Young Mr. Lincoln Page #5

Thou shalt not kill.

But Matt and Adam Clay

did not heed that command.

They killed Scrub White.

Two against one...

they came at him

with their deadly weapons.

Two against one, and that one...

a peace-loving servant of the law.

From all I hear, Scrub was doing

some might fancy fightin'...

for a peace-lovin' man.

True, Mr. Lincoln!

True!

For Scrub White was a man...

an American...

in whose veins flowed

the blood of pioneers...

who braved the wilderness

to make this great state what it is.

He fought in self-defense...

as he would have fought against

the wild beasts of the forest...

for...

Scrub White loved life.

He loved the blue of God's heaven...

the soft caress of the south wind.

He loved life...

but he is dead.

And there, gentlemen -

there sit his murderers!

I tell you, gentlemen...

they must be wiped out...

as a man wipeth a plate!

Order! Order! Quiet! Quiet!

Quiet.!

Come, come, men!

You've got to give the boys a fair trial,

a jury trial, before you hang 'em.

Get going, John.

John, it's a pure shame you aren't

runnin' for congress or somethin'.

Or are you runnin'

for congress or somethin'?

No, Mr. Lincoln.

I'm here for the sole purpose

of seeing justice done.

- Justice!

- My error.

Sure a spellbinder from way back.

As attorney for the State of Illinois,

gentlemen...

I shall prove...

that by their own confessions...

the defendants did stab unto death

the deceased.

I shall prove...

that they were under the influence...

of an alcoholic beverage

at the time.

And...

when I have proven these facts,

gentlemen...

I expect you...

as 12 loyal, intelligent...

red-blooded citizens...

to find Adam and Matt Clay...

guilty of murder.

Quiet, please.

- Quiet.! Quiet.!

- Call Sheriff Billings.

Hi, Gil.

- Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth,

the whole truth... - I do.

and nothing but the truth,

so help you, God?

Sheriff, have you ever seen

this knife before?

Yes, sir. That's the knife

they killed Scrub White with.

- Did you see 'em do it with a knife?

- No, but I -

I just wanted to get you back

in your groove. Go ahead.

Your Honor, I must insist...

if the learned counsel for the defense

wishes to object...

let him address the court,

not my witness.

You heard that, Abe.

One thing more, Sheriff.

Did you visit the wagon

owned by the defendants?

- Yes, sir.

- Yes?

And then what did you find there?

Ajug of liquor

about three-quarters full.

Did the boys deny they'd been drinking

on the night of the crime?

No, sir. They said they'd had

a snort or two, as usual.

- "As usual".

- Yes, sir. That's what they said. "As usual".

Thank you, Sheriff. Your witness.

- Where's the jug now?

- In my jail.

- Empty?

- Well, there's some left.

- How much?

- About one-fourth full.

- Who drank it?

- Well -

Never mind.

That'll be our little secret.

Tell me this -

Did Scrub White have a pistol?

He was a deputy.

He had to have one.

Do you know if he tried to use it

on the defendants?

- No, sir.

- You don't know he didn't.

No, sir.

Sheriff, did you ever hear

about the fix a man was in...

when he was comin' down the road

with a pitchfork on his shoulder...

and a farmer's dog ran out

and bit him on the leg?

No, sir. That must have been

out of my district.

Well, then you probably don't recall...

that in defending himself...

he stuck one of the prongs of the pitchfork

into the dog and killed him.

The farmer got pretty mad.

"What made you kill my dog?" he said.

Well, the fellow said,

"What made your dog bite me?"

"Well," the farmer says, "why didn't you

go after him with the other end?"

To which the man replied...

"Well, why didn't your dog

come at me with the other end?"

Pretty good, Gil.

Abe, tell 'em the one

about the mule!

Order.! Order.!

Get going, Lincoln.

Now, Sheriff, let's just suppose

that my two defendants here...

were like that man

with a pitchfork...

only, let's say, they've got a knife.

And Scrub White

was the farmer's dog...

only instead of teeth,

he's got a pistol.

Well, now, wouldn't you say

it was a matter of self-defense...

to use that blade...

so long as Scrub didn't come at 'em

with the other end of the pistol?

Your Honor, I object...

and move that these remarks

be stricken from the record.

Counsel is presenting an argument.

The counsel's remarks

will be stricken from the record.

The jury will disregard them.

Now, you jurors watch out.

Don't remember about that dog.

- That's all.

- Just a moment.

You don't -

You don't, of your own knowledge...

know that Scrub White

came at them...

with the shooting end

of the pistol, do you?

- No, sir.

- Therefore -

That's the end the bullets

usually come from, isn't it?

Yes, sir.

There - But you didn't see

a shot fired, did you?

- No, sir.

- Then -

- But you heard it?

- I heard something sounded like a shot.

What do you figure you're best at -

seeing or hearing?

Well, both.

That's what I figured.

Step down.

If you -

Call Palmer Cass.

Palmer Cass, take the stand.

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth,

the whole truth and nothing but the truth,

so help you, God?

- I do.

- What's your name?

J. Palmer Cass.

You knew Scrub White, didn't you?

Sure. I knew him well.

- When was the last time you saw him?

- The night he was killed.

You had spent a great part of that day

with him, hadn't you?

I was with him all day, near abouts.

Tell me, Mr. Cass -Just what did you

and Mr. White do that day?

Well, we went to the parade first

and then to the fairgrounds.

Had supper down at the People's House

and went back to the fairgrounds that night.

I see. Yes. And do you recall...

where, and under what circumstances,

you first saw the defendants?

We went on down to the tug-o'- war,

and there they were.

First thing I knew, they was both cussin'

Scrub out and wantin' to fight him.

- Why, 'tain't so.

- It's a lie, sure enough.

What did Mr. White do then?

Well, he just laughed some more...

asked them what they wanted to

fight him with - knives, pistols or fists.

And how did he ask that -jokingly?

Oh, sure.

He was laughin' all the time.

And that night, Mr. Cass...

just before the killing -

Tell the jury what happened then.

Well, Scrub and me

had a little argument...

and he went off by hisself.

- The next thing I knew, I heard a shot.

- You heard a shot?

Yeah.

I run down there as fast as I could,

but time I got there...

Scrub was layin' on the ground,

and them two fellas was standin' over him.

And the knife was on the ground

between the defendants?

- Yeah.

- And where was Mr. White's pistol?

Well, it was in his holster.

It went off then...

while he was trying to

get it out of his holster.

- Yeah. I guess it did, yeah.

- Thank you.

Your witness.

- You say your name's J. Palmer Cass?

- Yeah.

- What's the "J" stand for?

- John.

- Anybody ever call you Jack?

- Yes.

- WhyJ. Palmer Cass? Why notJohn P. Cass?

- I don't know -

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