In his capacity as my attorney, Mays filed a demurrer to the indictment, and a hearing thereon was held during the first week in November, 1903. The demurrer was overruled by Judge Bellinger, who set the case for trial December 14 of that year.
About this time Mays informed me that he had learned Hall was to have an assistant in the person of Francis J. Heney, of San Francisco, who had been appointed special prosecutor by the Government. Mays asked me if I knew Heney, and upon my replying in the negative, he suggested that it might be well for me to look up his record when I returned to San Francisco, and secure all possible information concerning his standing and ability from a legal point of view.
The question of Mrs. Watson's whereabouts also seemed to perplex Mr. Mays considerably, and he asked if I knew where she was. I told him she was at her home in San Francisco, and that I would probably see her within a few days. Mays thereupon suggested that I adopt some means of getting her out of the country, as she was the main spoke in the Government's case, being the one to whom the six fictitious claims had been deeded by the supposed original entrymen. Mays contended that if Mrs. Watson was kept under cover, it would be an impossibility for the Government to establish any case against the defendants.
As the time of trial was drawing near, I asked Mays if he could have the cases postponed, as it was very probable the secret service agents of the Government were on the trail of Mrs. Watson, and might, at that very moment, have her under surveillance in San Francisco, rendering it next to an impossibility for me to confer with her without detection, and also making it difficult for me to get her out of the city. Mays agreed with me that additional time would be necessary to accomplish the desired end, and promised to see United States Attorney Hall and arrange with him for a continuance of the trials.
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