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· 88 · 12 He said that he had given up all hope and that the end was near at hand. In speaking of the parties now in custody, he expressed himself freely and bitterly. —Decatur review, September 21, 1882 With the grand jury not scheduled to take up the Bond case until late November , everyone half-expected the story to die down for awhile. Fueled by the public’s insatiable curiosity, however, it did not. on the day after his return home, John C. montgomery set out for the Republican’s office in Decatur with his brothers-in-law J. C. Paxton and George Pettus.1 The suspect had more than a few things to get off of his chest, and he wanted the paper’s editor to print them all. First, he wanted people to know that he was innocent. He could vouch for Pettus and Clementi, too, because he’d seen them both at the Pettus place “between sundown and dark.”2 And, yes, he had gone straight home from the jail the day before, just like the other two. That was ample proof that none of them intended to run. John wanted to believe that his troubles were easing up. After all, didn’t people have better things to do with their lives? ideally, the answer would have been yes. But when word got out that he was in town, the Republican office was besieged by a throng of gawkers, their faces pressed up against the building’s windowpanes to get a better look at the now-infamous suspect who had barely escaped with his life in August. Action from mr. Bond was still in great demand, but no amount of prodding was going to drive the man to revenge. The diehards persisted anyway, with letters from all over the nation arriving daily at the Bond home, advising him “to take the law in his own hands.”3 And should he follow through, those same letters promised him absolution. But as someone who preferred to let the courts handle it, Bond wasn’t listening. However, someone else was, and he was worried enough to purchase a “sixteen shooter rifle.” John montgomery, it was said, the hearing and the indictment · 89 intended to “give variety to the next entertainment gotten up for his benefit.”4 And who could blame him after all he’d been through in August? But another man was about to become the center of attention, which would give John a much-needed and long-overdue break. Vermillion’s court appearance, scheduled for monday, september 18, promised to be as big a draw as the August hearing had been. it came close and did not disappoint. once again, Taylorville was overrun with noise and dust and wagons and horses as country and city dwellers converged on the town from all directions . Fifty of the previous witnesses were again subpoenaed to testify. At one o’clock, the defendant was ushered into the courtroom. The spectators’ curiosity was matched only by Vermillion’s anxiety: “He wore a scared, nervous look, which led a great many to believe him guilty. He was smoking at the time. As he would take the cigar from his mouth, his hand would tremble so visibly as to be perceptible, all over the room, and a sickly pallor overspread his face.”5 The suspense in the room evaporated instantly when attorney mcCaskill announcedthatsomeofthewitnesseswereabsent ,aswasL.F.Hamilton—thelawyer who was to assist him. Consequently, his client wanted to waive his examination until the next term of the circuit court. ricks then granted the doctor a second bond reduction. The original $5,000 had already been dropped to $4,000. The new amount was set at $2,500—a decent gesture on ricks’s part. The justice, however , had no way of knowing that even this was way beyond the doctor’s reach. it seems Vermillion had no family in the area to turn to for help. Being stuck in jail was likely a good thing for him, however, since his house in Grove City sat within a stone’s throw of four belonging to emma’s relatives, the Housleys.6 other than the confusion with the two Abner Bonds, the newspapers were doing a fairly decent job of sorting out the intricate family connections of those involved. However, one family link had escaped their notice. in November 1879, Dr. William Vermillion had married mary C. “Kate” Hart, who had died of tuberculosis just one year...
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