The Tomahawk., 1925-09-17
THE
GRATITUDE OF
MRS. HATCH
BY G. B. DUNHAM
"a by Short Story Pub. Coz

EN- MORRISON, the big buffer
u of the sheriff's Office, with his
understudy, the junior deputy,
was sent out into the country,
a matter Of fifty miles or SO, to make
an arrest on an Indictment for rust
ling cattle. He brought in his man
alive, but unconscious, pretty well
bruised, and with a dent in his oc-
ciput about the size and shape Of the
butt of the deputy's revolver.
Now, the sheriff's Office had been
down on its luck all summer, and 1t
was of a piece with the rest that the
grand jury, just then in annual session,
instead of commencing the success of
Morrison, should listen instead to the
prosecuting attorney and to witness
whom he hurried in from the back
country, and find true bill against
Benjamin Morrison and William Judd,
that they did, upon the said 25th day
Of August, assault with intent to kill
one Job Hatch, contrary to the law In
such cases made and provided, and
against the peace and dignity Of the
Commonwealth aforesaid" The sole
remaining deputy turned the key upon
his associates, and for time the sher-
ifs office was woefully short-handed,
for the chief said, IF the public rather
pay my men for keeping the jail full
in that way, it's all the same to me,
and less trouble, but I'll not appoint
another man."
The incarcerated deputies were in
dignant, but not alarmed. They had,
on their return, given a straightfor-
ward account Of the circumstances at
tending the injury to Hatch, which
statement they repeated without devil
alton at the trial. The sheriff said the
thing was dirty political trick Of the
county attorney. The attorney said he
was sure of securing a conviction, and
the prosecuting witness, pending the
trial, said nothing. There were no
dilatory motions from either side
in fact both urged a speedy trial
and the case came up within ten days
after the indictment. During this in
terval the condition of the unfortunate
man at the hospital was unchanged,
He lay unconscious and without
speech. His wife never left him but
when she went before the jury, and
her name appeared upon the indict-
ment as prosecuting witness.
Morrison and Judd scarcely recog-
nized the gravity Of their situation
until they were brought into court
upon the day of trial. That 1t was
to be no perfunctory prosecution was
evidenced by the attendance Of an
emininet attorney, imported" as the
defense phrased 1t, ito hamstring the
Jury"
The jury being finally secured by
the usual practice Of carefully exclud-
ing everybody who knew anything
about the case, found myself one of
the twelve men duly sworn to hear the
prisoners at the bar. Then the visit
ing lawyer with the keen eye and the
soft voice, whose habit it was to work
jurors as the potter works his clay,
gave us his opening statement.
Gentlemen" he said, II should not
be in this case at all but for a wom-
ans tears. A great wrong has been
done. You cannot right. it-no one
| can. What you can do, and what we
expect you to do, Is to punish the
wrong-doers. We shall prove to you
that the officers went to- the house of
this poor man, sought a quarrel with
him, beat him numerically and
brought him down here to die. We
shall prove this by his wife, who saw
1t, whose presence did not deter these
ruffians, whose tears at length pre-
vailed on me to prosecute this suit"
Replying to this opening, the de-
Tense said to the jury I'm neighbor-
ing city big block, some twelve
stories high, bears the name Of the
opposing counsel. It was not built
with woman's tears. The twenty
farms he owns were never bought with
tears. He works for cash only, and
in advance, and in this instance the
cash comes from the Golfers Of po-
litical committee. We shall show that
the unfortunate man was hurt by an
accident resulting from his own bad
temper, and tn which the defendants
were not in any manner contributory.'
After the evidence Of the attending
surgeon, who declined to swear that
the blow was or was not struck with
q revolver, Mrs. Hatch was put on the
stand. Her story was this: Only one
man came to her house-Morrison.
He found Hatch at home, and, without
showing his papers or stating his bust
ness, interfered with the ranchman's
treatment of a vicious cow. Hatch
was unarmed and no physical match
for Morrison. After some alteration
he ran toward the house; Morrison
overlook him and felled him with a
blow on the back Of the head. e
Upon cross-examination Mrs. Hatch
contradicted herself In some minor
matters and broke down. But she was
I solid as a rock on the main fact--that
her husband was struck down by the