FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   306   307   308   309   310   311   312   313   314   315   316   317   318   319   320   321   322   323   324   325   >>  
ch a wound on the head of Richard Kildene--the omission is remarkable in so clever an actor. Miss Ballard also admits having bound up that wound on the head of Richard Kildene,--but still she claims that this man is her former fiance, Peter Craigmile, Jr. Gentlemen of the Jury, is it possible that you can retire from this court room and not consider carefully this point? Is it not plainly to be seen that the prisoner thought to return and take the place of the man he has slain, and through the testimony of the young lady prove himself free from the thing of which he accuses himself in his confession, and so live hereafter the life of a free man without stain--and at last to marry the young girl he has loved, of whom he robbed his cousin, and for whom he killed him, and counting on the undeniable resemblance to that cousin, as proved in this court, to deceive not only the young lady herself--but also this whole community--thus making capital out of that resemblance to his own advantage and--" "Never! Never!" cried a voice from the far corner of the court room. Instantly there was a stir all over. The Elder jumped up and frowned toward the place from whence the interruption came, and Milton Hibbard lifted his voice and tried to drown the uproar that rose and filled the room, but not one word he uttered could be heard. Order was called, and the stillness which ensued seemed ominous. Some one was elbowing his way forward, and as he passed through the crowd the uproar began again. Every one was on his feet, and although the prisoner stood and gazed toward the source of commotion he could not see the man who spoke. He looked across to the place where Betty Ballard had been sitting between her father and mother, and there he saw her standing on a chair, forgetful of the throng around her and of all the eyes that had been fixed upon her during her testimony in cold criticism, a wonderful, transfiguring light in her great gray eyes, and her arms stretched out toward some one in the surging crowd who was drawing nearer to the prisoner's box. Her lips were moving. She was repeating a name over and over. He knew the name she was repeating soundlessly, with quivering lips, and his heart gave a great bound and then stopped beating, and he fell upon his knees and bowed his head on his hands as they clung to the railing in front of him. Amalia, watching them all, with throbbing pulses and luminous eyes, saw and understood, and he
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   306   307   308   309   310   311   312   313   314   315   316   317   318   319   320   321   322   323   324   325   >>  



Top keywords:

prisoner

 

testimony

 

uproar

 
resemblance
 
cousin
 

Kildene

 
Ballard
 

Richard

 

repeating

 

watching


Amalia
 

throbbing

 

looked

 

sitting

 

pulses

 
railing
 

source

 

forward

 

passed

 
understood

elbowing

 
ominous
 

father

 

luminous

 

commotion

 

drawing

 

nearer

 
ensued
 

stopped

 

surging


stretched

 

soundlessly

 

quivering

 

beating

 

throng

 

standing

 

moving

 

forgetful

 

wonderful

 

transfiguring


criticism

 

mother

 

Instantly

 

thought

 

return

 

plainly

 
carefully
 

accuses

 

confession

 

retire