Christmas with Grandma Elsie

by Martha Finley

  CHAPTER XIX.

  One morning at breakfast, Max asked, "Papa, have you told Lu yet?"

  "No," replied the captain, "I wished her to eat her meal first in peaceand comfort; therefore I am sorry you spoke, as I see you have rousedher curiosity."

  "Yes, papa; mayn't I know what you are talking about?" asked Lulu,giving him a disturbed, rather apprehensive look. "Oh does the courtmeet to-day?"

  "It's been meeting for several days," returned Max, "and the trial ofour burglars comes up to-day."

  "And we'll have to attend as witnesses?"

  "Yes; but you needn't be alarmed; you ought to be quite used to it sinceyour experience in the magistrate's office," answered Max sportively.

  "I don't think I'd ever get used to it, and I just wish there was someway to keep out of it!" sighed Lulu.

  "But as there isn't, my little girl will make up her mind to go throughwith it bravely," the captain said, giving her an encouraging smile.

  "I'll try, papa," she answered, but with a sigh that sounded ratherhopeless.

  Violet and Grace both expressed their sympathy, but were sure Lulu woulddo herself credit, as she had on the former occasion.

  Lulu brightened a little and went on with her meal. "How soon do we haveto go papa?" she asked.

  "In about half an hour after breakfast," he answered. "That will take usto the town for the opening of to-day's session of the court. We may notbe called on for our testimony for hours, but must be at hand in case weare wanted."

  Lulu wasted no more breath in vain wishes or objections, but her usualflow of spirits had deserted her. As they drove toward the town herfather noticed that she was very quiet and that her face wore a look ofpatient resignation and fortitude as if she had made up her mind to gocourageously through a difficult and trying ordeal.

  "Don't be anxious and troubled, dear child," he said, taking her handand pressing it affectionately in his; "you are not going alone intothat crowded court room."

  "No, papa; and I'm ever so glad you will be with me."

  "And not only I, dear, but a nearer, dearer, more powerful Friend. Jesussays, 'Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the World.' Hesays it to every one of his disciples, and that always must include thistime that you are dreading.

  "He will be close beside you and you can ask him at any instant for thehelp you need to know exactly what to say and do; the help to be calmand collected, and to answer clearly and perfectly truthfully everyquestion put to you."

  "Papa, it's so nice to think of that!" she exclaimed, looking upbrightly and with glad tears shinning in her eyes; "thank you so verymuch for reminding me of it. Now I shall not be at all afraid, even ifthe lawyers do ask me hard, puzzling questions, as I've read in thepapers, that they do to witnesses, sometimes."

  "No, you need not be afraid; I am not afraid for you; for I am sure youwill be helped to say just what you ought; and if--as I believe willhappen--you are enabled to acquit yourself well, remember, when peoplecommend you for it, that having done so by help from on high, the honoris not fairly due to you, and you have no reason to be conceited andvain in consequence."

  "I hope I'll be kept from being that, papa," she returned. "I don'tthink that for anybody with as good a memory as mine, having told astraightforward truthful story is anything to be puffed up about."

  "No, certainly not."

  The wealth and standing in the community of Captain Raymond and hiswife's relatives; caused a widespread interest in the case about to betried; especially in connection with the fact that he and two of hischildren were to be placed upon the witness stand to testify to theidentity of the burglars and their attempt to rob his house.

  The Court House was crowded, and there were very many of the betterclass of people among the spectators, including members of the familiesresiding at the Oaks, the Laurels, the Pines, Ion, Fairview andRoselands.

  Dr. Conly, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Travilla and Mr. Leland were there whenthe Woodburn party arrived; and presently Grandpa Dinsmore and his wife,and Cousin Ronald, who was still staying at Ion, followed.

  These all sat near together, and Lulu felt it a comfort to find herselfin the midst of such a company of friends.

  Greetings were exchanged, some kind, encouraging words spoken to her andMax, then their father and the other gentlemen fell into conversation.

  The children had never been in a court-room before, and were interestedin looking about and observing what was going on. They were early; inseason to see the judges come in and take their seats on the bench, andthe opening of the court.

  Some lesser matters occupied its attention for a time, then there was alittle stir of excitement in the crowd as the sheriff and his deputyentered with Ajax and his fellow burglar, but it quieted down in amoment as the prisoners took their places at the bar, and the voice ofthe presiding judge sounded distinctly through the room, "Commonwealthagainst Perry Davis and Ajax Stone. Burglary. Are you ready for trial?"

  "We are, your Honor," replied the district attorney.

  "Very well," said the judge, "arraign the prisoners."

  Then the two prisoners were told to stand up while the district attorneyread the indictment, which charged them with "burglariously breaking andentering into the mansion-house of Captain Raymond of Woodburn, on thesecond day of January last passed," and while there attempting to breakinto and rob his safe and to carry off articles of value from otherparts of the dwelling.

  The court-room was very quiet during the reading of the indictment, sothat Max and Lulu who were listening intently, heard every word.

  Lulu looked her astonishment when the prisoners pleaded, "Not guilty."

  "Why they _are_! and they know they are!" she whispered to Max.

  "Of course," he returned in the same low key, "but do you suppose menwho break into houses to steal, will hesitate to lie?"

  "Oh no, to be sure not! How silly I am!"

  The next thing was the selecting of jurors; a rather tedious business,taking up all the rest of the time till the court adjourned for the noonrecess.

  That was a rest for Max and Lulu. Their father took them to a hotel forlunch, they chatted a while in its parlor, after satisfying theirappetites, then returned to the court-room in season for the opening ofthe afternoon session.

  The district attorney made the opening address, giving an outline of theevidence he expected to bring forward to prove the prisoners' guilt.Then Lulu was called to the witness stand.

  She rose at once and turned to her father, looking a trifle pale, butquite calm and collected.

  He took her hand and led her to the little railed platform. She steppedupon it and he stood near to encourage her by his presence.

  "You are very young, my child," the judge said in a kindly tone, "Whatdo you know of the nature of an oath?"

  "I know, sir, that it is a very solemn promise in the presence of thegreat God, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but thetruth."

  "And what will happen to you if you fail to do so, my dear?"

  "God will know it, and be angry with me; for he hates lying and hassaid, 'All liars shall have their part in the lake that burneth withfire and brimstone!'"

  Lulu's answers were given in a low, but very distinct tone and in thealmost breathless silence were quite audible in every part of the largeroom.

  "Administer the oath to her," said the judge addressing the clerk of thecourt, "she is more competent to take it than many an older person."

  When she had done so, "What is your name?" asked the district attorney.

  "Lucilla Raymond."

  "You are the daughter of Capt. Levis Raymond late of United StatesNavy?"

  "Yes, sir, his eldest daughter."

  "How old are you?"

  "I was twelve on my last birthday; last summer."

  "Look at the prisoners. Did you ever see them before?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "When and where?"

  "The colored man has lived in our family, and I saw him ever
y day formonths."

  "And the white man?"

  "I have seen him three times before to-day; first on the second day oflast January, when my brother and I were riding home through the bit ofwood on my father's estate. That man was leaning against a tree and mypony nearly stepped on him before I knew he was there, and he seized herbridle and said fiercely, 'Look out there and don't ride a fellowdown!'"

  "And what did you answer?"

  "Let go of my bridle this instant and get out of the path!"

  "Plucky!" laughed some one in the audience.

  "What happened next?" asked the lawyer, and Lulu went on to tell thewhole story of the adventure in the wood.

  "That, you have told us, was your first sight of the prisoner callinghimself Perry Davis, when did you see him next? and where?"

  "That night, in what we call the strong room where papa's safe is."

  She was bidden to tell the whole of that story also, and did so in thesame clear, straightforward manner in which she had told it in themagistrate's office, told it simply, artlessly--as not aware of thebravery and unselfishness of her conduct in attempting the capture ofthe burglars at the risk of being attacked and murdered by them--and inthe same calm, even, distinct tones in which she had spoken at first.

  A murmur of admiration ran through the court-room as she concluded hernarrative with, "Papa was asleep and I couldn't speak just at first forwant of breath; but when I put my arm round his neck and laid my face onthe pillow beside his, he woke and I told him about the burglars andwhat I had done."

  The prisoners had listened with close attention and evident interest.

  "So 'twas her--that chit of a gal, that fastened us in--caught us in atrap, as one may say," muttered Davis, scowling at her and grinding histeeth with rage. "Pity I didn't hold on to that ere bridle and kerry heroff afore we ventur'd in thar."

  A warning look from his counsel silenced him, and the latter addressedhimself to Lulu.

  "You say you had seen Davis three times before to-day. Where and whendid you see him the third time?"

  "In the magistrate's office, the next morning after he and Ajax had beenin our house."

  "Did you then recognize them as the same men you had seen in the strongroom of your home the night before at work at the lock of the safe?"

  "Yes, sir; and Davis as the man who had seized my pony's bridle in thewood."

  "But you had not seen Ajax Stone's face; how then could you recognizehim?"

  "No, I had not seen his face, but I had the back of his head and how hewas dressed, and I knew I had fastened him in there, and that he didn'tget out till the sheriff took him out; and then I heard his voice andknew it was Ajax's voice."

  The cross-questioning went on. It was what Lulu had dreaded, but it didnot seem to embarrass or disturb her; nor could she be made tocontradict herself.

  Her father's eyes shone; he looked a proud and happy man as he led herback to her seat, holding her hand in a tender, loving clasp.

  She was surprised and pleased to find Grandma Elsie and Violet sittingwith the other relatives and friends. They had come in while she was onthe witness stand.

  "Dear child," Violet said, making room for her by her side, "you wentthrough your ordeal very successfully, and I am very glad for your sake,that it is over."

  "Yes, my dear, we are all proud of you," added Grandma Elsie, smilingkindly upon the little girl.

  But there was not time for anything more.

  "Max Raymond," some one called.

  "Here, sir," replied the lad, rising.

  "Take the witness stand."

  "Go, my son, and let us see how well you can acquit yourself," thecaptain said in an encouraging tone, and Max obeyed.

  He conducted himself quite to his father's satisfaction, behaving in avery manly way, and giving his testimony in the same clear, distincttones and straightforward manner that had been admired in his sister.But having much less to tell, he was not kept nearly so long upon thestand.

  There were other witnesses for the prosecution, one of whom was Capt.Raymond himself.

  He testified that the burglars had evidently entered the house through awindow, by prying open a shutter, removing a pane of glass, thenreaching in and turning the catch over the lower sash.

  When the evidence on that side had all been heard, the counsel for theaccused opened the case for the defense.

  He was an able and eloquent lawyer, but his clients had alreadyestablished an unenviable reputation for themselves, and the weight ofthe evidence against them was too strong for rebuttal. Their convictionwas a foregone conclusion in his mind, and that of almost every onepresent, even before he began his speech.

  He had but few witnesses to bring forward, and their testimony wasunimportant and availed nothing as disproof of that given by those forthe prosecution.

  After the lawyers on both sides had addressed the jury, and the judgehad delivered his charge to them, they retired to consider theirverdict.

  In a few moments they returned and resumed their seats in the jury box.They found both the accused guilty of burglary, and the trial was over.

  "Is it quite finished, papa?" Lulu asked as they were driving towardhome again.

  "What, my child? the trial? Yes; there will be no more of it."

  "I'm so glad," she exclaimed with a sigh of relief. "You said they wouldhave to go to the penitentiary if they were found guilty; and the jurysaid they were; how long will they have to stay there?"

  "I don't know; they have not been sentenced yet; but it will be for someyears."

  "I'm sorry for them. I wish they hadn't been so wicked."

  "So do I."

  "And that I hadn't had to testify against them. I can't help feeling asthough it was unkind, and that their friends have a right to hate me forit."

  "No, not at all. It was a duty you owed the community (because to allowcriminals to go unpunished would make honest people unsafe), and indeedto the men themselves; as being brought to justice may prove the meansof their reformation. So set your mind at rest about it, my darling; tryto forget the whole unpleasant affair, and be happy in the enjoyment ofyour many blessings."

  "There's one thing that helps to make my conscience perfectly easy onthe score of having testified against them," remarked Max, "and that isI couldn't help myself, but had to obey the law."

  "True enough," rejoined his father. "And Lulu was no more a free agentthan yourself."

  "No, sir; but she did more to catch the rogues than anybody else," Maxwent on, giving her a merry, laughing glance. "Don't you wish, sis, thatyou had let them go on and help themselves to all they wanted, and thenleave without being molested?"

  "No, I don't," she answered with spirit. "I wouldn't want papa to losehis money, or Mamma Vi her jewels. Beside they might have gone upstairsand hurt some of us."

  "We are all much obliged to you, Lulu dear," Violet remarked, lookingaffectionately at the little girl. "How brave and unselfish you were!That burglary following so immediately upon the festivities of ourdelightful Christmas holidays, seemed a most trying and unfortunateafterclap; but we will hope for better things next time."