Beadle's Dime Library No. 412 — page 26: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

26. countenance of the judge changed perceptibly, and he cleared his throat. ** And in case of the business being injured to such an extent that you would have to sell, to whom would the money belong?’ asked Scriven. Skinner hesitated, and at . voice: | ‘* You ought to know. You drew the will.” Scriven smiled. **That is not the question. His Honor the . ‘ 2. oe ~ - — —— = > 2 SS: tin evidence that you are not the sole bgp in interest, and therefore are not damaged alone. i Who is the person to whom the property reverts after your Jeath?” Van Slack jumped up excitedly: ‘* Your Honor, r move that all this be stricken out. It is entirely irrelevant to the case. We have proved injury at the hands of this Larry Locke; and my learned brother wants to show that some one else is injured too. I submit that . this line of questions is entirely useless and frivolous.” ¥ The judge screwed up his face, saying: / **T think Brother Van Slack is right. l are you trying to get a’, Mr. Scriven?’ te Scriven answered at once: ae, ‘We intend to prove that this man Skinner, ] so far from being the virtuous character he represents himself to be, was, but a few years | since, a tramp and a vagabond, who only suc- =} ceeded in getting his father to forgive him by Be . robbing his nephew, Mr. Paul Van Beaver, who * isin court. We intend to prove that this accu- a sation against Locke is part of a plan to fore- gtall the evidence we are prepared to introduce, of a conspiracy on the part of this man Skinner at and his accomplice, the man Somers, to murder 46 Locke and Van Beaver together, in order that a Skinner might be able to enjoy the estate, of 4 which he is at present only the life tenant, in ey gt spr We intend to prove all this, sir ae ue time, and I demand that we be allowed to prove it in our own way, according to the rules of evidence.” The judge screwed up his face asif he began to _ think differently of the case, as he said slowly: a You are expecting to prove a good deal, it «seems to me, Brother Scriven, Asfar asattacking ° the credibility of the witness is concerned, of - eourse that is your right. Go on, but take care _' what you ask, and how you ask it.” = Scriven, with a triumphant glance at Van 7 Slack, continued: r. ** To whom does the mill property revert after -- your death?” Or Skinner, thus cornered, answered: : # _ ©Tomy nephew, Paul Van Beaver.” *Ts it not a fact that you cannot sell the mill Ps geibey without his consent, and that, if it be __- gold, he is to receive half of the income out of the money?” “Jt is,” was the almost inaudible answer, ac- companied by a glare at Paul, that bespoke his _ bitter hatred. _ Seriven cleared his throat in his turn, and took a look at the notes he had prepared for the —77~ ne Set ee ee ae ee oS mee FS . i as ° . ~ we: W hat * ‘ Vy oe ‘, F3 e? ~ « a e case, _ “Then the worst injury that could occur to ' you, from the success of this strike, would be the compulsory sale of the mills; and you could not sell them without the consent of Mr, Van _- Beaver?” __-—-« Skinner gave an affirmative grunt, but said | nothing more. “Ah, yes, we are getting along very nicely, Mr. Skinner. Now, will you please tell the court whether you have, since the death of your _ father, contributed anything to the support of _ your nephew, Mr. Van Beaver, who is the rever- Be owner of the mills?” ‘Van Slack rose again. TY object, your Honor. That has nothing to do with the case, and no one knows that better than Brother Scriven. I confess I am quite sur- ae to hear an old practitioner like him in vale ge in such irrelevant questions, that he knows must be ruled out.” The judge nodded: __._ ** Objection sustained.” _ §Seriven, not in the least abashed, went on: ‘Tn the event of your death, you have told us phy your nephew inherits the property. In theeven , of his death, who would own it?” **T should, absolutely. You know that as well od, , You drew the will,” “Exactly, In the event of Mr, Van Beaver’s death, you would own the mill absolutely. His _ death would be an advantage to you?” _ “No more than mine to him. We ain’t either of us gushing over with love for each other. I ie te a that’s the reason he helped the strikers. He wants to force me to sell the mill.” Scriven let him go on, and then observed: **T move to strike out all that part of the wit- ness’s answer that contains inferences, your _ Honor.” The judge nodded again: ‘Struck out, of course.” - , to Skinner, with a little less affection ws _ than he had hitherto shown, he said shortly: _ “Answer the questions directly, and don’t - wander to other things.” - §$kinner turned a shade redder at the tone of the judge, but made no reply; while Scriven went on, in his smoothest manner, the iron- \ + * ’ > mS; ‘ i 7 ast said in a low | judge knows nothing of tis, and I intend to get | Larry Locke, the Man of Iron. master watching him keenly, and evidently setting his wits to work against those of the old lawyer. ‘‘Mr. Skinner,” pursued Scriven, ‘‘ please to tell the court whether the wages paid by you to your men, at the time the strike occu red, are the same as are paid in other places, where iron-founding is a business?” Skinner scowled at him, as he replied sullen- ly: ee I’m paying the same as every one else in the town.” ‘““In the town. Butis it not a fact that, in Ohio, they are paying higher wages than you were giving when the strike occurred?” ‘“*T don’t know anything about it,” was the irritable reply. ‘If they want to get them high wages you tell of, why don’t they go to Ohio? I ain’t hindering them,” ‘* Exactly. Now, sir, please tell the court whether you are paying the men in your factory or mill the same wages as you were paying three months ago or not? I want a direct an- swer,” ‘* No, I ain’t; and what’s more I ain’t a-going to,” snapped out Skinner. ‘*Ts it not a fact ihat, since you have acquired control of the mill, you have reduced wages twenty-five per cent.?” pursued the old lawyer, eying his witness narrowly. ‘* Yes, it is, and I’m going to stick to it,” said Skinner savagely. ‘‘ I told them we were losing money at the old scale, and they all agreed to come down to the new. I gave them their choice between that, and shutting down the mill.” ‘** Did all of your hands accept the reduction?” ‘* Yes, they did, and that’s what r’iles' me now, to have them go back on their words.” Skinner straightened up as he spoke, and looked as virtuously indignant as he could, while the judge blew his nose, to conceal any in- terest he might feel in the case, ** Did all the men accept the reduction?” pur- sued Scriven insiauatingly: ** Remember that you are on oath, sir, and tell the exact truth, Did all the men in your works, without excep- tion, take the lower wages or not? I want a direct, truthful answer.” Skinner wriggled in his chair, and then rap- out: ‘Yes, they did, All but tne cranemen, un- der that Larry Locke. Now you've got it, and what do you make of it?” Scriven cast a glance, at the judge to see what he thought of the matter; but the official’s face was inscrutable, and the old lawyer went on, in the same insinuating manner as before: ‘* Ex-actly. The cranemen refused to take the lower wages. How many of them were there, as near as you remember?” “Maybe a dozen; maybe less, Couldn’t say.” ‘“‘And those cranemen; you a them the old rate of wages, I presume, and are still pay- ing them,” ‘No such thing. I bounced the whole lot, and got new men in their places. There isn’t one of them here but that fellow, Locke.” ** And as a matter of fact, all that the men in your employment are now striking for, is to get the same rate of wages they were re- ceiving when you cut them down?” Scriven put the matter in this shape on pur- pose; and Skinner saw the point and attempt- ed to explain, but the old lawyer cut him ‘* Answer my question, yes or no, and re- member you are on oath.” **'Yes, then,” was Skinner’s reply. a Scriven turned tothe judge, and said uietly: ‘* Your Honor, on the admission of Mr, Skin- ner, the men on strike are only trying to get back the wages they have always received, till Mr. Skinner himself cut them down, I submit that, on his own showing, they are engaged in a rfectly lawful and reasonable action, and that he charge of See to destroy his business cannot lie! I moveto dismiss the complaint.” The judge hummed and hawed a little, **T hardly think it would be fair to dismiss the complaint at this stage of the case, The plaintiff may be able to prove that the defendant com- mitted acts of violence that injured him, though the combination of men may have been made fora lawful purpose. Let Mr. Van Slack go on, and bring any other witnesses he may have, to prove a conspiracy to injure.” an Slack, looking rather less confident than he had done, told the ironmaster to step down, when Larry whispered to Scriven: ** Ain’t you going to make him tell anything —-, about double-banking me, and all the rest of it Scriven shook his head. ** All in good time,” was allthe answer that he deigned to the impatient Man of Iron. Paul Van Beaver got close to Larry and pinched his arm, whispering: “Leave it allto Mr. Scriven. He understands the case perfectly.” And it seemed that he did, for Van Slack had to hold quite a long conversation with his client, in a Whisper before he called the next witness. When he uttered the name ‘‘ James Somers,” even Paul was surprised, for he had never — thought that the lawyer would dare to call a man of such notorious character. But Van Slack was bound to get in Terror Jim’s evidence before it could be discredited by the charge which he knew was going to be brought against him as soon as the first case was Over; and the ex-tramp stepped to the wit- ness-chair, looking respectable in his new clothes, and his recently shaved face, and took the oath. He announced his name and said that his oc- cupation was that of a seaman. That he had known the plaintiff many years ago, when they were both in the merchant service, and had re- cently renewed the acquaintance. That he had been in the Berkely House that morning, when Larry Locke had entered, with a gang of men, and had assaulted him without any provocation, save that he was a friend of what Larry had called ‘‘the bosses.” That he had t ied to keep from a fight, but that, when Larry assaulted him, he had been compelled to take upa ruler in self-defense, and had knocked the man down, That he had been in a crowd the day before, when he had heard Larry inciting the men on strike to burn the mills of Kelly & Barr, and especially that he bad heard him tell them to look | for Marcellus Skinner and to “ lay him out.’ All this Mr. Somers swore to, with the most refreshing coolness, and Scriven interposed no objection, while Larry fidgeted on his seat, as the stream of lies flowed on, and was very near- ly interfering once or twice, in his anger, at the falsehoods told. Paul managed to keep him quiet till Scriven arose to cross-examine, and the old lawyer be- gan at once. ‘*'You say your name is Somers, ever have another name?” The tramp fidgeted uneasily in his seat, and growled out: ‘* Not as I knows on. People may have given me nick-names, I ain’t to blame for that, Did you And what was the particular nick-name that people gave you, if you have no objection to telling the court.’ Terror Jim lifted his head with some pride. ‘Some calls me Terror Jim, and others the Smasher. But I never took no other name than Somers myself.” ‘* And why did they call you Terror Jim?” ‘“* Because they were afraid of you, or because you were afraid of them?” The ex-tramp laughed. ‘*%Cause they was afeard of me in course, I never seen the man I turned my back on.” ‘*Did you get that name on ship-board, or on shore?” Jim cast a surly glance at the other, as he growled: ** Ashore.” ‘* And what do you do for a living ashore? Please tell the court.” ‘*Sometimes one thing; sometimes another, Whatever I kin git to do.’ ‘* Ts it not a fact that you are a tramp and a soe me who has no visible means of subsist- ence “No, it ain’t, I’m in Mr. Skinner’s employ- ment; and ’m an honest man, and just as re- spectable as you are.” ** How long have you been in Mr. Skinner’s employment?” ‘**Couldn’t say. Some years.” ‘*Oh, some years, When he first took you into his employment, was he the owner of the mills he now works?” ‘*In course he was. What d’ye take me for?” ‘‘ Are you aware that Mr. Skinner has only had those mills for about six months? Are you sure that you have been in his employment for more than a year?” Jim saw that he had made a mistake, and be- gan to bedge. **T don’t know nothen about that. I allers thought he owned the mills. Mebbe be didn’t, Anyway, I’m in his employment, now.” ** Since when?” ‘* Told ye I didn’t know. Some years.” ‘Then, during the time you have been in his employment, he has become owner of the mills?” I don’t know nothen about ‘*Now, Mr. Somers, when did you come to Holesburg?”’ Taken unwarily, Jim replied at a venture, ‘* Three weeks ago, I guess.” **Where,have you been since then?” ‘With Mr. Skinner.” ~ ‘*Do you know a man called Sneopey? That is to say, that is the nick-name he goes by, among his friends; but his real name is Thomas Bradley. Do you know the man?” Jim scowled at his questioner. He had bien warned to deny all knowledge of Snoopey, but hardly knew how much the lawyer knew ahout his past. At last, with something of an effort, he said: Ye No, I don’t know the man. Never heard of im. ‘§ Very good. Do you know Larry Locke here? “ Sart’in I do,” (E(O) ANCE Noy)