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way through Wingate.
Chapter XLVIII
By the time the State Supreme Court came to pass upon Cowperwood's plea for a reversal of
the lower court and the granting of a new trial, the rumor of his connection with Aileen had
spread far and wide. As has been seen, it had done and was still doing him much damage. It
confirmed the impression, which the politicians had originally tried to create, that Cowperwood
was the true criminal and Stener the victim. His semi-legitimate financial subtlety, backed
indeed by his financial genius, but certainly on this account not worse than that being practiced
in peace and quiet and with much applause in many other quarters--was now seen to be
Machiavellian trickery of the most dangerous type. He had a wife and two children; and without
knowing what his real thoughts had been the fruitfully imaginative public jumped to the
conclusion that he had been on the verge of deserting them, divorcing Lillian, and marrying
Aileen. This was criminal enough in itself, from the conservative point of view; but when taken in
connection with his financial record, his trial, conviction, and general bankruptcy situation, the
public was inclined to believe that he was all the politicians said he was. He ought to be
convicted. The Supreme Court ought not to grant his prayer for a new trial. It is thus that our
inmost thoughts and intentions burst at times via no known material agency into public thoughts.
People know, when they cannot apparently possibly know why they know. There is such a thing
as thought-transference and transcendentalism of ideas.
It reached, for one thing, the ears of the five judges of the State Supreme Court and of the
Governor of the State.
During the four weeks Cowperwood had been free on a certificate of reasonable doubt both
Harper Steger and Dennis Shannon appeared before the judges of the State Supreme Court,
and argued pro and con as to the reasonableness of granting a new trial. Through his lawyer,
Cowperwood made a learned appeal to the Supreme Court judges, showing how he had been
unfairly indicted in the first place, how there was no real substantial evidence on which to base
a charge of larceny or anything else. It took Steger two hours and ten minutes to make his
argument, and District-Attorney Shannon longer to make his reply, during which the five judges
on the bench, men of considerable legal experience but no great financial understanding,
listened with rapt attention. Three of them, Judges Smithson, Rainey, and Beckwith, men most
amenable to the political feeling of the time and the wishes of the bosses, were little interested
in this story of Cowperwood's transaction, particularly since his relations with Butler's daughter
and Butler's consequent opposition to him had come to them. They fancied that in a way they
were considering the whole matter fairly and impartially; but the manner in which Cowperwood
had treated Butler was never out of their minds. Two of them, Judges Marvin and Rafalsky, who
were men of larger sympathies and understanding, but of no greater political freedom, did feel
that Cowperwood had been badly used thus far, but they did not see what they could do about
it. He had put himself in a most unsatisfactory position, politically and socially. They understood
and took into consideration his great financial and social losses which Steger described
accurately; and one of them, Judge Rafalsky, because of a similar event in his own life in so far
as a girl was concerned, was inclined to argue strongly against the conviction of Cowperwood;
but, owing to his political connections and obligations, he realized that it would not be wise
politically to stand out against what was wanted. Still, when he and Marvin learned that Judges
Smithson, Rainey, and Beckwith were inclined to convict Cowperwood without much argument,
they decided to hand down a dissenting opinion. The point involved was a very knotty one.
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