LITMIR.BIZ

      Chapter 6

      Cousin in Court

      On a crisp spring morning, the town court opened court with a case of an expensive horse being shot. Addie, now the court deputy took her position, suddenly recognized the defendant as her distant cousin, Will.

      “The court will now come to order.” Turning toward the bailiff, he said, “The court is ready to hear the first case. Do we need to convene a jury?”

      “Not at this time, Your Honor. This case is W. F. Galgit versus William Attle,”2 replied the bailiff.

      “What is the charge?” asked Judge Simpson.

      “Mr. Galgit accuses Mr. Attle of shooting his prized and valuable horse on June 2.”

      “Mr. Galgit, stand and approach the bench.” He complied. “Now, explain to the court your accusation against Mr. Attle.

      “Will, er, I mean Mr. Attle was seen out hunting woodchucks the day my horse was shot. Apparently he mistook my horse for a woodchuck,” Mr. Hillard said.

      “What evidence do you have to support your claim,” asked the judge.

      “Just what my neighbor, Josh Miller, told me. He had seen Will hunting earlier in the day up around the wooded area adjoining my pasture, and he heard the shot.”

      “How much time between the sighting of Mr. Attle and the shot?” inquired Judge Simpson.

      “Josh told me he saw Will hunting near the woods about noon, but it was later in the day when he heard the shot. I guess he assumed Will was still out there hunting,” he replied.

      “That’s a good deal of time to assume anything,” said the judge. Have a seat. “Mr. Attle, will you approach the bench?” Will complied. “Mr. Attle, explain to the court your whereabouts on the day in question from noon till dark.”

      “As Mr. Galgit said, I was out hunting woodchuck at noon. They’re pretty good eating. But I didn’t have any luck. It was getting hot and I was hungry, so I went home at one. My mother, Hester, had dinner ready, so I sat down and ate. Later that afternoon, I went for supplies at Masters Hardware store.”

      “What time were you there?” asked the judge.

      “Not really sure. I think around 3:00 p.m., maybe a bit later. There were several people there I knew, and I talked to many of them. I can give you some names to verify what I’m telling you,” said Will.

      “At what time did you leave Masters?” questioned the judge.

      “I left around four with Dan Smith. I gave him a ride home. In fact, Mr. Galgit’s horse was out in the pasture when we went by, and Dan remarked about how beautiful he was,” said Will.

      “What did you do after dropping Mr. Smith at his house?”

      “Why I went home,” Will answered.

      “Did you go out again?”

      “No, sir.”

      “Mr. Galgit, it appears you have no case against Mr. Attle. I’m sure the people he saw at Masters will confirm his testimony,” observed the judge. “Case dismissed.”

      Will got up to leave. As he passed Addie standing at the door, she said, “Don’t leave till we talk. I will have a break here shortly.”

      All right, I’ll wait out in the hall,” Will said as he gathered his coat and hat.

      Ten minutes Addie appeared. “Sorry it took so long. Judge Simpson wanted to do some quick checking concerning today’s docket. How are your parents doing?”

      “Mother is doing just fine,” replied Will. She’s teaching school and giving music lessons in the evening” I guess you heard about my father.”

      “I had forgotten. I heard he had passed away. What happened to him?” asked Addie.

      “Well, around a year before his death, he was coming to town when his neighbor, David Roswell, came out to the mailbox. Dad stopped to talk to him. While sitting in his buggy talking to Roswell, out of nowhere comes this speeding buggy sideswiping Dad’s buggy. It pitched Dad out into the driveway. Even though he had his hands out to catch himself, most of his injuries were on his chest and face. He thought he was just bruised up, but when he tried to stand, he discovered he had broken his collarbone. The doctor patched him up and sent him home. As time went on, he began to have pain in his chest and shoulders. He just went downhill after the accident,” explained Will.3

      “Didn’t the man stop to see if your father was all right?” questioned Addie.

      “No, he just kept going. We have no idea who he was. Roswell gave the sheriff a description as best he could remember, but no one remembers seeing anyone fitting the description,” replied Will, “not even the horse has been identified.”

      “Dear me sudz,” exclaimed Addie, “you do know that man can be charged with some degree of murder?”

      “Yes, I know, but someone has to find him first. But that isn’t all. Before Dad died, he, my mother, Winifred, and myself were ordered into court over the land they had purchased in 1890 from Fred Hamblin. Apparently, Hamblin sold the same property to Gordon and Mary Waldruff. It was a mess. I guess the solution was to sell it at public auction. None of us had the money to bid on it and the property sold for $350. Dad had laid out $400 as a down payment, so it was a loss for all of us.4

      “This is horrible. How come I haven’t heard about this?” she said her voice rising.

      “It’s probably because the auction was held in the Supreme Court of St. Lawrence County, not in the town court here. As far as my dad’s death, it’s been nearly two years now. I’m sure most people have forgotten about it by now.”

      “What are you doing now?” Addie asked.

      “I’m the foreman for Bell Telephone, placing poles in the ground and installing lines throughout the county,” he replied, “and Frank Curtis and I just installed a telephone for Mrs. Julia Covey.”5

      “Does this

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