ect consultation with the road's
time-table, to be just twenty minutes past one, and the station-master
having been called to the stand, gave it as his best knowledge and
belief that the train had been on time.

This, however, not being deemed explicit enough for the purposes of the
defence, there was submitted to the jury a telegram bearing the date of
that same day, and distinctly stating that the train was on time. This
was testified to by the conductor of the train as having been sent by
him to the superintendent of the road who was awaiting the cars at
Monteith; and was received as evidence and considered as conclusively
fixing the hour at which the prisoner arrived at the Quarry Station as
twenty minutes past one.

This settled, witnesses were called to testify as to the nature of the
path by which he must have travelled from the widow's house to the
station. A chart similar to that Mr. Byrd had drawn, but more explicit
and nice in its details, was submitted to the jury by an actual surveyor
of the ground; after which, and the establishment of other minor details
not necessary to enumerate here, a man of well-known proficiency in
running and other athletic sports, was summoned to the stand.

Mr. Byrd, who up to this moment had shared in the interest every where
displayed in the defence, now felt his attention wandering. The fact is,
he had heard the whistle of the train on which Hickory had promised to
return to Sibley, and interesting as was the testimony given by the
witness, he could not prevent his eyes from continually turning toward
the door by which he expected Hickory to enter.

Strange to say, Mr. Orcutt seemed to take a like interest in that same
door, and was more than once detected by Byrd flashing a hurried glance
in its direction, as if he, too, were on the look-out for some one.

Meantime the expert in running was saying:

"It took me one hundred and twenty minutes to go over the ground the
first time, and one hundred and fifteen minutes the next. I gained five
minutes the second time, you see," he explained, "by knowing my ground
better and by saving my strength where it was of no avail to attempt
great speed. The last time I made the effort, however, I lost three
minutes on my former time. The wood road which I had to take for some
distance was deep with mud, and my feet sank with every step. The
shortest time, then, which I was able to make in three attempts, was one
hundred and fifteen min