Subject: Chapter XV part 2 Author: Marta I (205.188.197.187) Date: 09-11-1999 23:46 Court is in session again. Renato is very angry at Monica. Juan seems more calm, even though very determined, just as is Renato. Now the witnesses for the defense. First Segundo. According to Segundo, Juan was generous and considerate with the crew of 'Luzbel'. Never lied to or betrayed any of them. Did he watch Colibri's incident? Yes. He saw Juan hit the employees of the Lancasters as they tried to board the Luzbel, le also saw Juan shoot at the rum barrels. Juan hid the kid in the ship but he did not do it in order to gain his services, just to save him. Colibri never was allowed to work on the Luzbel, Segundo asked Juan for his help as a 'grumete' (someone knows more about what a 'grumete' does in this context??) but Juan said no. Colibri never worked on the ship, just followed Juan around as his companion. Juan breaks in.. Yes, ... I lived as a 'grumete' three years. I know well what it is like to be bossed around, reprimended and punished by everyone, from captain to the lowest mariner. I did not get Colibri out of Jamaica so he could be my own slave. That is what he was at the Lancaster's. Juan asks Segundo when it was the first time he saw Colibri. He was carrying a load of wood bigger than him. An employee of the Lancaster's was throwing stones and yelling at him to continue on. Renato tries to restate his point. Why does Juan and his crew consider themselves authorized to take justice in their own hands? If this is the unfortunate story of Colibri... '-Words are not necessary, Mr. President! ' - Monica shouts. Again, Monica stands up and speaks up for Juan. She tells everyone she can show them the truth faster than words can. In this boy's skin are the scars of his tragedy. She strips his shirt out and shows everyone.She dares any man who will sustain the charges against Juan after seeing the scars on his skin. She reinstates her promise to repay the debt aand finishes her statement with... 'He won't defend himself... but I request justice... Human Justice for the Accussed!! She abandons the courtroom, but not before looking at Juan's eyes. Those eyes which seem to have witnessed all the pain and suffering of the world, and now seem to shine with a warm glow of grattitude, maybe even admiration.. Then she turns around and spots Aimee. Nothing could have given her soul as devastating a blow as Aimee's presence did. They have their typical exchange of insults and resentment. Monica is mad that Aimee has forgotten her promise to her of forgetting Juan and respecting her vows. Then Monica shows Aimee the note and asks her about it. Aimee responds that Monica seems to not have sacrificed as much since she defends Juan so wholeheartedly. Monica says she defends him because he is noble and sincere, because he felt bad for her , and after all she is his wife. Monica says Aimee did not anticipating Juan capable of having 'human feelings'. Aimee is relieved that, according to Monica's words, Monica and Juan do not seem to be 'a couple'. After a short interviention by Renato, Aimee tells Monica that maybe the note she sent to him was just to raise his hopes and in response to another he had sent to her, in which he asked her for help in the name of the love he had not been able to forget. Aimee says it is not her fault that he still loves her, only her. She 'HAD' to write him back saying she loved him because without her love he wanted no freedom and no life. Now Tell Renato if you really want to!! Pedro Noel is next at the witness stand. He is there as a witness, even though his speech sounds more like the defense closing arguments. He says Monica has brought up the main points already. If Juan does not want to defend himself it is because he has not done any wrong. As true as there are hypocrites for evil, there are also hypocrits for good. Juan is the typical case of the latter. He is noble and generous man with lots of humanity, a heaart that bursts with pity and caring for others, too hurt and humiliated to show his true feelings. He has been illtreated too long to say he still feels generous and compassionate and that he still loves and believes in mankind. Nothing can justify the feelings and actions of a man than knowing about his pain and suffering while he was a child. Neither Segundo nor his wife Monica were there. HE KNOWS Juan since Juan was a child. Juan is Good. Fundamentally good, in spite of his own screw-ups which PN has been the first to reprimend him for. Renato is angry at the attitude of Pedro Noel. 'Has he or has he not committed the felonies in question? / Yes. but.../ Is it harmful to society for a man to take justice in his own hands? / It is not the ideal way to keep the order, but... He is not a beast! He is a man! I have to speak to the reason of men. What will society gain with punishing Juan del Diablo if, following the law blindly, he is convicted with an excessive and dispropportioned sentence? / Society will free itself from him and it will serve as an example to those who want to immitate his actions. / I'll say this. Juan is like a blind force... Hurting and alienating him more, society will make him its enemy, a force of evil. Understanding him, releasing him from fault, giving him a chance to repair his mistakes, society gains a generous and benneficial force. / You are a man of law, Notario Noel. Your words are outrageous. It's in the balance. on one side is society and the law, on the other is Juan del Diablo. Which side are you on?? / I...I... I am on Juan's side.... Hearing ends. Time for jury deliberations.