d first attempt, so he had declared, to
incite an attack upon himself by playing upon the jealousy of his
victim, having already made a tentative effort in that direction.
Failing in this, he would fall back upon one of a dozen schemes (for he
was ready in such matters, he bragged), the most likely of which would
be to play the peacemaker; he would talk of his good intentions toward
his enemy, speaking publicly of him in friendly and gentle ways; then,
getting at him secretly, destroy him in such a fashion as to leave open
for himself the kind gate of self-defence. In brief, here was the
whole tally of what had actually occurred, with the exception of the
last account in the sequence which had proved that demise for which
Cory had not arranged and it fell from the lips of a witness whom the
prosecution had no means of impeaching. When he left the stand,
unshaken and undiscredited, after a frantic cross-examination, Joe,
turning to resume his seat, let his hand fall lightly for a second upon
his client's shoulder.

That was the occasion of a demonstration which indicated a sentiment
favorable to the defence (on the part of at least three of the
spectators); and it was in the nature of such a hammering of canes upon
the bare wooden floor as effectually stopped all other proceedings
instantly. The indignant Judge fixed the Colonel, Peter Bradbury, and
Squire Buckalew with his glittering eye, yet the hammering continued
unabated; and the offenders surely would have been conducted forth in
ignominy, had not gallantry prevailed, even in that formal place. The
Judge, reluctantly realizing that some latitude must be allowed to
these aged enthusiasts, since they somehow seemed to belong to Miss
Tabor, made his remarks general, with the time-worn threat to clear the
room, whereupon the loyal survivors of Eskew relapsed into unabashed
silence.

It was now, as Joe had said, a clear-enough case. Only the case itself,
however, was clear, for, as he and his friends feared, the verdict
might possibly be neither in accordance with the law, the facts, nor
the convictions of the jury. Eugene's defection had not altered the
tone of the Tocsin.

All day long a crowd of men and boys hung about the corridors of the
Court-house, about the Square and the neighboring streets, and from
these rose sombre murmurs, more and more ominous. The public sentiment
of a community like Canaan can make itself felt inside a court-room;
and it was stro