But
Sharpman's great fear was that if Rhyming Joe should be brought back,
the story of the bribery could no longer be hushed; and he therefore
opposed the application for a continuance with all his energy.
The court ruled that the reasons presented were not sufficient to
warrant the holding of a jury at this stage of the case for so long a
time, but intimated that in the event of a verdict for the plaintiff a
motion for a new trial might be favorably considered by the court.
"Then we have nothing further to offer," said Goodlaw.
Sharpman resumed his seat with an air of satisfaction, and sat for
full five minutes, with his face in his hand, in deep thought.
"I think," he said, finally, looking up, "that we shall present
nothing in rebuttal. The case, as it now stands, doesn't seem to call
for it." He had been considering whether it would be safe and wise for
him to go on the witness-stand and deny any portion of Ralph's story.
He had reached the conclusion that it would not. The risk was too
great.
"Very well," said the judge, taking up his pen, "then the evidence is
closed. Mr. Goodlaw, are you ready to go to the jury?"
Goodlaw, who had been, during this time, holding a whispered
conversation with Ralph, arose, bowed to the court, and turned to
face the jurors. He began his speech by saying that, until the recent
testimony given by the boy Ralph had been produced in court, he had
not expected to address the jury at all; but that that testimony had
so changed the whole tenor of the case as to make a brief argument for
the defence an apparent necessity.
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