Woodcutter's Revival (16 page)

Stewart even suspected that Big Jim, in an effort to maintain control and dependency from the workers, had spread bad reports about the men to Mr. Townsend. Big Jim was more likely to reward the workers for demonstrating outward respect for him than the amount of work they were able to produce. Big Jim liked to think the workers respected him. They actually feared his devious tactics. When he wasn't around, they referred to him as “Jumbo.”

Toward the end of the day on Thursday, the men began cleaning their tools. Big Jim called Sven over to talk to him, before Sven had finished. The men left after they cleaned their tools. Stewart hung around until Big Jim left the site. “Would you like some help?”

“You run along, boy. I am almost done. You don't vant to keep dat girl vaitin.'”

Stewart went directly to his room, poured some water in the basin and began to wash his face and hands. As he was drying his hands, standing back away from the window, he could see Sven arguing with two men. They were inside the building, almost obscure from sight. They would not have been seen from the ground, but were visible from Stewart's vantage point. The encroaching darkness almost hid them in the shadows.

As one man talked face to face to Sven, the other had sidled around behind him. Stewart looked more closely as that man picked up a wooden plank and swung it, hitting Sven on the head and knocking him to his knees. The two men ran so quickly that Stewart did not have time to do anything but watch. He clearly saw their faces as they neared the street. He saw them as they stopped running and began walking rapidly down the street.

Stewart ran down the steps. Ma Peterson had dozed in her chair since Stewart came in from work and greeted her. He shouted to wake her and to tell her to find help and send somebody to the police. Stewart ran over to assist Sven. He found Sven alive, but unconscious, bleeding pretty badly from the head wound. As Stewart attempted to comfort Sven and support his head, a police officer came upon the scene. Stewart thought that was awfully quick, but he was thankful he arrived so quickly.

“Alright, put him down and step away.”

“Officer, I didn't do this.”

“I am sure you didn't.”

About this time some men from the boarding house came and made a make-shift stretcher. They carried Sven to a bed on the ground floor in the boarding house. Another man had gone to retrieve the doctor. As the men were taking care of Sven, the police officer placed Stewart in hand cuffs and led him away. “I can explain!”

“I am sure you can. Save it for the judge.”

Stewart knew he should not attempt to tell anybody what happened until he had an attorney or someone he felt he could trust. The officer took Stewart to the nearest jail, got him checked in and told the men he was off duty now, and he would see them tomorrow. Stewart later learned the officer's name was, Kevin Nelson.

The jail was a small building with four small cells - about eight feet by six feet iron cages. Stewart was beside himself. He was worried about Sven and he knew this whole situation could go very badly for him. After about two hours, Ma Peterson came to the jail. She told Stewart the doctor had examined Sven and tonight would be very difficult, but if he survived until morning, he would probably live. She also told Stewart that she had a nephew who was an attorney. She had sent word to him to meet with Stewart in the morning, as he would have to stay overnight. She also brought him his Bible and the jailer approved of letting him have it to read.

Stewart was reading Proverbs: “Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get insults in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don't bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise and they will love you.”

Stewart was thinking how he had never really met anybody he would consider wicked. He also wondered how mockers behaved. About midnight Stewart heard a commotion in the outer office of the jail. Two other police officers brought in two men, who were charged with being drunk and disorderly at a saloon. Stewart was still reading. As he looked up, he recognized the men. He did not know if they had ever seen him or would recognize him. He tried to keep his face turned away from them as much as possible as they were placed in two of the other cells on the other side of the room.

“Hey Julius, look we have a Bible scholar. They only read that thing when they get themselves into trouble.”

Without looking up or turning his face toward the men, Stewart asked, “Don't you believe in the Bible?”

“It's for suckers. It's a bunch of fables used to make people feel guilty and to control us.”

Stewart did not want to engage in too much conversation, but he could not resist asking a few questions. He wanted to see if he could discover anything about the motives of these two men. “Actually I read it every day.”

“If you're so good, why're you in here?”

“I didn't say I was good. But I can be forgiven. How about you?” Stewart asked the other man, “Do you believe this is just fables or do you believe in God?”

“What difference does it make? There's no hope for any of us.”

Stewart said, “There is hope, but we have to believe.”

“Oh great! We got locked-up with a preacher.”

The officer opened the door, shut off the light and said, “Alright you guys, shut-up and get to sleep.”

Stewart spent the night praying for Sven to recover.

The next morning, Ma Peterson came with her nephew, James Peterson.

He informed Stewart that it looked like Sven was going to make it, although he was still unconscious. They were going to wait until Saturday morning to see if he would be stable enough to be moved to the hospital. “We have some other good news. Since there was no murder, and they can only charge you with attempted murder or assault and battery, a bail hearing is set for nine A.M.”

The jailer came in and handcuffed Stewart. They escorted him to the barred police wagon to take him to the court house. James said, “I will drop Aunt Irene at home and meet you at the court house.”

Stewart made bail and was given the date of the hearing. Bail was set at two hundred and fifty dollars, so he paid twenty-five. He asked James when they could talk, and they set aside a time for Saturday morning. Stewart went to work, but was told that until he got cleared, they would not allow him on the job site. Fighting with another employee was strictly forbidden by Townsend.

Stewart looked in on Sven. He wondered how anybody could provoke such a decent person and injure or attempt to kill him. As Stewart was thinking about the turn of events he decided to do some detective work of his own. He knew he had seen Sven‘s attackers, prior to the evening of the attack. He was trying to think why they looked familiar to him when he saw them fleeing the scene. As he walked past the café where he had seen Mr. Townsend, he realized they were the two men talking to Mr. Townsend. “Who was the fourth man?”

Stewart went to the saloon where the men had been arrested. It was only a half block from the construction site. They apparently did not feel the need to run very far. They probably got drunk to drown their guilt, if they had any conscience. Stewart asked the bartender if he knew the men. He knew their names, but not much else. Stewart took the names, August and Julius Knapp.

Chapter Fifteen

O
n Saturday, Stewart showed up at the law office for his first meeting in preparation for his trial. He told James about the policeman who arrived on the scene within minutes, assuming that Stewart was guilty. He also relayed that the two men he saw fleeing were in jail later that night and they had been arrested only a half block from the construction site.

James asked Stewart if he thought the men might have recognized him. He said they could not have seen him unless they had previously been casing the construction site and had seen him there. James took their names and said he would do some checking of his own.

Stewart asked James how close the library might be. James said it was quite a distance into the Central City, but Stewart could walk part way and catch a trolley. Stewart went to the library and checked through the newspaper archives from the past two months. He looked for any information about arrests for assault and battery, union busting and Pinkerton Detective Agency work.

In an article from six weeks earlier, Julius and August had been arrested in a “workplace disturbance.” Charges were dropped due to “insufficient, conflicting and circumstantial evidence.” There were allegations that the two worked for the Pinkertons, but that evidence was not allowed into the proceedings. As Stewart studied the article, he looked at the photograph of the prosecutor, Mr. Connor. That was the man in the suit, talking to Mr. Townsend and the Knapp brothers in the café.

When Stewart got back home, he asked Ma Peterson how Sven was doing. “The swelling has gone down. The doctor thinks he can be moved to the hospital. He is a very lucky man.”

Stewart was not very hungry, but managed to eat a little. After supper, he went up to his room and thought about the week earlier, when he and Sven had talked after work. As he thought, he glanced over to the construction site. Things seemed so simple then. There were no worries except to keep sharp on the job and stay ahead of the brick layers. “It looks like they are making progress, even without Sven and me on the job.”

Stewart read the verses he was reading the previous night in jail. He was amazed how much relevance the verses had to his situation. He also read in Psalms, “Do not take my soul away along with sinners, nor my life with men of bloodshed. And whose right hand is full of bribes. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life, whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.”

How much more real those verses seemed after obtaining new evidence. Stewart hoped the promise at the end would hold true. “…they stumbled and fell…”

The hearing was a week and a half later. James and Stewart were seated at the defense table when Mr. Connor found his place at the prosecution table and began laying out documents and evidence. Stewart saw him smile at the Knapp brothers as they seated themselves. He also glanced at Mr. Townsend sitting in the back of the court room and gave a slight nod in his direction. The bailiff said, “All rise for the honorable Judge Baldini.”

James slid Stewart a writing tablet and said, “Anything you want to say to me, write it here and slide it over.”

Judge Baldini said, “This is a pre-trial hearing to determine if Stewart Taylor should be tried for the attempted murder and assault and battery of Sven Erickson, a co-worker at Townsend Construction. It will be a little less formal than a jury trial, although we will follow the same procedures. I will weigh the evidence and decide whether to proceed. Prosecution, opening statement, please.”

“Your honor and observers, the State intends to prove that Mr. Taylor did intentionally and deliberately assault Mr. Sven Erickson on the evening of March twentieth, nineteen hundred and six, at about ten minutes after six. We have witnesses who saw Mr. Taylor attack Mr. Erickson. The police officer who was first on the scene completed the investigation.”

Judge Baldini said, “Defense, opening statement.”

“Your honor, the defense intends to prove that Mr. Taylor did not have time or motive to commit this beating of Mr. Erickson. The prosecution is basing their case on circumstantial evidence, sloppy detective work and nefarious motives of their own to divert the attention of the legal system regarding the actions of the groups with which the alleged witnesses associate. We can demonstrate that Mr. Taylor is innocent of the charges.”

Judge Baldini, “Prosecution may call their first witness. “

“The prosecution calls Julius Knapp.”

Bailiff, “Place your right hand on the Bible. Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? “

“I do.”

“Do you recognize this man? Let the record show, I am pointing at Stewart Taylor?”

“Yes.”

“Where have you seen him?”

“I saw him hit Mr. Erickson with a plank of wood.”

“Thank you, no further questions”

Judge Baldini said, “Defense cross?”

“Where were you when you saw Mr. Taylor hit Mr. Erickson?”

“I was on the sidewalk in front of the construction site.”

“Was the construction site dark or lit?”

“It was just starting to get dark.”

“How could you tell the weapon was a plank?”

“I just figured it was. A shovel would have been handy and all.”

“So, you are guessing it was a plank of wood?”

Julius's eyes widened as he instinctively looked over at Mr. Connor, who quickly nodded his head to the affirmative. “Yes, I guess it was a plank of wood.”

“Did you stop to see if Mr. Erickson was injured?”

“No officer Nelson arrived on the scene almost immediately. We figured he had the situation under control.”

Mr. Peterson asked, “Did officer Nelson arrest you?”

“No.”

“How did you know the officer was Officer Nelson?”

Mr. Connor, “I object!”

Judge Baldini answered, “Overruled. Answer the question.”

Julius once again looked at Mr. Conner with wide eyes and a panicked expression.

Judge Baldini said, “The witness is advised to answer the question.”

Julius fumbled, “He, uhm … uhm, Officer … uh, Nelson questioned me that night.”

Mr. Peterson asked, “Point of order, your Honor. These proceedings carry the same weight for perjury as a regular trial, is that correct?”

Judge Baldini answered, “That is correct.”

“Thank you, your Honor.” Turning back toward the witness, “You did not volunteer to Officer Nelson that you had witnessed the attack?”

“No.”

“Were you arrested later that night?”

“That was a misunderstanding.”

Judge Baldini, “Answer yes or no, please.”

“Yes we were.”

“Did you make fun of the other prisoner for reading the Bible?”

“No.”

“Did you say, ‘There's no hope?'”

“How'd you know that?”

“I will ask the questions. I am finished with him, your honor.”

Mr. Connor questioned August Knapp and established the same story.

Judge Baldini asked, “Defense cross?”

“Mr. Knapp, please describe what you saw on the evening in question.”

“I saw Mr. Taylor hit Mr. Erickson with some type of pole or long handle.”

“Other than the night that you allegedly saw Mr. Taylor strike Mr. Erickson, do you ever remember seeing Mr. Taylor?”

“No, just today in court.”

“Do you mean to tell me that you saw Mr. Taylor strike Mr. Erickson and you could remember him from almost two weeks ago, but you did not recognize him in jail that night?”

“The construction site was getting dark! “

“So you could not really see him well enough that night to recognize him six hours later?”

“We were drunk later.”

“Did you make fun of Mr. Taylor for reading the Bible?”

“That was him?”

“I will ask the questions.”

“Did you say, 'People only read the Bible when they are in trouble?'”

“Maybe something like that.”

“Do you believe in God?”

“What difference does that make?”

Mr. Connor shouted, “Objection!”

Judge Baldini asked, “Council?

James said, “I can establish relevance, your Honor.”

“Proceed, but let's get there quickly.”

“Do you know where the laws of the land originate, such as do not steal, do not commit murder, and do not bear false witness?”

“The Ten Commandments, I suppose.”

“If you don't believe in God, what difference does it make whether you kill a man?”

“You could get caught.”

“So it only matters to you whether you get caught or not?”

“You are twisting my words. “

Judge Baldini reminded him, “Answer with yes or no, please.”

“Do you believe in God?”

“People only turn to Him when they are desperate.”

“Then how can we believe any of your testimony when you swore to tell the truth on the Bible?”

“They told me to swear on the Bible.”

“What if they told you to bear false witness or to beat somebody yourself? “

Mr. Connor said, “Objection, the witnesses are not on trial here.”

Under his breath, James said, “They should be.”

Judge Baldini said, “The defense is reminded to keep their comments to themselves.”

“I am sorry, your honor. No further questions.”

Judge Baldini directed, “Prosecution, next witness.”

Mr. Conner stated, “The prosecution calls James Swanson.”

Big Jim was sworn in.

“Mr. Swanson, how are you involved in this situation?”

“I am the foreman on the construction site for Mr. Townsend.”

“Do you believe Mr. Taylor had motive to hit Mr. Erickson?”

“Objection, that calls for speculation.”

“Sustained.”

“Let me rephrase. Did anything peculiar happen at work that week?”

“Yes, I know Mr. Erickson and Mr. Taylor had words after work one evening before the fight.”

“Thank you. That is all.”

Judge Baldini asked for the defense to cross examine.

James asked, “Do you mean the two men argued after work?”

“Not really.”

“How did you know they talked away from work?“

“Some of the men told me.”

“So, you cannot say they had heated words, or even have firsthand knowledge of their conversation?”

“I guess not.”

“Did you warn Stewart to be careful to whom he talked?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“He was a good worker. I didn't want him to get into any trouble.”

“Was his discussion outside of work really any of your business?”

“No.”

“The defense is finished with this witness.”

“Does the prosecution have any more witnesses?”

“No, your Honor.”

“The defense may call their first witness.”

“The defense calls Mrs. Irene Peterson.”

Ma Peterson was sworn in.

“Mrs. Peterson, how do you know the defendant?“

“I run the boarding house right across from the construction site. Mr. Taylor rooms there. He is a wonderful boy. “

Judge Baldini instructed, “Just answer the questions please, Mrs. Peterson”

“Did Mr. Taylor come home after work on the day in question?”

“Yes, he did.”

“How long was he home?”

“I would say about fifteen or twenty minutes.”

“Did you see the Knapp brothers when you watched Stewart run to the construction site?

“No.”

“Thank you. The defense rests.”

“Would the prosecution like to cross examine the witness?”

“Mrs. Peterson, are you the aunt of Mr. Peterson, the council for the defense?“

Mr. Peterson exclaimed, “Objection! Relevance?”