For the time being His Honor got no further than that. Even the stupidest listener there knew now what had come to pass—knew that Judge Priest had found the way to liberty for young Jim Faxon. Cheering broke out—loud, exultant cheering and the stamping of many feet. Persons outside, on the square and in the street, might have been excused for thinking that a dignified and orderly session of court had suddenly turned into a public rally—a ratification meeting. Most of those actually present were too busy venting their own personal satisfaction to notice that young Jim was holding his sweetheart and his aunt in his arms; and there was too much noise going on round about them for any one to hear the panted hallelujahs of joy and relief that poured from the lips of the young woman and the old one.
The Judge pounded for order with his gavel, pounding long and hard, before the uproar simmered down into a seething and boiling of confused, excited murmurings.
“Mister Sheriff,” he ordered, with a seeming sternness which by no means matched the look on his face, “keep order in this court! If any further disorder occurs here you will arrest the offenders and arraign them for contempt.”
The sheriff's bushy eyebrows expressed bewilderment. When it came to arresting a whole court house full of people, even so vigilant and earnest-minded an official as Sheriff Giles Bindsong hardly knew where to start in. Nevertheless he made answer promptly.
“Yes, suh, Your Honor,” he promised, “I will.”
“As I was saying when this interruption occurred,” went on the Judge, “it now devolves upon the court to discharge the defendant at the bar from custody and to declare him entitled to the reward of $500 placed upon the head of the late Ransom Fleming by the Governor of Kentucky in the year 1865—” Young Jim Faxon with his arms still around the heaving shoulders of the women, threw his head up:
“No Judge, please, sir, I couldn't touch that money—not that”—he began, but Judge Priest halted him:
“The late defendant not being of legal age, the court rules that this reward when collected may be turned over to his legal guardian. It may be that she will find a good and proper use to which this sum of money may be put.” This time, the cheering, if anything, was louder even than it had been before; but when the puzzled sheriff looked around for instructions regarding the proper course of procedure in such an emergency, the judge on the bench was otherwise engaged. The judge on the bench was exchanging handshakes of an openly congratulatory nature with the members of the county bar headed by Attorney for the Defense, Dabney Prentiss.