Part 19 (2/2)

This, by the as the sort of remark which did not precisely tend to enhance Shattuck's popularity

The Courthouse was a dingy, stuffy little enclosure, and it was crowded to overflowing, the back part of the roo closely packed with dark faces and rolling eyeballs; but scattered ae number of stock farmers, many of whom had travelled considerable distances in order to render the Mattersons a kind of eon, who made a post-mortem of the two bodies The deceased, he deposed, were boys of about fifteen or sixteen, as far as he could judge Then he proceeded to technical detail, such as the number of shot-wounds in each, when and where placed, and so forth As to the other tere wounded, he, the District Surgeon, could not say they were out of danger yet Their injuries were undoubtedly severe

Then followed, severally, the three or four boys who had been in the coave their version of the affair prettythere, they said, and ordered thehed at hio at once he would shoot theun at the they kneas that it went off and four of theround The remainder ran away

The tale of each tallied, but Pyle, the attorney atching the case on behalf of George, after a bit of a wrangle with the Court interpreter as to the exact shade ofwhich the order to move on would or would not bear in the native vernacular, fastened upon two points in cross-examination One was the distance between the slayer and slain, but there was no room for doubt here He was on the top of the cliff while they were beneath it But it was not a high one How high? As high as the Court rooh

Obviously any one shooting at that short distance would be shooting to kill, not hten Even a boy as accustoe was, and however careless, could be under no mistake on that head This to dispose of any idea that he had intended merely to ”pepper” the deceased without intent seriously to wound

The other point upon which our attorney harped was the dery when he ordered the his hunt Did they seriously think he meant to shoot them when he threatened to?--Well, they didn't know But if anybody points a gun at you and you think he h at hiht

No, they supposed he had not intended to shoot Then it had been an accident?--Yes, they supposed so

All this was put by Pyle to the witnesses in due order, and they were unaniht co the next witness he leaned back and whispered to us--

”He'll be discharged Even Shattuck can't send him for trial on top of that admission”

All the saood deal of Kafir evidence, that of parents and other relatives of the dead boys, but this dealt mainly with identification, and was of little or no value for or against our side It was tediously drawn out too by reason of the interpreting, and was not completed by the time the Court adjourned for lunch

”Buck up, old chap,” said Pyle, going over to poor George, as not allowed to leave with us ”Buck up You'll be having it with your governor next grub time”

”Thanks, Mr Pyle, but I don't believe I shall,” was the doleful reply as he was taken into the chief constable's room to devour some sandwiches which Beryl had sent hilare of the sunlight, the contrast was a relief It was good to be out in the open air again, but the contrast was sharper as we thought of the poor boy we had just left

What if imprisonment, even for a comparatively short time, was before him?

The native end of the Courthouse had e to the nuain adrow Kafirs, who had come in from near and far by reason of the exciteroups, lustily discussing it; others lounging around the general stores; while others again were shaping a course for the nearest canteen All had sticks, and not a few a pair of the kerries in the streets the better,” said Brian, as alked over to the hotel ”There are enough of these chaps here to-day to take the town if they made up their reat voice haranguing one of the groups ere passing Looking round, we recognised Sibuko

This pestilent savage was squatting on his haunches, holding forth volubly, e his points with a flourish of his kerrie in the air, or bringing it doith a whack on the ground But to roup that caughtthat chap three doors off frooing to cut

By Jove! I wonder if he re it either”

”Well, you can't--not here and now In the first place, there are too many of them; in the next, Shattuck would fine you about twenty pounds; and thirdly, we don't want to stir up that stew over again”

The hotel was pretty full, and the first person to catch -room, rather late, was that infernal Trask, who had calmly appropriated the seat next to Beryl, and which I had mentallyto be excessively funny, which was his way of keeping everybody's spirits up

”Hallo, Holt,” he sang out ”Got your seat, I'iven you up Plenty of roo?”

”Well, we think,” I answered curtly,to the vacant part at the far end of the roo,” I distinctly heard Trask say ”What an uncertain tempered Johnny he is”

But I did not hear Beryl's reply, and--I should have liked to