i8
The
Green Bag.
munity for church or whatever might be required of it. The prosecuting attorney was a man who claimed he had had employ ment sweeping out a lawyer's office in his youth and therefore knew something about the law. A travelling evangelist undertook to defend Buster Pete. It did not require much effort to get twelve men to swear they knew nothing about the case and did not possess an opinion concerning it. The evidence was brief and conclusive. The horse was produced in court and intro duced in evidence. The prosecuting at torney wanted it marked "Exhibit A." This precipitated a warm discussion as to whether a branding iron or a paint brush should be used, and the court ruled in favor of the paint brush, as the horse had one brand on him already. The court evinced an unusual interest in the horse, which was not ex plained until his charge to the jury was de livered. That produced a sensation. "You have sworn, gentlemen of the jury." he said impressively, "to give the respondent here, Mr. Buster Pete, the gol darned hoss thief, a fair and impartial trial, and this here court expects you to do it. The court is sot on bavin' a fair and honest verdict ren dered in this here case, according to the law and the evidence and the judge's charge. If, after considerin' of these, you find the re spondent guilty, then he is guilty; if, after considerin' of it you find him not guilty, then you are a lot of lunkheads and this court will take the case under advisement. The court is pur-tick-u-lar-i-lyanxious an honest verdict should be had in this case be cause, although it might not have been known tn you. I got this boss on a mortgage only last Sunday, and this hoss was the property of this court. Tf you find this re spondent not guilty this court will fine you all for contempt and confistikate your jury fees. You may retire now and consider the evidence, and may the Lord have mercy on your souls." This charge was not the last of the sur prises of the day, however. It had been
supposed after hearing it the jury would not be long at agreeing on a verdict. There was no jury-room available, so the jury was put in a corncrib to deliberate. Those who had anticipated a speedy end of the case were doomed to ill-concealed dis appointment. The jury did not arrive at a verdict in ten minutes or twenty or thirty. Their session dragged out into an hour, but there was no verdict. It was three o'clock, then four, and finally five, but still no verdict. The sheriff had stationed himself a short, distance from the crib and kept the crowd far enough away so it could not hear what was said in the jury room. The crib was seen to rock in a dangerous manner, how ever, several times, as though the jurymen were wrestling with some knotty problem of law, or each other. There was one juryman named Hank Peck, and by some unaccountable method of thought transference it became known to the crowd that Hank was arguing for an acquittal. Although Hank's wife had not had anything to do with the case, she was in part responsible for this condition of affairs. There are women who are Tartars. But Hank's wife was a cream of Tartars. For twenty years she had kept Hank saying "Yes, Melinday," and this was the first time Hank had ever had a chance to have an opinion and stick to it. To keep eleven men busy for two hours to make him give in was a joy of which he had never even dreamed. Hank might be out in the corncrib argu ing yet, if the presiding judge had not brought things to a head in a decisive way. After the jury bad reported to the sheriff it had not yet been able to agree upon a verdicl, the court ordered the jury brought in to the courtroom. The crowd, disappointed and somewhat angry, filed in after it. The judge looked *very stern. Someone had whispered to him that Hank Peck was try ing to "hang" the jury. The court's remarks were brief and in cisive. "I understand that one of you fellers
