directly in the face of conclusive evidence, to dare to speak thus,
proves the man to be a most consummate actor. Your Honor and Gentlemen
of the Jury, nothing has ever been said against the intellect or
facile ability of the prisoner. The glimpses we have been shown of his
boyhood, even, prove his skill in carrying a part and holding a power
over his comrades, and here we have the talent developed in the man.

"He is too wise to try to deny the statements made by the witnesses of
the State, but from the moment Miss Ballard was allowed to see him
alone in the jail, he has been able to carry the young lady with him.
We do not bring any accusation against the young lady. No doubt she
thinks him what he claims to be. No doubt he succeeded in persuading
her he is her former fiance, knowing well that he saw her and talked
with her before he fled, believing that her innocent acceptance of his
story as the true explanation of his reappearance here and now will
place him securely in the home of the man he claims is his father.
That she saw Richard Kildene and knows him to be living is his reason
for reappearing here and trying this most daring plea.

"Is the true Peter Craigmile, Jr., dead? Then he can never arise to
take the place this young man is now daring to usurp. Can Richard
Kildene be proved to be living? Then is he, posing as Peter Craigmile,
Jr., free from the charge of murder even if he makes confession
thereto. He returns and makes this plea because he would live the life
of a free man and not that of an outcast. He has himself told you
why.

"Now, as for the proofs that he is Richard Kildene, you have heard
them--and know them to be unanswered. He has not the marks of Elder
Craigmile's son. You have seen how the man he claims is his father
refuses to even look upon him. Could a father be so deceived as not
to know his own son? When Peter Craigmile, Jr., disappeared he was
lame and feeble. This man returns,--strong and walking as well as one
who never received a wound. Why, gentlemen, he stepped up here like a
soldier--erect as a man who is sound in every limb. In that his
subtlety has failed him. He forgot to act the part. But this
forgetfulness only goes to further prove the point in hand. He was so
sure of success that he forgot to act the part of the man he pretends
to be.

"He has forgotten to tell the court how he came by that scar above his
temple,--yet he makes the statement that he himself inflicted su