536
THE GREEN BAG
even a greater crowd filled the Sala de Audiencia; the roll of the jury was called and all answered present, and the Judge ordered that the defendant Bernado Mora be brought before the Court, while Morales should be kept incomunicado. Mora, sullen and sour looking, was led by the guards to his stool, and then took his stand beside it to undergo the crossfire of examination. The Judge exhorted him in the name of the law to testify the truth, and called for his " generales," which Mora stated. Judge: For what crime are you on trial? Mora: I do not know, sir. Judge: How, you do not know? Mora: I am a prisoner on account of the murder of General Barillas. Judge: You are on trial as the author of the murder perpetrated on the person of General Barillas. Mora: Yes, sir. Judge: State all that happened. Mora: I have had no participation in the matter: the only thing that I did was to give money to Florencio Morales. Judge: You spoke to Morales? Mora: I went to find him, because General Lima ordered me to do so. This is the General Lima whose extra dition as the instigator of this crime was demanded by Mexico of Guatemala, the refusal of the latter country to surrender him being the cause of hasty preparations and threats of war. Although Lima is . not even a lawyer, he has since been made a Judge of the Supreme Court of Guate mala — possibly merely a coincidence with the trial (?) and affirmed condemnation by that tribunal of some nineteen alleged conspirators against the present Cabrera regime in that Republic. Continuing, Mora stated that one day a soldier came to him from General Lima and conducted him to the General, whom he had known about five years; that Lima told him to bring Morales to him, which he did, and Morales spoke with the General; I remained in another room and left the
two together alone; directly Morales went out, and the General delivered to me money and passports. Judge: Did he not tell you why he gave you that money? Mora: He told me that it was for going to Mexico to kill General Barillas. Judge: After Morales had talked with General Lima, did you talk with Morales, and what did he say to you? Mora: That he had arranged to come to Mexico and kill General Barillas or General Toledo. Judge: And you also came to Mexico to see that Morales fulfilled his mission? Mora: No, sir; on the contrary I told Florencio Morales not to kill anyone; but Florencio Morales persisted and killed General Barillas; but, I repeat, I told him many times that he should not do it; yes, many times I told him not to commit that crime. And thus at much length, now the Judge, now the Ministerio Publico, plying the questions, and covering every detail of Mora's version of the affair, developing many contradictions between his state ments and those of Morales. A careo was therefore deemed necessary, and the Judge ordered that Morales be brought into Court, and he was led in between his guards, and placed beside his stool, standing and facing the Judge President of Debates. What followed caused great sensation. In part this triangular trial by combat of words is set out, sufficiently to give an idea of its novel character, being trans lated literally from the verbatim report: Judge: Morales, Mora says that you knew him; that he came here with the money to deliver it to you, in order that you should not waste it; that that was his mission. Morales: It is not true, sir; but if that had been his mission, he would have delivered it to me all at one time; what he did was to say to me, " What are you doing that you do not kill him? I believe
