Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Abstracts of Arguments; Strange Cases; Saved by a P'icture: Won by a Joke; Separating Witnesses; His. First Case. TWO STKAXGE DEFENSES I recall an instance successfully defended, where one worked twenty-one months traveling for a tobacco house, and was short $2.200, who changed the books to conceal it, failed to report as collected, worked at $600 a year and expenses, hoping to have an increase in July and again in January, whose wife had been told that he was an excellent salesman, and should be rewarded; that it mattered less what his expenses were if sales were in proportion. Well, January came, and no increase. The salesman made a statement, slipped it under the store door, and fled to Canada. It clearly showed the embezzlement. He wrote to the house to meet him, and he would settle. He was told by one of the firm to come back and work it out, and consented. Once in the States he was arrested. Covered all over with guilt, to all appearances, how can one so guilty be defended? Lawyers do get such cases. Let us see. "How did this shortage arise?" "By advertising, and treating, and spending too much for the house.'' "Why did you conceal it?" "To retain my position," he answers. "Did you not fear detection?" "No, I was paying up- old debts with new collections, like a retail merchant buying on credit." "Did they know of your high expenses?" "Yes, they threatened me once, and wanted to limit it to $4 a day. They turned me off partly, and my wife interceded." "Ah, she knew of it?" "Yes, all about it." One witness and two circumstances may not show an intent after all. So, with these facts before the jury, a good character, an excellent wife—a fine woman—a splendid and full statement, all consistent, as stated; a memorandum book with t...