The Expressman and the Detective Part 27

He heard that he was in Montgomery and received a note from him, saying that all was well; that the Adams Express had compelled him to come--an unwilling witness--to see if they could not force the secret from him, but they would find that they had "collared" the wrong man this time.

Maroney was braced up by this note. He knew that White would not give up; he felt confident of that!

It was the morning of the trial, and before nightfall he would be a free man. It was a lovely day and the court-room was packed with spectators, among whom were many of Maroney's former friends.

He walked proudly into the court-room, between two deputies, with an air that plainly said, "I am bound to win!"

His friends cl.u.s.tered around him and vied with each other as to who could show him the most attention. Foremost among them was Porter, to whom he gave an extra shake of the hand. I will not dwell upon the trial. The witnesses for the prosecution were called one by one. They were the employes of the company who were in any way connected with the shipment or the discovery of the loss of the money, which ought to have been sent to Atlanta, when, in reality, it had gone down the Alabama in Maroney's old trunk.

The witnesses proved that the money had disappeared in some mysterious way; but they did not in the slightest degree fasten the guilt upon Maroney. His spirits rose as the trial progressed, and his counsel could not but smile as he heard the weak testimony he had to break down.

He had expected a toughly contested case, but the prosecutors had presented no case at all.

At length, the crier of the court called "John R. White."

As John R. White did not immediately appear in answer to the call, Maroney seemed, during the brief period of silence, to suddenly realize how critical was his position. His cheek blanched with fear. He seemed striving to speak, but not a word could he articulate. As White deliberately walked up to the witness-stand, Maroney seemed at once to realize that White would never perjure himself for the sake of befriending him. His eyes were filled with horror and he gasped for breath.

A gla.s.s of water was handed to him. He gulped it down, and, vainly endeavoring to force back the tears from his eyes, in a hoa.r.s.e, shaky voice, he exclaimed:

"Oh, G.o.d!" Then, turning to his counsel, he said: "Tell the court I plead guilty. He," pointing to White, "knows the whole. I am guilty!! I am gone!!!"

This ended the matter. The counsel entered a plea of guilty and the Judge sentenced Maroney to pa.s.s ten years in the Alabama Penitentiary, at _hard labor_.