CHAPTER VDISPENSING JUSTICE.The driver bristled with indignation.“It’s an outrage!â€� he cried. “We must get to Albion in time to catch the three-forty train. You can’t stop us.â€�“I’ve stopped ye already,â€� said Deputy Sheriff Newberry serenely. “Under the circumstances it don’t become you to tell me what I can’t do. You’ll be permitted to proceed on your way to Albion after Jedge Wiggin attends to your case. So you might as well soople down and take it calm.â€�“But you don’t understand, you don’t know who you’re holding up in this high-handed fashion. You are interfering with——â€�“Wait, Hitchens!â€� cut in the other man, giving a glance at his watch. “Never mind telling him who we are.â€�“’Tain’t necessary,â€� stated Newberry. “You’ll have to tell the jedge, anyhow.â€�“How long,â€� asked the man with the watch, “will it require to get through with this business so that we may go on. It is most important that we should get that train.â€�“Wull,â€� drawled the deputy, “if the jedge is around handy, and he don’t read you too long a lecture before he slaps on the fine, mebbe you’ll git started ag’in in half or three-quarters of an hour; ’tain’t likely to be more’n an hour, anyhow.â€�“Half an hour will make us miss the train. Can’t we fix it with you?â€�“Now take keer, take keer! Don’t you go for to offer no bribes to an officer of the law. I couldn’t take them nohow,â€� he added as Constable Small came hurrying up with Constable Buzzell wheezing and sniffling at his heels.“But,â€� protested Hitchens, “if you knew who——â€�“Never mind that,â€� interrupted the older man sharply. “The other business will have to wait. I have a curiosity to see just how Judge Wiggin handles cases of this sort.â€�“Your cur’osity,â€� assured Deputy Sheriff Newberry, swinging open the tonneau door, “will be satisfied. Git in, boys!â€�When the three men had all piled into the rear of the car the one in command directed Hitchens to drive straight down the long main street of the town, and proceeded slowly.Their appearance in the village was the signal for various inhabitants who observed them to grin and wag their heads, making uncomplimentary and derisive remarks, while a number of small boys, hooting and laughing, assembled and followed the car as far as Turner’s grocery, over which, in a bare and sparsely furnished room, Judge Wiggin dispensed justice by mulcting the unfortunate speeders who were arraigned before him. A number of idle citizens, who had been gossiping and swapping stories on the store steps, rose at once and followed the prisoners, conducted by Newberry and Buzzell, up the narrow back stairs to the “courtroom.â€� Jeremiah Small had been sent to fetch the judge.The automobilists were given chairs facing a table which served as a desk, and an anæmic-looking young man in horn-rimmed spectacles seated himself at the table and began making out the complaint, having first questioned Buzzell about the speed which the offenders had been making when they ran into the trap.“Your name?â€� inquired the clerk, turning to the older man.“Put down John Doe,â€� said the latter, “and Richard Roe,â€� he added, nodding toward his companion. “I am the owner of the car. Richard was driving when we were held up.â€�The younger man gave him a queer look, and leaned closer, whispering something behind his hand. The answer was a grim smile and a shake of the head. After slight hesitation, the clerk wrote down the names as given.The sound of heavy steps on the stairs preceded the entrance of Constable Small, who announced that the judge was out somewhere, but that Willie Baker and Nubby Snell had been sent scouting to find him.“I never heard of such an outrage!â€� exploded the intensely annoyed Hitchens. “Somebody is going to regret this imposition. Time is valuable to us, and——â€�“Don’t git flustered and fly off the handle, mister,â€� advised Deputy Newberry, twisting off a quid of War Horse with his teeth and stowing it, bulging, into his cheek with a tongue made dexterous by long practice. “It won’t joggle things along no faster, and I ca’late you’ll be the one to do the regrettin’ if you go shootin’ off a lot of loose talk. If you git sassy before the jedge, I warn ye now that it’ll prob’ly land ye in the caboose. ‘Go slow’ is a motter it’s best to toiler around here.â€�“Why don’t you tell them something?â€� persisted Hitchens, again appealing to his companion.“What talking I decide to do will be done to the judge himself,â€� said the older man.In the course of fifteen minutes Judge Wiggin appeared. He was a lean and wiry man with a somewhat grim jaw and a steely blue eye. There was dignity in his manner. He scarcely glanced at the prisoners as he seated himself at the table opposite the clerk and adjusted his spectacles to read the complaint.“Hats off!â€� he ordered, rapping with his knuckles. “John Doe and Richard Roe, by the complaint of a deputy sheriff and two constables, by the town of Greenbush duly and legally authorized, you are hereby charged with catawamping a hossless vehicle over a public highway, lying within the town limits, at a speed of forty miles an hour, thereby rupturing the law made and provided, and wantonly and willfully endangering the peace and safety of other persons who might find it necessary to locomote upon said highway.“According to the complaint,â€� the judge continued, “the before-mentioned Richard Roe was the driver, and the before-mentioned John Doe the owner, of said hossless vehicle at the time of the infraction of said law. That being the fact, the penalty administered, in case the charge is admitted or proven, will be applied in full to the person who was engaged in piloting the juggernaut when you was nabbed. And let me add that in this court, with the exception of the judge presiding, unnecessary talk is a luxury, and luxuries add to the high cost of living. A word to the wise is a seed sown upon good ground that springeth up and beareth the fruit of economy. Richard Roe, guilty or not guilty?â€�Biting his lip with annoyance, the younger of the two prisoners started to protest: “It was necessary—er—your honor, that we should catch the westward-bound train at Albion. If you were aware who we are, who your petty officers, hiding like highwaymen in ambush, had ventured to hold up——â€�Again Judge Wiggin’s knuckles smote the desk. “Apparently,â€� he said, “my observation regarding the expense of unnecessary talk in this court failed to sink in, or even to make a dent. No excuse of private necessity condones infractions of the law. Your careless remark, as well as the suspicious nature of the names you have given, leads me to believe that you are pirooting around the country under false colors, and makes it rather probable that you are old offenders trying in that way to dodge the extreme penalty the court might see fit to administer if your real identities was known. I shall bear this in mind in passing sentence.â€�The grinning spectators tittered guardedly. The older man reached out and placed a hand on his companion’s knee.“You can see that you are simply making matters worse,â€� he whispered. “Anything you may say will be used against us. Plead guilty at once.â€�Squirming and rebellions, Hitchens complied. However, instead of passing sentence without delay, the judge squared away on his chair, locked the fingers of his hands before him, and proceeded to read the culprits a lengthy lecture anent the rights of the common people upon the highways and the outrageous and criminal manner in which these rights were disregarded by automobilists in general.During this scathing harangue he scarcely looked at either of the impatient and suffering victims, but kept his gaze fixed, for the most part, on the rafters above their heads. He was the possessor of a fluent flow of language, and a somewhat homely native wit that was keen and stinging; and certain it was that his vituperation was in no degree delicately barbed. Even the self-restraint of the elder man was tested to the limit.And presently, when the fine of twenty-five dollars and costs—twenty-eight dollars and thirty cents, all told—had been inflicted and paid over, the owner of the motor car released the safety valve.“Judge Wiggin,â€� he said, “I’m compelled to tell you that it has never been my misfortune to witness a greater farce or a more ridiculous travesty of justice. You made it absolutely evident that, from the very beginning, your mind was made up and that you would impose a fine, regardless of extenuating circumstances. You practically warned us that any attempt at defense would merely increase the sum of money you were determined to get out of us. Such narrow-minded bigotry stamps you as a man unfit to represent this district in the legislature.â€�Nathan Wiggin bent a grim and steady eye upon him. “And them few remarks,â€� he returned placidly, “constitute a clear case of contempt, for which I shall have to tuck on another twenty-five dollars, to preserve the dignity of the court. However, considering the fact that the last time I heard you speak from the stump you shot off a whole lot of balderdash, for all of which the so-called intelligent voters of this State saw fit to elect you governor, I’ll remit the fine. And discretion being the better part of valor, let me suggest that you bottle up further seething criticism until we both get outside, where, as man to man, we can tell each other jest what we think, without mincin’ words.â€�
The driver bristled with indignation.
“It’s an outrage!� he cried. “We must get to Albion in time to catch the three-forty train. You can’t stop us.�
“I’ve stopped ye already,� said Deputy Sheriff Newberry serenely. “Under the circumstances it don’t become you to tell me what I can’t do. You’ll be permitted to proceed on your way to Albion after Jedge Wiggin attends to your case. So you might as well soople down and take it calm.�
“But you don’t understand, you don’t know who you’re holding up in this high-handed fashion. You are interfering with——â€�
“Wait, Hitchens!� cut in the other man, giving a glance at his watch. “Never mind telling him who we are.�
“’Tain’t necessary,� stated Newberry. “You’ll have to tell the jedge, anyhow.�
“How long,� asked the man with the watch, “will it require to get through with this business so that we may go on. It is most important that we should get that train.�
“Wull,� drawled the deputy, “if the jedge is around handy, and he don’t read you too long a lecture before he slaps on the fine, mebbe you’ll git started ag’in in half or three-quarters of an hour; ’tain’t likely to be more’n an hour, anyhow.�
“Half an hour will make us miss the train. Can’t we fix it with you?�
“Now take keer, take keer! Don’t you go for to offer no bribes to an officer of the law. I couldn’t take them nohow,� he added as Constable Small came hurrying up with Constable Buzzell wheezing and sniffling at his heels.
“But,â€� protested Hitchens, “if you knew who——â€�
“Never mind that,� interrupted the older man sharply. “The other business will have to wait. I have a curiosity to see just how Judge Wiggin handles cases of this sort.�
“Your cur’osity,� assured Deputy Sheriff Newberry, swinging open the tonneau door, “will be satisfied. Git in, boys!�
When the three men had all piled into the rear of the car the one in command directed Hitchens to drive straight down the long main street of the town, and proceeded slowly.
Their appearance in the village was the signal for various inhabitants who observed them to grin and wag their heads, making uncomplimentary and derisive remarks, while a number of small boys, hooting and laughing, assembled and followed the car as far as Turner’s grocery, over which, in a bare and sparsely furnished room, Judge Wiggin dispensed justice by mulcting the unfortunate speeders who were arraigned before him. A number of idle citizens, who had been gossiping and swapping stories on the store steps, rose at once and followed the prisoners, conducted by Newberry and Buzzell, up the narrow back stairs to the “courtroom.� Jeremiah Small had been sent to fetch the judge.
The automobilists were given chairs facing a table which served as a desk, and an anæmic-looking young man in horn-rimmed spectacles seated himself at the table and began making out the complaint, having first questioned Buzzell about the speed which the offenders had been making when they ran into the trap.
“Your name?� inquired the clerk, turning to the older man.
“Put down John Doe,� said the latter, “and Richard Roe,� he added, nodding toward his companion. “I am the owner of the car. Richard was driving when we were held up.�
The younger man gave him a queer look, and leaned closer, whispering something behind his hand. The answer was a grim smile and a shake of the head. After slight hesitation, the clerk wrote down the names as given.
The sound of heavy steps on the stairs preceded the entrance of Constable Small, who announced that the judge was out somewhere, but that Willie Baker and Nubby Snell had been sent scouting to find him.
“I never heard of such an outrage!â€� exploded the intensely annoyed Hitchens. “Somebody is going to regret this imposition. Time is valuable to us, and——â€�
“Don’t git flustered and fly off the handle, mister,� advised Deputy Newberry, twisting off a quid of War Horse with his teeth and stowing it, bulging, into his cheek with a tongue made dexterous by long practice. “It won’t joggle things along no faster, and I ca’late you’ll be the one to do the regrettin’ if you go shootin’ off a lot of loose talk. If you git sassy before the jedge, I warn ye now that it’ll prob’ly land ye in the caboose. ‘Go slow’ is a motter it’s best to toiler around here.�
“Why don’t you tell them something?� persisted Hitchens, again appealing to his companion.
“What talking I decide to do will be done to the judge himself,� said the older man.
In the course of fifteen minutes Judge Wiggin appeared. He was a lean and wiry man with a somewhat grim jaw and a steely blue eye. There was dignity in his manner. He scarcely glanced at the prisoners as he seated himself at the table opposite the clerk and adjusted his spectacles to read the complaint.
“Hats off!� he ordered, rapping with his knuckles. “John Doe and Richard Roe, by the complaint of a deputy sheriff and two constables, by the town of Greenbush duly and legally authorized, you are hereby charged with catawamping a hossless vehicle over a public highway, lying within the town limits, at a speed of forty miles an hour, thereby rupturing the law made and provided, and wantonly and willfully endangering the peace and safety of other persons who might find it necessary to locomote upon said highway.
“According to the complaint,� the judge continued, “the before-mentioned Richard Roe was the driver, and the before-mentioned John Doe the owner, of said hossless vehicle at the time of the infraction of said law. That being the fact, the penalty administered, in case the charge is admitted or proven, will be applied in full to the person who was engaged in piloting the juggernaut when you was nabbed. And let me add that in this court, with the exception of the judge presiding, unnecessary talk is a luxury, and luxuries add to the high cost of living. A word to the wise is a seed sown upon good ground that springeth up and beareth the fruit of economy. Richard Roe, guilty or not guilty?�
Biting his lip with annoyance, the younger of the two prisoners started to protest: “It was necessary—er—your honor, that we should catch the westward-bound train at Albion. If you were aware who we are, who your petty officers, hiding like highwaymen in ambush, had ventured to hold up——â€�
Again Judge Wiggin’s knuckles smote the desk. “Apparently,� he said, “my observation regarding the expense of unnecessary talk in this court failed to sink in, or even to make a dent. No excuse of private necessity condones infractions of the law. Your careless remark, as well as the suspicious nature of the names you have given, leads me to believe that you are pirooting around the country under false colors, and makes it rather probable that you are old offenders trying in that way to dodge the extreme penalty the court might see fit to administer if your real identities was known. I shall bear this in mind in passing sentence.�
The grinning spectators tittered guardedly. The older man reached out and placed a hand on his companion’s knee.
“You can see that you are simply making matters worse,� he whispered. “Anything you may say will be used against us. Plead guilty at once.�
Squirming and rebellions, Hitchens complied. However, instead of passing sentence without delay, the judge squared away on his chair, locked the fingers of his hands before him, and proceeded to read the culprits a lengthy lecture anent the rights of the common people upon the highways and the outrageous and criminal manner in which these rights were disregarded by automobilists in general.
During this scathing harangue he scarcely looked at either of the impatient and suffering victims, but kept his gaze fixed, for the most part, on the rafters above their heads. He was the possessor of a fluent flow of language, and a somewhat homely native wit that was keen and stinging; and certain it was that his vituperation was in no degree delicately barbed. Even the self-restraint of the elder man was tested to the limit.
And presently, when the fine of twenty-five dollars and costs—twenty-eight dollars and thirty cents, all told—had been inflicted and paid over, the owner of the motor car released the safety valve.
“Judge Wiggin,� he said, “I’m compelled to tell you that it has never been my misfortune to witness a greater farce or a more ridiculous travesty of justice. You made it absolutely evident that, from the very beginning, your mind was made up and that you would impose a fine, regardless of extenuating circumstances. You practically warned us that any attempt at defense would merely increase the sum of money you were determined to get out of us. Such narrow-minded bigotry stamps you as a man unfit to represent this district in the legislature.�
Nathan Wiggin bent a grim and steady eye upon him. “And them few remarks,� he returned placidly, “constitute a clear case of contempt, for which I shall have to tuck on another twenty-five dollars, to preserve the dignity of the court. However, considering the fact that the last time I heard you speak from the stump you shot off a whole lot of balderdash, for all of which the so-called intelligent voters of this State saw fit to elect you governor, I’ll remit the fine. And discretion being the better part of valor, let me suggest that you bottle up further seething criticism until we both get outside, where, as man to man, we can tell each other jest what we think, without mincin’ words.�