“And thus her husband found them. Think what must have passed through his mind, when he burst into that room to find the wife he loved and adored, naked and helpless in the cage of that black gorilla. Think what that husband must have suffered within the space of a few seconds. The mental torture, the anguish, the supreme anger that must have consumed him at that terrible sight. And then that black vicious brute rushed to attack him with an upraised chair. There was no time for the defendant to use the fists he can wield so capably. He was mad with an anger that bordered on insanity. He had his gun with him and he fired three times at the black demon in defense of his own life and to save the woman he loved.

“I ask you, as a man to man, what would you have done had she been your wife?

“I ask you to remember that the defendant did not shoot to kill until he was first attacked by the negro, and to realize that the defendant might have based his case on a plea of involuntary manslaughter.

“But we have felt confident from the first that, when you possessed the facts, as you do now, you would not hesitate to return a verdict for acquittal. Before God, gentlemen, Delaney is not guilty.

“I appeal to your sense of honor—your pride in the women of your race—to your intelligence—to your love of justice—and in so doing I repose in you the trust and faith of the defendant, George Delaney, and the undying gratitude of his good and beautiful wife.”

J. Z. wiped his face with a handkerchief and sat down.

The State for some unknown reason offered nothing in rebuttal. The judge read his charge to the jury and they filed out under the guard of a court officer.

In exactly twenty minutes, the foreman sent word to the judge that the jury had reached a verdict.

The jurymen filed back to their places.

The Court stood up. A silence like death hung over the crowded court room.

The foreman’s words sounded like marbles dropping in a tin basin when he announced the verdict as: “Not Guilty.”

The Bearcat was acquitted!

Pandemonium broke loose in the courtroom. Congratulations showered on Babe and the Bearcat from all sides. Photographers snapped them in affectionate poses together. The Bearcat was jubilant and radiant. Their team-work had scored a brilliant victory.

Extras flashed out upon the street!

THE BEARCAT IS ACQUITTED! . . . PRIZE-FIGHTER SCORES WIN ON UNWRITTEN LAW. . . . BABE AND BEARCAT HAPPY AGAIN OVER ACQUITTAL. . . . BEARCAT TO TRY FOR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE AGAIN. . . . COURT ROOM CHEERS WHEN BEARCAT IS SET FREE. . . .