The Preacher of Cedar Mountain: A Tale of the Open Country

by Ernest Thompson Seton

  CHAPTER LVII

  The Trial

  All Chicago remembers the trial of Michael Shay. It filled the papersfor a month; it filled folk's minds and mouths for two. Many a worsemurder had been quietly buried and forgotten, but this was tooconspicuous. The boss, facing a decline of his power, had undoubtedlymurdered the man he had begun to fear, and the parties in control of allthe machinery of justice were against the accused.

  The case was thoroughly threshed out. Shay had openly threatened thelife of Squeaks; he had tried before to do him hurt; had gone with twomen to Squeaks's lodgings; had warned Schmidt that there was going to be"a little fuss"; had broken open the door and got certain papers--hisown property, undoubtedly, but now splashed with blood; a shot had beenheard--a heavy something thrown from the back window and then carriedoff by two men; blood on the floor, the sill and the back fence; and theJudge had disappeared from the face of the earth. The case was clear,the jury retired, but quickly brought in a verdict of guilty, althoughat every point there was nothing but circumstantial evidence.

  Jim Hartigan was one of the first friends to call on Shay after hisarrest, and Belle came soon after. They heard his story, which wassimple and straight: Squeaks was holding the papers which would be, atleast, damaging to Shay's property and reputation; he got them inconfidence and then defied Shay to come and take them. Shay decided itwould be well to take two witnesses and went, as planned, to Squeaks'sapartments. Finding the door locked and believing that Squeaks wasinside, he forced it open; the room was dark and no one was there. Helighted the gas and rummaged through the desk for the papers thatbelonged to him, paying no attention to any others. He saw blood on someof the papers, but didn't know where it came from. As he was comingaway, he heard a pistol shot, either upstairs or outside, he didn't knowwhich. He knew nothing about anything thrown from the window. He got hisown property and came away.

  Although every particle of evidence adduced by the prosecuting attorneywas circumstantial, it was very complete. Some juries would have feltreasonable doubt, but no one could get over the facts that Shay hadthreatened Squeaks's life and that Squeaks had disappeared after a visitfrom Shay which left traces of blood in Squeaks's apartment. The trialover, the verdict of guilty rendered, Shay was asked if he could offerany reason why he should not be condemned. He rose and said: "Only thatI didn't do it. I never saw him from that time in the club a weekbefore."

  Then the judge pronounced the awful words: "...Hanged by the neck tillyou are dead." Shay sat stunned for a minute, then, when the jailortapped his shoulder, rose and walked silently forth to the cell of thedoomed.

  It is the hour of trial that sifts out your friends. There were two atleast who followed every move in that crowded court room--Hartigan andhis wife. They had learned that the crude, brutal exterior of theprizefighter held a heart that was warm and true. They had learned thatthey could go to him with certainty of success when they wanted help forsome struggling man or woman in their ward. They knew that he would notdrive a bargain for his help, nor plaster his gift with religiousconditions. It was enough for him to know that a fellow-being was inneed and that he had the power to help him. Shay was a product ofsubmergence and evil system; he was wrong in his theories, wrong in hismethods, wrong in his life; but his was a big, strong spirit--ever kind.And out of the strange beginnings there had grown a silent but realfriendship between the Hartigans and himself.

  On the black day of the verdict and the sentence, Belle and Jim weresadly sitting at home. "Jim," she said, "I know he didn't do it; hisstory is so simple and sound. It's easy to get human blood if you have afriend in the hospital; he is innocent. We know that Squeaks couldeasily have access to a room upstairs; that bundle may have been thrownout from the window merely as a part of a plot. Everything is againstShay now because he is in wrong with the party; but, surely, there issomething we can do."

  "His attorney asked for an appeal, but I am afraid it won't beentertained; there is no new evidence--no reason for delay that they cansee or wish to see."

  "That attorney has behaved very suspiciously, I think. Don't you thinkthe governor might intervene with at least a commutation?" shesuggested.

  "The governor! His worst enemy," said Jim. "The governor's been afterhim for years."

  Hope seemed gone. They sat in silence; then she said: "Pray, Jim; maybelight will come." And together they prayed that the God of justice andmercy would send his light down among them and guide them in this awfultime. It was a short and simple prayer, followed by a long silence.

  Belle spoke: "There is only one thing that can be done; that is findSqueaks. I know he is living somewhere yet, gloating probably over thesuccess of his plan to get rid of Shay. I know he is alive, and we mustfind him. We have one month to do it, Jim. We must find him."

  Jim shook his head. "We've tried hard enough already. We've examinedevery corpse taken out of the river or exposed at the morgue."

  "Well; doesn't that help to prove that he is alive?"

  "We've advertised and notified every police station in the country," Jimcontinued.

  "They don't want to find him, Jim; they're on the other side."

  "I don't know what else to do."

  "Jim, I've read enough and seen enough of human nature to know that, ifSqueaks is alive, he's not hiding in California or Florida or London;he's right here in South Ward where he can watch things. It's my belief,Jim, that he's been in the court room watching the trial."

  Jim shook his head; but she went on. "This much I'm sure; he would hangaround his former haunts, and we should leave nothing undone to findhim."

  They went first to Shay's attorney, but he dismissed the idea aschimerical, so they dropped him from their plans. Together they set towork, with little hope indeed, but it was at least better to be up anddoing. Judge Squeaks's office was small, easily entered and productiveof nothing. The police would give no information and seemed littleinterested in the new theory. Squeaks's lodgings yielded nothing new,but they found that Belle's theory was right; he had also had a room onthe floor above. The woman in the gray cloak had called on him once ortwice in the previous month and had come once since. She was a sort ofjanitress, as she had a key and straightened up his room. There was nohint of help in this. There was only one of his haunts that they had notthoroughly examined, that was the club. There was no need for that, asthey knew every one that came and went, at least by sight.

  Mrs. Hartigan was sitting in the club office at the back of the buildingnext day when Skystein came in, and sat down to go over some clubletters, officially addressed to him. As he read he made a note on eachand sorted them into three neat piles. Belle watched him with interestthat was a little tinged with shame. It is so human to consider a maninferior if he does not speak your language fluently, and the earlyimpression they had gotten of Skystein gave them a sense of lofty pity.But it did not last. At every board meeting they had found reason torespect the judgment and worldly knowledge of the little Hebrew; thosekeen black eyes stood for more than cunning, they were the lights ofintellect. Belle turned to him now. If any one knew the underworld ofthe South Ward it was he, and what he didn't know he had means to findout.

  She openly, frankly, told him all she knew and suspected. He heard herat first doubtingly, then with growing interest, then with a glare ofintense attention and conviction at last. His eyes twinkled knowingly asshe expressed her opinion of the attorney. Skystein uttered the singleword "fixed." Then he tapped his white teeth with his slender forefingerand rose to get the membership roll. He looked over it, but got no help;there was no one entered within the last few months that they could notfully account for.

  They sat gazing in silence through the window into the adjoining readingroom when an elderly woman came in and sat down. She wore a gray cloakand large goggles.

  "Who is she?" said Belle. "I've seen her often enough, but I don'tremember her name."

  "Dat's Mrs. Davis: she's been coming only about five months. She was oneof Squeaks's members."

/>   A ray of hope shot into Belle's brain. "This fits the description ofSqueaks's cleaning woman. She knows where he is hidden; she takes himfood and keeps him posted. She is here now for the news." The woman atthe desk raised her face; through the goggles and through that innerwindow she saw the two gazing at her. She rose quickly, but withouthurry, and left the building. Skystein turned after her, withoutactually running, but she had disappeared.

  "That woman knows where Squeaks is hiding," said Belle. But what becameof her was a puzzle. They were confronted now by a stone wall, for therewas no trace of her. The old janitor at Squeaks's lodging had not seenher for two weeks and she did not again appear at the club.

  Michael Shay's religion so far as he had any, was of the Ulster type,and Jim Hartigan was accepted as his spiritual adviser and allowed tosee him often. Jim and Belle agreed that it was well to tell himeverything in their minds, to keep alive the light of hope, or maybe getfrom him some clue. Two weeks passed thus without a hint. Then, oneevening as Skystein came late to the club, he saw a woman go out. Hewent to the desk and asked who it was. The register showed a strangename, but the clerk thought it was the gray woman till she looked at thename. Skystein rushed out as fast as possible, just in time to see agray-cloaked figure board the car. There was no hack in sight so heleaped on the next car and followed. He was able to watch the car mostof the time, but saw only one woman leave it. She was in black. Atlength, he got a chance to run forward and mount the first car. Hestayed on the platform and peered in. There was no gray-cloaked woman.He asked the conductor, and learned that a woman had got on and takenoff her cloak till she went out again three blocks back. At once hisHebrew wit seized these two ideas: she had deliberately turned hercloak; she was eluding pursuit.

  Skystein went back at once to the street where the black-cloaked womanhad descended. Of course, he saw nothing of her, but there was a peanutvender of his own race, at the corner. Skystein stopped, bought a bag ofpeanuts and began to eat them. Casually he asked the merchant if thatwoman in gray bought peanuts there. The vender didn't seem tocomprehend, so Skystein addressed him in Yiddish; told him the woman wasa detective, and promised to give ten dollars for information as towhere she lived or what she was after. The expression on the peanutman's face showed an eagerness to find out the facts with all possiblespeed. But a week went by and he had nothing to report.

  Meanwhile, Jim was at Joliet in daily conference with Shay, reporting tohim the success or ill success of the search; reporting, alas, howlittle help they got from those who were supposed to forward the ends ofjustice. Money was not lacking, but it would help little; if an opencampaign were conducted to find the man they believed to be in hiding,it might put an insuperable obstacle in the way. The governor wasapproached, but he was little disposed to listen or order a stay, leastof all when they had nothing but a vague theory to offer.

  Four days more went by, and Skystein found the peanut man in highexcitement. He had seen the gray woman; she passed down his street and,before he could follow, turned into a side street; he left his peanutsand ran to follow, but got no second glimpse. She must have gone intoone of the near-by tenements. "Didn't Mr. Skystein orter pay for depeanuts stole by de boys, as well as de reward."

  Two days of life remained to Shay. Hope had died out of their hearts.Hartigan was preparing him for the great change that is always a bitterchange when so approached. Belle still clung to hope. She posted herselfwhere she could view the street, and made judicious inquiries, but gotno help. The gray mantle was not a complete identification; the womanmight have a dozen mantles. She went to the police station to enlisttheir cooperation. The Precinct Captain took no stock in the story andrefused to order a house-to-house search. Finally--for even police arehuman--he promised to search any particular house when it was indicated,and to give reasonable support to any move that was obviously in thecause of justice.

  The morning of the execution came and nothing had developed to revivetheir hopes. Belle was on watch at the street corner when on the mainavenue an excitement occurred. A Savoyard with a dancing bear washolding a public show and gathering in a few coins. An idea came to her;she made her way through the crowd and said: "Here, is a dollar, if youmake him dance before every house on this street." The Savoyard smiledblandly, bowed, pocketed the dollar and, leading the bear into the sidestreet that Belle had watched so long, began the droning song thatcaused the animal to rear up and sway his huge, heavy body round andround as he walked. All the world came forth to see, or peered fromupper windows; all the world was watching the strange antics of thebear--all but one. Belle's keen brown eyes were watching the crowd,watching the doorways, and watching, at length, the windows withdesperate eagerness for sign of the gray woman. There seemed to be nogray woman; but, of a sudden, she saw a thing that stopped her heart.Flat against the window of a second-floor room, and intently watchingthe bear, was the pale, wizened, evil face of Squeaks!

  Belle's hand trembled as she noted the house, the number and the veryroom; then, passing quickly around the corner, she hailed a cab anddrove for life to the telegraph office, where she telegraphed Jim:

  "Hold up the execution for two hours; we have found Squeaks." (Signed) "BELLE"

  Then away to the police station. "Captain, Captain, I've found Squeaks!Come, come at once and get him."

  "I have to know about it first," said he, calmly.

  "Oh, Captain, there is no time to lose. It is ten o'clock now; theexecution is fixed for noon."

  The Captain shook his head.

  "Then telegraph the Governor," she begged.

  "He wouldn't pay any attention to your say-so."

  "Then come at once and see; I have a cab here."

  The Captain and two men went with Belle. They entered the cab. "I'llgive you double fare to go your fastest," Belle said through her white,compressed lips; and the kindly cabman, sensing something out of common,'Said, "I'll do my best, miss."

  In ten minutes, they were in the side street. The bear was gone, thecrowd was gone. The police entered without knocking, went to the secondfloor, to the very door and then knocked. There was no answer. TheCaptain put his shoulder to the door and forced it in. There, sureenough, standing in an attitude of fear in a far corner was the thinwoman of the gray cloak.

  "Where is Judge Squeaks? He was seen in this room half an hour ago."

  "I don't know what you mean," and she covered her face with her skinnyhands and began to cry.

  "You must come to the station at once," said the Captain. Then to Belle:"Will you testify that this is the woman?"

  Belle was white and trembling, but she walked up and said: "I willtestify that this is--" She reached forward, peering at the woman'shidden face. Then seizing the loose hair, Belle gave one jerk, the wigcame off, and they were facing Judge Squeaks!

  "My God!" was all the Captain had to say. "The telephone as quick aspossible! You hold him." He dashed down the stairs and made for thenearest long distance wire. It was half an hour before they couldconnect with Springfield, only to learn that the Governor had left forChicago and was expected to arrive there about noon.