For Judge Priest had readied the point where he couldnt hold in any longer. He cleared his throat and then he spoke, using the careful English he always used on the bench and never anywhere else.
Before we proceed, he began, and his tone told plainly enough that what he meant to say now would be well worth the hearing, before we proceed, the court has something to say, which will have a direct bearing upon the present issue. He glanced about him silently, commanding quiet. The defendant at the bar stands charged with the death of one Ransom Fleming and he is produced here to answer that charge.
From the desk he lifted a time-yellowed, legal-looking paper, folded flat; he shucked it open with his thumb. It appears, from the records, that in the month of February and of the year 1865, the said Ransom Fleming, now deceased, was a fugitive from justice, going at large and charged with divers and sundry felonious acts, to wit, the crime of arson and the crime of felonious assault with intent to kill, and the crime of confederating with others not named, to destroy the property of persons resident in the State of Kentucky. It appears further that a disorganized condition of the civil government existed, the State being overrun with stragglers and deserters from both armies then engaged in civil war, and therefore, because of the inability or the failure of the duly constituted authorities to bring to justice the person charged with these lawless and criminal acts, the Governor of this State did offer a reward of $500 for the apprehension of Ransom Fleming, dead or alive.
Now, for sure, the crowd knew something pregnant with meaning for the prisoner at the bar was coming knew it without knowing yet what shape it would assume. Heads came forward row by row and necks were craned eagerly.
I hold here in my hand an official copy of the proclamation issued by the Governor of the State, continued Judge Priest. Under its terms this reward was open to citizens and to officers of the law alike. All law-abiding persons were in fact urged to join in ridding the commonwealth of this man. He stood outside the pale of the law, without claim upon or right to its protection.
It would appear further, the old Judges whiny voice was rising now that this proclamation was never withdrawn, although with the passage of
years it may have been forgotten. Under a strict construction of the law of the land and of the commonwealth, it may be held to have remained in force up to and including the date of the death of the said Ransom Fleming. It accordingly devolves upon this court, of its own motion, to set aside the indictment against the defendant at the bar and to declare him free
For the time being His Honor got no further than that. Even the stupidest listener there knew now what had come to pass knew that Judge Priest had found the way to liberty for young Jim Faxon. Cheering broke out loud, exultant cheering and the stamping of many feet. Persons outside, on the square and in the street, might have been excused for thinking that a dignified and orderly session of court had suddenly turned into a public rally a ratification meeting. Most of those actually present were too busy venting their own personal satisfaction to notice that young Jim was holding his sweetheart and his aunt in his arms; and there was too much noise going on round about them for any one to hear the panted hallelujahs of joy and relief that poured from the lips of the young woman and the old one.
The Judge pounded for order with his gavel, pounding long and hard, before the uproar simmered down into a seething and boiling of confused, excited murmurings.
Mister Sheriff, he ordered, with a seeming sternness which by no means matched the look on his face, keep order in this court! If any further disorder occurs here you will arrest the offenders and arraign them for contempt.
The sheriffs bushy eyebrows expressed bewilderment. When it came to arresting a whole court house full of people, even so vigilant and earnest-minded an official as Sheriff Giles Bindsong hardly knew where to start in. Nevertheless he made answer promptly.
Yes, suh, Your Honor, he promised, I will.
As I was saying when this interruption occurred, went on the Judge, it now devolves upon the court to discharge the defendant at the bar from custody and to declare him entitled to the reward of $500 placed upon the head of the late Ransom Fleming by the Governor of Kentucky in the year 1865 Young Jim Faxon with his arms still around the heaving shoulders of the women, threw his head up:
No Judge, please, sir, I couldnt touch that money not that he began, but Judge Priest halted him:
The late defendant not being of legal age, the court rules that this reward when collected may be turned over to his legal guardian. It may be that she will find a good and proper use to which this sum of money may be put. This time, the cheering, if anything, was louder even than it had been before; but when the puzzled sheriff looked around for instructions regarding the proper course of procedure in such an emergency, the judge on the bench was otherwise engaged. The judge on the bench was exchanging handshakes of an openly congratulatory nature with the members of the county bar headed by Attorney for the Defense, Dabney Prentiss.