"I had summoned no witnesses, but some appeared of their own accord,
and gave important testimony. Many neighbors testified that my enmity
toward George Conway had almost entirely disappeared in the lapse of
years, and that I had spoken of him, upon more than one occasion, with
great kindness. The clerk of the county described the scene in his
office, stating that the affair had appeared to him a mere interchange
of curt words, without exhibition of the least malice on my part. The
most important witness, however, was a poor man, living in the
neighborhood, who made oath that he had been riding toward the
court-house on the evening of the murder; had passed Mr. Conway, and,
riding on farther, came in sight of me, and he had, before reaching me,
seen me turn into the by-road which led toward my own residence. I
could not have committed the murder, he added, for Mr. Conway had time
to pass the spot where his body was found before I could have ridden
back to the highroad and caught up with him.
"Unfortunately, the witness who gave this testimony bore a very
indifferent character, and I could see that more than one of the jurors
suspected that he was perjuring himself.
"Another ugly-looking circumstance also intervened to neutralize the
favorable impression thus made.
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