of
man he never killed
Look at him again, gentlemen!
Ask Daddy Seaton to tell you if there
was only the woman in the camp, or
If she didn't have baby of six months
with her, that she wouldn't leave be-
hind, although he wanted her to. Ask
him who Sheila Seaton Is. Then look
at that old rogue up there once more.
There sits the man that printed in
suits in the Chronicle against his own
daughter not knowing that she was
his. And tell Daddy that he knew
whose child Sheila was, but that he
didn't know till this moment that the
man he shot and thought he killed Is
the man who's sitting up there!"
A cry broke from Seaton's lips. The
old man staggered in the dock. The
lawyer put an arm about him to
steady him; and, leaning back against
the supporting shoulder, Seaton
watched De Witt, whose last blow had
been the elimination Of all his years
of persecution.
But the old man in the gallery rose
slowly to his feet and thrust out his
hand. The square white beard
worked up and down as the jaws
champed. He raised his arms, and for
a second the motionless old figure
and the old figure below looked at
each other fixedly.
Then, with a strangled cry, Judge
Davis dropped unconscious.
NLApTER YIN