The judge turned to Mr. Salisbury. “Does the defense have any questions?” Mr. Salisbury turned to Dad and Judge Howitt. Judge Howitt nodded. “I have one or two.” He said as he rose from his chair.
“Mr. Williams…” he started. “So, you say the visit went as planned.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I think it did.”
“And you say it was friendly…, but you were frightened to go alone.”
“Yeah. When George told me there were people living on my claim, I didn’t know what to think. If they’re bold enough to move onto a man’s land, what might they do when I try to talk to them about it.”
“George?”
“George Mason. He lives north of me – or… my claim, same section. When he heard I was back, he rode over to tell me.”
Judge Howitt turned and glanced at the jury and then looked back at the witness.
“So, you brought Mr. Mason with you to talk to Mr. Dibbens. Were there others that went with you?”
“Yeah. We told a few people about the problem, and they offered to come along.”
Judge Howitt nodded. “How many do you think were with you?”
“Ten, twelve, maybe a few more. To be honest, I never counted.”
“No. Single all my life.”
“…Sixty years?”
“Forty-seven.”
“So…, no family, no children.”
“Just me.”
“Your visit that night… do you think most people would consider it friendly?”
Mr. Sluss rose suddenly. “Objection, Your Honor.”
“Go ahead and answer, Mr. Williams.” The judge said.
“Most people around here would think so. Some
Englishmen might think it was too much, but we aren’t in England. Maybe Mr.
Dibbens doesn’t understand that yet. We’re frank out here on the frontier and
I’m sure someday he’ll get familiar with our ways.”
"Thank you, Mr. Williams. I have no further questions."
“The witness is excused.” The judge announced and he watched as Mr. Williams stood and walked slowly back to his seat. He could tell by the look on some of the faces in the crowd that the witness must have been smirking all the way.
ARJ watched Mr. Williams grin at his friends. The crowd stayed quiet, and ARJ turned his head to watch the judge. His face was emotionless, but his hand rested on the handle of the gavel. When Mr. Williams was seated, the judge said, “The prosecution may call the next witness.”
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