y that you disbelieve this gentleman, who, at the risk
of his life, arrested this ruffian and prevented murder?" the lawyer
demanded.

"I mean to say," said the old man slowly, "that I don't believe Dan put
the dynamite on the engine."

When the master-mechanic had been excused and was passing out Dan put
out his hand--both hands in fact, for they were chained together--and
the company's officer shook the manacled hands of the prisoner and
hurried on.

When the prosecution had finished, the prisoner was asked to name the
witness upon whom he relied.

"George Cowels," said the accused, and there ran through the audience
another murmur, the judge frowned, and the standing committee shifted
back to the other foot.

"Your Honor, please," said the attorney rising, "we are only wasting
time with this incorrigible criminal. He must know that George Cowels is
dead for he undoubtedly had some hand in the murder, and now to show you
that he had not, he has the temerity to stand up here and pretend to
know nothing whatever about the death of the engineer. I must say that,
quiet and gentle as he is, he is a cunning villain to try to throw dust
in the eyes of the people by pretending to be ignorant of Cowels's
death. I submit, your Honor, there is no use in wasting time with this
man, and we ask that he be held without bail, to await the action of the
grand jury."

Dan Moran appeared to pay little or no attention to what the lawyer was
saying, for the news of Cowels's death had been a great shock to him.
The fact that he had been locked up over night and then brought from the
jail to the court in a closed van might have accounted for his ignorance
of Cowels's death, but no one appeared to think of that. But now,
finding himself at the open door of a prison, with a strong chain of
circumstantial evidence wound about him, he began to show some interest
in what was going on.

The judge, having adjusted his glasses, and opened and closed a few
books that lay on his desk, was about to pronounce sentence when the
prisoner asked to be allowed to make a statement.

This the attorney for the company objected to as a waste of time, for he
was satisfied of the prisoner's guilt, but the judge over-ruled the
objection and the prisoner testified.

He admitted having had the dynamite in his pocket when arrested, but
said he had taken it from the engine to prevent its exploding and
wrecking the locomotive. He said he had quarrelled with